How to prepare for Valley of Flowers Trek?
Physical Training
Since this is an easy to moderate trek, a month of training is good enough to conquer the difficulties that might come on this trekking route.
Also, you need to break in your trekking shoes, or else you might get blisters on your feet on the first day of your trek. So it is advisable that you train in the shoes you will wear on the trek so that you are accustomed to them.
Week 1
- 10 minutes of jogging.
- 15 minutes brisk walking
- 15 minutes of slow walking
Week 2
- 10 minutes brisk walk
- 15 minutes jogging
- 5 minutes slow walk
Week 3
- 10 minutes brisk walk
- 20 minutes jogging
Week 4
- 5 minutes brisk walk
- 25 minutes jogging
- Along with all this, for the duration of the whole month, you must do cardio and weightlifting. You can try the bench press, leg press, deadlift, and lying leg curl.
Things to Carry
- Backpack with rain cover (50 liters)
- Torch
- Walking stick
- Water bottle/ Hydration packs
- Energy bars
- Personal medicine kit
- Sunscreen and moisturizer
- Thermal inners
- Wind and waterproof jackets and trekking pants
- Toilet paper and wipes
- Toothbrush and paste
- Hand sanitizer
- Sunglasses
- Woolen cap and balaclava
- Waterproof gloves and woolen gloves
Valley of Flowers trek difficulty
Valley of Flowers is an easy to moderate trek, and hence it can be attempted by first-time trekkers as well. However, there are a few steep inclines, and without a basic level of physical fitness, it is not possible to do this without breaking a sweat. So it is advisable that you train for a good one month before the trek, and that too in trekking boots and with 10 kg on your back.
Valley of Flowers trek Brief Itinerary
It is a 6-day trek, and out of that, 2 days are totally road trips. So the trekking part of the expedition is restricted to the 4 days in between.
Day 1
You drive from Haridwar to Joshimath, which is a long-distance of 270 km and takes almost 10 to 11 hours. At the end of the drive, you will reach Joshimath at night on Day 1, and you stay the night at a guesthouse here.
Day 2
You will drive close to 40 km from Joshimath to Pulna, which is at the height of 2000 meters; this is where the real elevation starts, and the trek gets going. From Pulna, you have a 9 km trek to Ghangaria, where all trekkers who are going to for Hemkund Sahib and Valley of Flowers have to set camp.
Day 3
You trek 8 km to and from the mesmerizing Valley of Flowers, and an additional 6 km within the valley. This part is difficult as reaching the valley will require you to climb quite an incline, but once you are done, the valley is mostly flat grassland. In the valley, you will come across Brahmakamal, Nagamani, and more exclusive flowers, which bloom only in the Himalayas and that too for a couple of months a year.
Day 4
This is the day you trek to and from the holy Hemkund Sahib gurudwara, and this is probably the most difficult part of the trek. It starts with a gradual ascent, but then the path becomes quite steep, and you will have to go up a flight of stone stairs.
Day 5
You trek 13 km from Ghangaria to Govindghat, and this is an easy descent. From Govindghat, you jump into a car for Joshimath, and the trekking part of your tour is officially over.
Day 6
This final day, you leave for a long day trip to Haridwar, from where you leave for your hometown.