How to reach Valley of flowers
Valley of flowers is not much difficult to reach; there is a well-established connection between the valley and most of the towns in the Uttrakhand. There are different modes of transport available including heli services by which you can reach your destination, but the clutch part is that no matter which mode you choose, you will have to take a halt at Govind ghat and from there you have to trek for almost 16 kilometers to reach Valley of flowers. If you are a pure traveler then you will definitely love this 16-kilometer trek, Trust me! You are going to enjoy this trek. Otherwise, after reaching Govind Ghat, you can take heli services to cover the valley of flowers and to avoid, I will later tell you in detail regarding the helicopter services.
So now I am going to tell you the best possible ways to reach the valley of flowers.
By Road – If you are a solo traveler or you are going to visit the valley with your group and you all have decided to take road then keep in mind that the motorable roads are only up to Pulna Village which is barely around 4 kilometers from the Govind Ghat, and from there from the Pulna village you will have to trek for 13 kilometers to reach Valley of Flowers. Govind Ghat is easily reachable as it is situated at NH 58.
One more important thing if you are going by your personal vehicle than you can drive it to the Govind Ghat only, from Govind Ghat you have to take a separate vehicle as your vehicle is not allowed for 4 kms to reach Pulna village.
By train – If you want to travel via train than Rishikesh is the nearest railway station in the journey towards the valley of flowers. After reaching the Rishikesh you will have to reach Govind Ghat to further cover 16 km trek towards the valley of flowers. You can easily reach Govind Ghat from Rishikesh as there is good connectivity via motorable roads; frequency of buses is also appreciable.
By Air – Flight is also an option to reach the valley of flowers, nearest airport to valley of flowers is Jolly Grant Airport which is around 284.6 km via NH7 away from Govind Ghat. Taxis are easily available towards Govind Ghat from the Jolly Grant Airport. After reaching Govind Ghat from Jolly Grant Airport you will have to trek for 16 km to reach valley of flowers.
So these were the three basic modes to reach valley of flowers, now I am going to describe you about the heli services and its route plan.
via Helicopter – In case you have a nice budget and you want to cover Hemkund Sahib from air or you want to avoid the trek than valley of flowers offers you helicopter services as well. The service is available from Govind Ghat to Ghangharia and the point to remember is that from Ghangharia to valley of flowers you will have to trek there is no other option available. However Pony/porters are also available from the helipad, make sure that the luggage you will carry is well calculated as if the weather is bad then the helicopters will not operate.
If you ask me personally than I will advise you to take roadways ( if you are travelling solo or with your friends) as road trips are always fun and within the budget.
Choosing air or train over roadways is not a bad thought but still I think you will miss the experience, Rest is your choice guys whatever suits you.
If you are from Delhi or you are travelling from Delhi then you can also choose the following way to reach valley of flowers:
Take a taxi, any private bus or train to reach Haridwar, in case you want to travel via air then you will have to reach Dehradoon airport from Delhi and after that drive towards Haridwar.
Take a break in Haridwar and again start your journey towards the valley. Now from Haridwar, you will have to drive towards Govind Ghat, you can also drive towards Auli or Joshimath as they all are nearby Govind Ghat. Ultimately you have to reach Govind ghat only to visit the valley. In Auli and Joshimath hotels are easily available so there is no need to worry, you can stay there and take some rest.
If you were staying at Auli or Joshimath then you need to reach Govind Ghat, after reaching there you have to move towards the Pulna village which is 4 km ahead from the Govind Ghat ( take a separate vehicle, personal vehicle is not allowed).
Now the trek begins for straight 10 km towards Ghangharia (to avoid trek you can take helicopter from Govind ghat).
This will be the last phase and you will reach valley of flowers, it is recommended to start exploring as early as possible because you need to get back to Ghangharia before 5 PM as per the forest department rules.