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Vale of the Gods ... trekking in the Himalayas Sashi Kodasseri For a moment I felt dizzy and went off-balance, stomping down stones and mud like an animal in quicksand. In sheer desperation I reached out for a boulder that had only partially covered the pathway. I missed but my fingers clutched a smaller rock sticking out of the edge of the track. I raised myself towards it rolling over to my side…. Slowly, steadily…. My heart savagely pounding the rib cage, my eyes almost popping out of their sockets. I heard my trekker's stick clang its way down the mountainside and dive into the river below. I barely managed to climb to safety when I heard screams. It was a primal cry of terror that usually comes with the last forlorn moment of sudden death in the wilderness. I ran blindly like a bat, hidden reserves of strength carrying me as fast as possible. I didn't wait to see what I was running from, nor what I was up against. And I didn't give a damn if I started the mother of all landslides or if I was the only man alive. I stopped at a safe spot about 50 metres away just in time to see a huge avalanche of scree roar down the mountainside behind me. Boulders the size of elephants tore through the soft earth and dived down into the river. Mud that looked gray with the remains of stones that got pounded to dust roared down in waves to the river. I ran again, wondering if Arun would make it, actually if I would get out alive since he was on the safe side.
We were still two kms away from the actual Valley of Flowers. We realised that if there was another landslide, the only way out would be to trek many more harsh miles around the mountains on the far end of the valley seven kms away and hope to find the sadhus and trek to the nearest human outpost, to Hemkund Sahib, the Sikh holy place, with its hot water springs. The langer at the Gurudwara there would give us hot food and a warm place to keep our blood circulating. Fortunately, the mountain carried its own weight till we finally reached the valley at 10 am; we'd started at 8 am. The Himalayan range inspires awe in anyone fortunate enough to see it at close quarters. The snow-capped peaks tower dramatically over the valley. And there they were... Flowers! The flowers for which the valley if famous for in the monsoons. Green, yellow red, pink, purple, violet, white, brown, cream all over the place, but predominantly violet, yellow and white-geraniums, thymus, campenulas, wild roses... Somewhere in the bowels of the 10 km long valley sleeps the grave of an English botanist who used to camp here three months a year and send home samples to be transplanted back in England. The story goes that in her enthusiasm she leaned over a cliff to pluck a particularly rare species and fell over. That was in 1939. In 1997 the valley still has a gorgeous view. This is mainly because there are no motorable roads between Govindghat and the valley. Looking back, the trek wasn't as harsh as expected, apart from the danger of slides. There are a number of stalls along the way stacked with Coke, Pepsi, Limca, cigarettes, beedis, many brands of biscuits, hot alu parathas and pickles for those whose stomachs are grumbling. We didn't dare hire a kachar. It can be dangerous during the monsoons, because when the stones hurt their hooves the stupid beast walks on the edge. And they're notoriously stubborn. Despite the many near death slips they refuse to walk the straight path or find an alternative to walking the edge. On the day we were on our way up an elderly Sardar and his animal went down the mountain while crossing boulders that had fallen into a stream flowing down the mountain about four kms from the village. Back in the cold security of the Himalayan guest house, we reached for the bottle of chhang. It's not always that one almost attains moksha in a landslide. We had to celebrate.
Fast FactsThe Valley of Flowers is absolutely gorgeous. Especially during the monsoons from June to September when it is at its seductive best -- but these are the most dangerous months, as well. She's like the devil's own hourie luring unsuspecting vacationers to her breast. It's the time of frequent landslides. In fact, too frequent to even make God uncomfortable. That's because the Himalayas, especially the Garhwal Himalayas, is one of the most deforested mountain ranges in the world. Man and cattle together have "eaten" away the life of the mountains. I almost got killed in one near the valley.The safest time is from March to May. But you don't find the rare variety of flowers at that time. During the winter months -- mid October to February -- the entire valley is shut off, because the residents of the nearest human outpost -- called Gangharia (a village of only hotels and restaurants) -- migrate to warmer zones till the snow melts. It is possible to camp in the valley. But it might be a good idea to get prior permission from the National Park authorities and the Garhwal Mandal Vikas Nigam or the Kumaon Mandal Vikas Nigam, which have branches in Delhi and Bombay. The Valley of Flowers is in the state of Uttar Pradesh in north India, near the Indo-Tibetan border. It's best not to camp alone, especially if you are a woman. The Garhwal region is generally a safe place, and the people are very hospitable, but then why take a chance… weird things can happen anywhere in the world. Camping at the Valley of Flowers can be an eerie experience. The place is cut off from civilization and at night it is so dark that a ray from a torch doesn't travel more than a couple of feet. I haven't camped there at the valley myself . But on my return trip, from my hotel room in the ski resort Joshimath nearby, all I could see were the lights of the village surrounded by a blanket of impenetrable blackness. Can you imagine what it must be like in the valley with no electricity all? However, if one is the hardy, adventurous sort, the rainy season is the ideal time to go. Now, to get there the starting point is Delhi. You have to take a bus to Rishikesh, which will take a good part of the day. So it's best to spend a night there and start the next morning for Joshimath, which is an even longer ride (more than 10 hours). If you start late morning or early afternoon the bus will halt at a place called Karnaprayag when it gets dark. There are many cheap hotels there, but little to do. The same bus will take you at 6 in the morning to Joshimath. If you move very early in the morning, you will reach Joshimath the same day. In that case it's best to spend the night there. But everything depends on the 'whether etc'. If you reach Joshimath in the late morning or early afternoon, catch a bus to Govindghat at the foothills, about half an hour away. There are even jeeps and tempos (mini trucks) that take people to Govindghat. Then you have to trek 15 kilometres (about seven hours) uphill to Gangharia, 4 kilometres from the valley. You can hire a coolie and a mule from Gangharia if you wish. They come cheap. But coolies are a better bet -- and they're a safe and honest lot. Mules are avoidable. During the rains those animals can be risky business. They can't recognize imminent death when it's hurtling towards them down the mountain at 80 miles an hour. Some important telephone numbers:
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