DAY 1: TRAVEL TO DEHRADUN AIRPORT,STAY AT RISHIKESH

Aug 23,2024 we chose to travel on a Friday, considering several factors like 10 days trip so 2 weekends coming in this and 1 public holiday Krishna Jayanti so kids got to take leave for 5 or 6 working days only with permission. And why 4th week of august was based on observing monsoon and flooding and landslides pattern in Uttarakhand over the years starting from 2013 Kedarnath disaster to till 2022 to 2023 flash floods situation. And even while we booked our flight tickets in July beginning the July 10th Joshimath landslide was quite a deterrent and we witnessed the massive boulder on the badri highways as we crossed through the gap created in the moved and broken boulder.

Flying from Tirupur for us and for anyone flying from rest of India, reaching Dehradun airport would be most feasible option to travel than driving from Delhi airport to avoid traffic and excess road travel. Chandigarh airport is also another option. We started for Coimbatore airport by early morning for a morning flight ,had a layoff at Delhi airport for lunch time and then we landed by 5pm and took self driving car for our family from a Chandigarh based travels( check all travel permits). If you have to go to the dhaams or teerth sthal or holy places while you climb hills at Rishikesh check post you show you show your permits, so get it before travel itself the chaar dham or panch dhaam yatra permit ( by submitting proofs on Uttarakand website and get for which dhaams you are visiting, we took for Badri and Hemkund sahib).

At Dehradun Airport

the ladies at Jolly Grant

majestic Ganga all through the
journey we travel beside her

Rishikesh is 25 mins ride away from Jolly Grant airport and we arrived at the hotel and immediately left for the Ganga aarti at Ram Jhoola( Lakshman Jhoola is up for renovations and closed while we went)

Hotel Clarks Inn with ample parking and bang on main road as we enter Rishikesh with great service and cleanliness and ambience was a perfect stay including the wonderful spread and sky lounge terrace restaurant which had wonderful spread and panoramic view of the Shivalik's, more on it on day 2.

We hurried for the evening aarti at the Triveni ghat and as we crossed along the Ram jhula witnessed the mystical Ganga Aarthi which we would all have seen over TV during the 6 30 pm show time on many bhakti channels. And there were temple and mutt on the other side , got tilak from little priest boy, and had locals suggested best restaurant food at Choti wala , and got pics with the choti wala too. Choti means plait in Hindi.

cozy stay at Clarks inn Rishikesh

choti wala ,rishikesh

wall decor at Restaurant

So watch out this space for the beginning of a travel which was one thrilling ride for us the next day.

 VALLEY OF FLOWER TREK PLAN

Have you ever dreamt of visiting a place after a chance reading of an article over a coffee mug (of milk drink in my case) at the dining table. yes, it happened to me circa 2019 when a Hindu Metro Plus article on valley of flowers and Hemkund Sahib trek in the Uttarakhand's Himalayan ranges excited me for this monsoon trek to dive upon. And i got to materialize it with lot of discussions and planning and charting our own unique customized itinerary since this summer 2024 and we embarked on this journey as family and friends as a group of 10 of us on Aug. 23rd Friday, 5 years hence.

say it with flowers,
 article 2019 in THE HINDU metro plus
(ignore screenshot, i don't know where i kept it)

Even selection of this 10 days travel trek needed much of data analysis, sampling and in depth online research ,per se, not just for choice of stay recommendations or chronology of visiting different places.

So here am sharing the itinerary that's the result of some in-depth online research and monsoon trek much to the irritation and despair of the entire elders in the family whose BPs peaked with us traversing through the picturesque tapestry of lesser Himalayas or Shivalik's some of the worlds most dangerous roads.

To muster up to write this blog to start with shows what all went into planning this trek and how much of pre requisites needed. So here will share some shopping, travel tips, pre trek regime that someone with minimal exercise routine can also incorporate to be ready for the trek ahead.

Kondarangi hill trek in Feb2024

Deceiving POV but doable

 We love as a family of 4 and so did our friends who came along , did small treks to hill temples in our Kongu belt since this year beginning,  Kondarangi malai at 3825 ft is a very steep hike pointed throughout and gets very windy, we did it and then Odi malai 2140ft had over 1770 steps and is a good place to start with, then we also did the adventurous Shollingur Narasimha temple climb amidst harassing monkeys which is at 750ft height and 1300 steps, so all of these with our 7 yr old keeping us all on our toes as he doesn't sweat or feel short of breath while we would definitely feel the heat. 

 Other than these 10k steps on average day and your gymming or home workout or yoga or pilates or any dance workouts or regular walks routine should work fine and i did some couple of 50km and 25km cycling rides that i do few months before event and some 10km marathon runs. Do it your way at your pace as trekking is about endurance and its never a race. 

Shopping pre requisites for a monsoon trek:

This is something that will add to budget the first time you go and later it can be reused every time so invest wise and for everything a to z there is decathlon. 

Active wear pants and tops( sweat absorbent you need even in those low temperatures) this is something most sportsperson or gym goers will have already.

Padded jacket ( underneath it fleeced sweat-shirt was recommended, but we ended up not using as it was higher Himalayas and monsoon season, and it was humid too, but the padded jacket was need for up the Hemkund Sahib trek higher heights) so bring both and use 1 

thermal wears 2 sets atleast( some chose not to wear, but those who get cold could use it to keep body warm especially kids)

head cap any kind to cover ears well(monkey cap will be sweaty not recommended), scarf(if you need),several pairs of woolen socks( cotton socks will get sweaty and many will catch cold)

the biggest investment would be good trekking shoes(ordinary shoes might make your leg bear the brunt)

trekking bag, good trekking water bottle or light metal bottles, bag would be your choice( any other bags also would work, and there are Bittu wala or basket lifting coolie , you can pool in luggage or use for kids too)

good poncho type rain coat or rain pant and top is a must for these monsoon treks

moisturizer balm, sunscreen lotion, other essentials

From hometown Tirupur to Tirupur 10 days of travel time it was will share more on day 1 to 10 in each of the days posts.

cya! Happy dreaming about your Valley of flowers trek☺☺

curated with love,

Rama

My special handmade rakhi card for my sweet bro

Serpentine

She lay there in the mist,

unshivered by the cold of the ghastly night.

Feared not was she ,

for she was guided on either side.

but still she sinewed her way through the

thick cover of greens,

her unperturbed devotion to destiny,

took her across the rocks and dunes.

undizzied by the dizzying heights of the fall,

way down the lap of rocks went she.

went she raring in her way,

to reach her destiny.        

with all her vigor in abundance,

with all her fondest memories bound with her,

reached her destiny with ecstasy!

an euphoria untold was it for she left her

origin braving the forces,

with ubiquitous thought of reaching her destined destiny.

there goes she, a serpentine...

 

Dear departed

He brought mirth in our lives,

the one filled with life.

Not a day passed by,

without us cherishing his flavors.

One sound of his footsteps,

would bring a curve across our faces.

His affable actions,

were enough to take us to cloud nine.

Feeling that the one who meant everything to us,

would no more be a part of us;

broke our vulnerable hearts,

and it dawned upon us the absence of our elixir.

our unfathomable adoration,

for him oozed on our dears departure

to the eternal world....

Tender foot

The seasons go by without any

Words of despair it went through,

Nor does it utter the words of mercy it blessed

Upon us it’s friendly urchins.

But for this beholding beauty of nature

We the speck in this green earth

Would be a waif.

But this eternal truth is covered by a fig leaf

Namely the humans who are considered the royal species,

Who err in realizing that they r nothing but a mot in this motley of universe.....