September 30th 2009 (Ghangaria)
We woke up at 5.30 A.M in the morning, after having covered yesterday a track of around 14KM, we were unable to find when the next day arrived. Once we woke up we started to prepare ourselves for one of the toughest track in the whole journey. Today we are going to Hemkund Sahib – a popular pilgrimage site for Sikhs. We started our journey around 6.30 AM in morning. Hemkund Sahib is a place associated with Sikh guru, Guru Gobind Singh.
When we started from Ghangaria, it was really good to see how beautiful nature is, in our such a busy life we have forgotten about sunrise, chirping of birds, that cool and clean winds which seemed to say good morning to us.
Morning @Ghangaria
Track
Total distance from Ghangaria to Hemkund Sahib is around 6 KM but this track is really one of the toughest ones. Somewhere track angles were around 60-75 degrees. With some places there are simple stairs and some places are made up of rock stones. Porter or mule are available at a price of around 250-350 INR.
Tips
Its highly recommended to carry with yourself instant energy provider drinks (glucose), dry fruits and biscuits etc. Prefer not to go if you have any kind of breathing problems.
If you have any kind of problem in traveling or any kind of breathing problem, we recommend you not to opt for this track, due to high altitude (Hemkund Sahib is at an altitude of around 4200 meters), oxygen level starts decreasing and people sometimes have problems in breathing.
Track @Hemkund Sahib
Weather
As we have already suggested in our previous post about Ghangaria, one should be ready to face different colors of weather. Please make sure you are carrying a raincoat or any alternative for such conditions with yourself.
We reached Hemkund Sahib around 10.30 AM in the morning, in short it took us around 4 hours to cover some 6 KM which indicate the level of the track. Whole track up to Hemkund Sahib is going with great Himalayas and one can see and admire the beauty of these snow filled peaks
@ On way to Hemkund Sahib
Hemkund Sahib
Hemkund Sahib is associated with the Sikh guru, Guru Gobind Singh. Situated at an elevation of around 4200m and is only accessible by foot, Glacial lake is surrounded by seven peaks. Apart from the place of pilgrimage Hemkund Sahib is a place where one can come close to great Himalayas. Hemkund Sahib also has Laxman temple build beside the gurdwara.
@Gurudwara Hemkund Sahib
Accommodation
The journey to Hemkund Sahib is day bound journey. No one is allowed to stay overnight at gurudwara except the members of gurudwara who are taking care of the place, one needs to come back to Ghangaria for night stay.
@Lake Hemkund Sahib
Tips
Due to a high altitude, it's recommended that one should start journey to Hemkund Sahib as early as possible. During late afternoons temperature starts going down and ice chilled
winds start their work which can cause a lot of problem.
Eating Out
Gurudwara is the only place where one can get food to eat. Khichdi (rice dish) is served to all pilgrims and others who are visiting Hemkund Sahib along with tea and we are really thankful to all those people who provide it at this place. If you are not a kind of a person who can opt for this than it's highly advisable to carry your food and other eatable stuff with yourself as you will not find any kind of restaurants there.
Tips
Cost of eatables are very high on the way to Hemkund Sahib, we got a bottle of cold drink at 50 INR (500 ML) that too in off season as this was the closing time of this area.
Communication
No communication facilities are available at Hemkund Sahib, any if available is only at Ghangaria. There is also no medical help available at Hemkund Sahib, if anyone needs any kind of medical help you can only get it at Ghangaria.
Hemkund Sahib is a place close to the snow bounded Himalaya, one can feel the great height of these at such a place
@Lake
This was all about Hemkund Sahib, in the next post we will cover one of the most beautiful place on this trip as well a place gifted by nature, Valley of Flowers, a place where one will feel that nature is painting with all its colors. So stay tuned with our trip.
