Up to Gobind Ghat

we arrived in Gobind Dham a little after 1pm and immediately started the trek up.

Gobind Dham.
On the bridge you cross to get to the start of the path to Gobindghat and then on to Hemkunt.


The path way was paved with paving stones the whole way up.





The path had steps in it making it impossible for wheeled vehicles (like bikes and scooters), but there was an abundance of horses you could hire. One thing I wasn't expecting and had more of a negative impact on me then I would've preferred was the horses and their impact on the trail. They left their byproducts everywhere and you had to watch your step closely not to step in it. The hopscotch around horse poop wasn't all that bad compared with the awful smell and the horses' disregard for your personal space when passing you.





The path was washed out in some places just like the road on the way up had been.

There were many shops selling water and food on the way up.


Beautiful waterfall.









Cute kids on horses.

We took a subset of what we brought to India up to Gobind Ghat. Sita got the small back pack and I got the big one. We probably could've traveled even a little lighter.



We took a brisk pace and moved quickly but even still it took us longer than I was expecting. I think the 13 Km written on the sign as the distance between Gobind Dham and Gobind Ghat was probably calculated linearly and didn't take into account the slope and many switchbacks.








It was physically exhausting and we had to stop for a break and to eat. Here you can see how we sweated through our clothes, and if you look closely you can see steam rising from Sita's back. The temperature was already much cooler at this point (more than half way to Gobindghat).




A series of tents that claimed to be the base camp for Hemkunt and the valley of flowers. In reality Gobindghat is another 1 km from here and it is a pretty developed town considering everything was carted up walking or on the back of an animal.