Travel Hemkund

pilgrims going across hemkund glacier visit gurudwara sri hemkund sahib

hemkund inaccessible october through april because of snow bound paths , glaciers. sikh pilgrims arrive in may , set work repair damage path on winter, tradition called kar seva ( selfless service ), concept forms important tenet of sikh faith.

the take-off point hemkund sahib town of govindghat 275 kilometres (171 mi) rishikesh. 13 kilometres (8.1 mi) trek along reasonably maintained path village of ghangaria (also called govinddham). path can covered either walk or pony , gurudwara here gives shelter pilgrims. in addition there few hotels , camp ground tents , mattresses. 1,100-metre (3,600 ft)climb on 6-kilometre (3.7 mi) of stone paved path leads hemkund. overnight stay not allowed @ hemkund sahib , necessary leave 2 pm make govindghat nightfall.

from delhi, tourists take train haridwar , travel bus govindghat via rishikesh. possible drive delhi govindghat, distance of 500 kilometres (310 mi) takes around 18 hours cover. recently, indian airline company has started helicopter service between govindghat , ghangria. flight takes 5 minutes.

the recent helicopter service started between govindghat , gangaria

a recent study examining altitude sickness @ hemkund sahib found one-third of pilgrims traveled hemkund suffered acute mountain sickness (a form of altitude sickness). approximately 150,000 pilgrims believed travel hemkund sahib each trekking season, 50,000 people @ risk of developing acute mountain sickness each year. authors stated difficult nature of trek, limited water consumption , lack of awareness regarding altitude sickness main contributory factors.