Gurudwara Hemkund Sahib — the lake gurdwara above Ghangaria
What it is
Gurudwara Hemkund Sahib is a Sikh gurdwara and pilgrimage site beside a glacial lake ringed by seven peaks, at about 4,572 m by the Survey of India's figure. It is devoted to Guru Gobind Singh, the tenth Sikh Guru, and the Dasam Granth says he meditated at Hemkund in a former life; the name means a bowl of snow. The present gurdwara was designed and built from the mid-1960s. Wikipedia puts the number of pilgrims at about 150,000 a season.
Photos: Harshit SR (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Praveen Negi (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Rohit Sharma (CC BY-SA 4.0) — via Wikimedia Commons, resized.
Getting there
The walk starts at Govindghat, about 34 minutes by road from Joshimath. Wikipedia describes a shared taxi for the first 4 km, then the path to Ghangaria, the overnight base, then a stone-paved path of about 6 km climbing about 1,100 m to the lake. Ponies and a short helicopter hop to Ghangaria are also mentioned. We have no published walking times we can cite, so we give none; ask at Govindghat and plan a night at Ghangaria.
The rules of the place
Overnight stays are not allowed at Hemkund, so you need to start down by about 2 pm; Wikipedia frames that as the hour to leave to reach Govindghat by dusk. The path is closed by snow from October through April. Each May, Sikh pilgrims come up to repair the winter's damage to the path as kar seva, selfless service. Register for the yatra on the Uttarakhand portal before you go.
When to go
From about May, when the path is opened, until the snow closes it in October. July and August bring the monsoon to the whole valley.
Around it
From Ghangaria the other path goes about 3 km to the Valley of Flowers. Back in Joshimath, see the Narsingh Temple and Auli, read how to reach Joshimath for the road up and when to visit for the season.
Plans that include this
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Nearby places
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Questions people ask
How do you reach Hemkund Sahib?
From Govindghat, about 34 minutes from Joshimath on our routing. Wikipedia describes a shared taxi for 4 km, a path to Ghangaria, then a 6 km stone path climbing about 1,100 m to the lake. We have no walking times to cite, so ask at Govindghat and plan a night at Ghangaria.
Can you stay overnight at Hemkund Sahib?
No. Wikipedia says overnight stays are not allowed at Hemkund, so you need to start down by about 2 pm. Pilgrims sleep at Ghangaria, where a gurdwara shelters pilgrims and a handful of hotels and a tented camp take others, or go all the way back to Govindghat the same day.
When is Hemkund Sahib open?
The path is snowbound from October through April. Sikh pilgrims arrive in May to repair the winter's damage to the path as kar seva, selfless service, and the season runs until the snow returns. Register for the yatra on the Uttarakhand portal before you go.