Hemkund Sahib, Hemkund Saheb Yatra

Hemkund Saheb is actually the name of a lake which is a holy place for the Sikhs. In his autobiography "Vichitra Natak" (which is a part of the "Dasham Grantha") the Sikh guru Guru Govind Singh mentioned a lake beside which, in one of His earlier incarnations, He prayed. It’s written that the lake was situated between 7 snow clad mountain peaks.

In 1930, Habildar Sohan Singh discovered this lake and it is believed to be the same lake which was mentioned by Guru Govind Singh.

Hemkund Saheb is at a height of 14203 ft and is a 18 km journey from Govind Ghat. If you are traveling by a cab or a bus, it would drop you at Govind Ghat. From there you would have to walk 13 km to reach Ghangaria which is at a height of 10000 ft. From there the road divides into two, one goes to Hemkund Saheb and the other goes to the Valley of Flowers. From Ghangaria, Hemkunmd Saheb is another 5 km walk.

There are Tourist Rest Houses and refreshment centers available at Ghangaria, so if you want to stay overnight, you need to halt at Ghangaria.