Located in Chamoli district of Uttarakhand in Himalayan India, Hemkund Sahib gurudwara is among those rare places which provide an excellent mix of adventure and pilgrimage. Hemkund Sahib (also spelled Hemkunt) is a Sikh place of worship Gurudwara, known as Gurudwara Sri Hemkunt Sahib Ji, devoted to Guru Gobind Singh Ji (1666–1708), the tenth Sikh Guru, which finds mention in Dasam Granth, a piece of work believed to be narrated by Guru Gobind Singh Ji. It is situated at one end of a glacial lake surrounded by seven mountain peaks and each peak adorned by a Nishan Sahib on its cliff, it is located in the Himalayas at an elevation of 4632 meters (15,200 ft).
Just like Valley of flowers (read: http://vagabondimages.in/2013/09/11/valley-of-flowers/) approach to Hemkund is also via Joshimath, Govindghat and Ghangaria. From Ghangaria it is a 1,100-metre (3,600 ft)climb on a 6-kilometre (3.7 mi) of stone paved path leads Hemkund. Overnight stay is not allowed at Hemkund Sahib and so it is necessary to leave by 2 pm to make it back to Ghangaria by nightfall. There are gurudwaras for pilgrims and tourists at Govindghat (at confluence of Alaknanda and Laxman Ganga rivers) and another one at Ghangaria (at confluence of Laxman Ganga and Pushpawati rivers). Laxman Ganga originates from Hemkund, where is a Laxman temple, just behind the Gurudwara.
Although Hemkund has many mytholgical references, but the Gurudwara here was constructed in 1960s by some Indian armymen. Area around Hemkund lake is also known for some very rare flora including Brahma Kamal, which is state flower of Uttarakhand.
