Hemkund Sahib Yatra by Helicopter

A suggested four-day plan

• Day 1: Arrive at Govindghat (or Joshimath) and stay the night.
• Day 2: Report at Govindghat helipad in the morning and fly to Ghangaria. Rest and get used to the altitude.
• Day 3: Early start to Hemkund Sahib on foot or by pony, darshan, and back to Ghangaria.
• Day 4: Helicopter from Ghangaria back to Govindghat, then onward.

Keep one spare day on top of this. The helicopter stops for cloud and rain, and a day with no flying is a normal event in this narrow valley, not a failure of the booking. Do not book an onward flight for the evening you plan to fly down.

When to go

The Gurudwara is open only in the summer months: its portals open in late May and close around the second week of October, with snow at either end deciding the exact dates each year. Late May, June and September usually give the clearest flying. In July and August the monsoon cancels flights and closes roads more often. For Hemkund Sahib with better weather odds, early September, once the heaviest rain has eased, is a sensible target. Our Valley of Flowers and Hemkund Sahib season guide goes month by month.

Baggage

The aircraft is small and the allowance is small with it: a maximum of 5 kg per person, and only one small pack of up to 2 kg in flight. Excess-volume baggage is not allowed. Leave heavy luggage at Govindghat and carry a daypack, proper footwear and real rain gear.

Adding the Valley of Flowers

Ghangaria is also the base for the Valley of Flowers National Park, which lies the other way from the Gurudwara and issues its own permit at the entry gate. The park opens around the start of June and closes in early October, but the bloom is concentrated broadly from mid-July through August, which is also peak monsoon. Allow an extra day at Ghangaria for the valley. See the Valley of Flowers yatra if the meadows are the main reason for your trip.

Adding Kedarnath

Kedarnath and Hemkund Sahib sit in neighbouring valleys, a long day's drive apart, and six days leaves room for both darshans without racing the weather. We do not sell helicopter tickets. Please do not contact us for tickets. Because Hemkund Sahib opens later and closes earlier, the window for both is late May to early October.

What to check before paying

• Who you are paying: IRCTC HeliYatra for the ticket, or a written quote from us for the package, and nobody else.
• Names and ID: every passenger is registered for the yatra and named exactly as on their photo ID.
• Who is flying: the sector is flown by a licensed aviation company, and you are entitled to know which.
• Cancellation: booked through us, our terms and conditions apply (a 5% administrative fee, and no refund within 14 days of departure); an IRCTC ticket is refunded under IRCTC's own rules, since we do not sell those tickets.
• The night at Ghangaria: whether it is arranged, and whether the plan has a spare day.
• Baggage: that your group can travel within 5 kg each and one 2 kg pack in flight.