The Valley of Flowers National Park is located in Uttarakhand, India. It is renowned for its beautiful alpine meadows filled with over 300 varieties of endemic flowers. In 1982, it was declared a National Park and later a UNESCO World Heritage Site due to its rich biodiversity. The park is a popular tourist destination between July and September when the flowers are in full bloom, painting the landscape various shades of pink, yellow, and white. Some animal species found in the valley include the Asiatic black bear, snow leopard, musk deer, and red fox.
4. Valley Of Flower
Valley of flower is located in the district Chamoli near Badrinath in the state of
Uttarakhand.
It is approximately 600 kms north of National capital, New Delhi.
It was declared as National Park in 1982 and now it is a World Heritage Site under
nature category by UNESCO.
Valley of Flower is famous for its rich diversity in flora and fauna.
It has around 300 different varieties of alpine flowers which form a beautiful carpet
of Flowers!!!
The park stretches over an area of 87.50 km².
5. Nestled high in the Garhwal Himalaya, the
Valley of flowers National Park is renowned for
its meadows of endemic alpine flowers &
outstanding natural beauty.
Its gentle landscape, breath-takingly beautiful
meadows of alpine flowers and ease of access
complement the ruggard, mountain wilderness
for which the inner basin of surrounding
Nanda Devi National Park’s renowned.
6. A beautiful view from deep inside
the Valley of Flower.
The picturesque beauty of the Valley
is enchanting.
8. In 1931, Frank S. Smythe, Eric
Shipton and R.L. Holdsworth, all
British mountaineers, lost their way
while returning from a successful
expedition to Mt.Kamet and
happened upon the valley, which
was full of flowers. They were
attracted to the beauty of the area
and named it the "Valley of Flowers."
Frank Smythe later authored a book
of the same name and the valley was
known to the world.
9. River Pushpawati
River Pushpawati flows through the Valley of
Flowers. It rises from the East Kamet Glacier,
near Rataban, at the base of the Himalayas near
the central part of the Garhwal-Tibet border.
It flows in a southerly direction to join the
Bhyundar Ganga near Ghagharia. The combined
stream is thereafter known as the Lakshman
Ganga. The latter merges with the Alaknanda
River at Govindghat.
A bridge over Pushpawati River, while entering into the
Valley of Flowers
The Pushpawati rushing out of Valley of Flowers
10. CLIMATE
Being an inner Himalayan valley, the Nanda Devi Basin has a distinctive
microclimate.
Conditions are generally dry with low annual precipitation, but there is heavy
monsoon rainfall from late June to early September.
From mid April to June temperatures are moderate to cool (19°C maximum).
It has the microclimate of an enclosed inner Himalayan valley, and is shielded
from the full impact of the southwest summer monsoon by the Greater
Himalaya range to its south.
Both Basin and Valley are usually snow-bound for six to seven months
between late October and late March.
11. Valley of Flowers as seen in Mid July. The pink shade on the river bed is
Epilobium Latifolium. This flower looks very beautiful and is found on river
banks.
12. Valley of Flowers as seen in September. Valley of Flowers is turing
yellowish in colour and we will find more of berries then flowers.
13. Joan Margaret Legge Grave
In the deep inside the valley a grave has made in loving
memory of Joan Margaret Legge.
She was a botanist deputed by the Royal Botanic
Gardens, Kew, arrived at the valley to study flowers and
while traversing some rocky slopes to collect flowers, she
slipped off and lost her life. Her sister later visited the
valley and erected a memorial near the spot.
Joan Margaret Legge Grave.
15. Flora & Fauna
Valley of flower is famous for its natural beauty and wide range of flora.
Valley of Flowers comes into full bloom by 15th July and we can see maximum
number of flowers from 15th July to 15th August.
In the month of July the valley becomes lush green in color and every week
its shade changes according to the flowers.
Main flowers which blooms in the month of July includes Blue
Poppy,
Geranium,
Campanula,
Phlomis
Bracteosa,
Polemonium
Caeruleum,
Anemones,
Aster
Albescens,
Potentillas,
Thymus
Linearis, Dactylorhiza Hathageri, Epilobium Latifolium and Bistorta.
In the month of August some early flowers start maturing and the Valley of
Flowers changes its shade to yellowish green.
By September end a very less number of flowers seen and the valley is full of
different kind of berries.
Animals like Asiatic black bear, Snow leopard, Musk deer and Red fox are
found.
Birds found in the Valley of Flower includes Himalayn Monal Pheasent, Pink
Browed Rosefinch, etc.
27. Importance
The Valley of Flowers has gained importance on account
of its diverse alpine flora, representative of the Western
Himalayan alpine shrub and meadows eco-region.
The rich diversity of species reflects the valley's location
within a transition zone between the Zaskar and Great
Himalayas.
Several botanist has carried out their research work
because of abundance in variability of species of flora.
The valley has a beautiful landscape, mountains, valley in
valley, rocks, immense vegetation and varied spies, which
is important from geographical view.
This is a very good place for mountaineers and for
trekking.