The world famous Valley of Flowers is situated in
the upper expan- sions of Bhyundar Ganga in the far int- erior of
Garhwal Himalayas. The valley is spread over an area of 87.5 Sq.
Kms. And is 3,250 mt to 6,750 mt. Above the mean sea level. The
rich references of this colouful and eye catching Valley, are found
in the animals of Indian History and literature like that of Ramayana
and Mahabharat. The rich references of this colouful and eye catching
Valley, are found in the animals of Indian History and literature
like that of Ramayana and Mahabharat.But due to its near inaccessible
approach it had disappeared from the tourists map until in 1931
when Franksmith a British mountaineer having lost his way while
returning from ssuccessful expeditionto mt. Kamat, reached this
valley which was full of flowers.He was overwhelmed by its enchanting
beauty and named it as “ Valley of Flowers".
The valley of Flowers National Park starts from Ghangharia but the
main valley starts after crossing the gorge and the stream starting
from nar Parvat, 3 Kms. Away from the Ghangharia. In the front of
the Valley stands and snowclad peak of Ratban Parvat and at the
block is the kunt Khal, towards the left is Nar Parvat which separates
the Badrinath valley from this valley and in the right hill is the
dense Birch forest.
Below the forest is the meadow. River pushpavati flows through
the valley and there are many aterfalls enhancing the beauty of
the valley. The splendour and the scintillating beauty of the
valley attracts tourists from all over the world.
The bloom starts immediately after the melting of snow but the
peak blooming period is from mid July to mid of August. Almost
300 species of wild flowers bloom here in natural way. Wherein
some of the species areAnemone, Geranium, Marsh marigold, Prinula,
Potentilla, Geum, Asters, Lilium, Ranunculus, Corydalis, Inula,
Braham kamal, Campanula, Pedicularis, Arisaema, Morina, Impatiens,
Bistorta, Ligularia, Anaphalis, Saxifrages, Sibbaldia, Thermo-
psis, Trollius, Codonopsis, Dactylorhiza, Cypripedium, Str- awberry,
Epilobium, Rhododendrons and numerous others. Most of the flowers
have medicinal values too. The abundance of Asmanda fern in this
valley is a rare sight than in other Himalayan valleys. The valley
remains is bloom for three months while the looral composition
keeps on changing every few days. By September the hue starts
changing and autumn bids farewell to flowers and the entire vegetation
remains dormant for about next five months when the valley is
snow bound.
Apart from the flowers some species of Butterfly, Musk deer,
Blue sheep ( Bharal ), Himalayan bear, Himalayan mouse hare and
some Himalayan birds & Snow leopard are also found in this
area. Due to these specialities it has always caught the attention
of the nature lovers as well as the environmentalists. To conserve
the nature’s benevolent gift and to maintain the natural
balance of the valley-the valley was declared a National Park
in 1982.