The Beauty Of Uttarakhand

Valley Of Flowers-The Beauty Of Uttarakhand

The path of love is not a tedious path. It’s a path of joy. It’s a path of singing and dancing. It’s not a desert. It’s a valley of flowers. One sees great things from the valley, only small things from the peak. Mighty nature bounds as from her birth, the sun is in the heavens, and life on earth. Flowers in the Valley, splendor in the beam, Health on the gale and freshness in the stream. Valley of flowers is a national park and UNESCO Biosphere Reserve, this place will provide you with the spectacle of a lifetime, flowers blooming across the valley for as far as the eye can see.When the sun shines hot in the sky thousands of different beautiful flowers bloom in the land of outstanding natural beauty. valley of flowers also host Nanda Devi and valley of flowers national park, which is home to rare and endangered wild animals, including the snow leopard,brown bear, Asiatic black bear and blue sheep. A trek of about 17 km requires to get into the valley of flowers from joshimath in garhwal. Another valleys in this region is doon valley, located in sivalik hills in Dehradun.

• The Beauty Of Valley Of Flowers

Valley of Flowers is a fairy-land situated high in the Himalayas of the Uttaranchal, at an altitude of 3,600 meters above sea-level, protected by snowy mountains. Unknown to humans, for centuries this enchanting valley lay frozen during the colder months, and burst into its youthful beauty every year, as the snow melted with the advent of summer. Every year, the valley was splashed with color as it bloomed with hundreds of kinds of flowers, taking on various shades of colors as months progressed. Finally one day, nature condescended to bless humans with this heavenly sight, when Frank Smith – mountaineer, explorer, botanist – chanced upon it in the monsoon of 1931. He authored a book called “The Valley of Flowers” which unveiled the beauty and floral splendorous of the valley and made the world sit up and watch. It was declared a national park in 1982, and now it is a World Heritage Site. The locals, of course, always knew of the existence of the valley, and believed that it was inhabited by fairies.

• Trekking

Many tales are spun around the Valley of Flowers – usually about trekkers falling unconscious from the heavy scent of flowers on the valley floor. Whatever the stories, they do have a grain of truth in them, in a good way! It is rare to find a valley so full of flowers. Flowers bloom everywhere in a riot of colors- purple, yellow,

, pink… They blanket the valley in such a way that sometimes, you can’t see the valley floor at all!  To reach and admire the lovely flora at the valley of flowers, one needs to trek for about 17 kms. While en route, one has to pass through rugged terrains, but only to be greeted by perfumed wild flowers and wild rose bushes on reaching the valley of flowers. You can spot some rare species of flowers here, so all the photo enthusiasts, keep your cameras ready!

• Best Time To Visit Valley Of Flowers

The Valley of Flowers presents a different look each day when it becomes accessible from May to September. There are no human settlements inside the national park and grazing has been completely banned. The Valley becomes accessible from last week of May after the snow melts. After the melting of the snow and replenished by the monsoon rains, the plants that had started life afresh, begin to bloom in July and August. In September, the plants prepare for over eight-months of hibernation. By the end of September, the valley is again carpeted under snow.

• How to reach Valley Of Flowers Through WiWigo?

By Road

The best way for your journey is that you hire a taxi with WiWigo from Dehradun to the Valley of Flowers, for the journey is not an easy one to make and only experienced drivers should undertake the journey and WiWigo is having excellent drivers. The distance by road is around 330 km, taking around 9 hrs, and the nearest major town is Joshimath in Uttarakhand. The road is connected upto Govind Ghat ,from where it requires a trek of around 16 kilometres to reach the Valley of Flowers and the journey is not suitable for everyone, although there are ponies available to reach the destination. By road from Dehradun the route to be followed is Rishikesh-Chamoli- Joshimath- GovindGhat, via NH 58. The major stop along the way is Joshimath and then GovindGhat, after which the trek of a lifetime to the Valley of flowers is undertaken.

• Other Ways To Reach Valley Of Flowers

By Air

Jolly Grant Airport in Dehradun is the nearest airport to Valley of Flowers. It is well-connected to Delhi by flights. On reaching the airport, one can hire a taxi to reach Govindghat and from thereon, trek to the Valley of Flowers.

By Train

The nearest railhead to Valley of Flowers is Rishikesh. The roads ahead are connected only till Govindghat. Taxis are available from Rishikesh, Chamoli, Joshimath and other destinations to Govindghat.

• Variety Of Plants In Valley Of Flowers

Ranunculus, Pedicularis, MarshMarigold, Rhododendrons, Brahmakamal, Corydalis, Bistorta, Epilobium, Nomocharis, Oxypetala, Daisy, Sibbaldia, Anaphalis, Cypripedium Strawberry, Arisaema Costatum, Himalayan blue Poppy, Dianthus, Calendula, Yellow Anemones, Lilium. Flowers mostly orchids, poppies, primulas, marigold, daisies and anemones carpet the ground. Sub-alpine forests of birch and rhododendron cover parts of the park’s area. A decade long study of Prof. C.P. Kala from 1993 onwards concludes that the Valley of Flowers endows with 520 species of higher plants (angiosperms, gymnosperms and pteridophytes), of these 498 are flowering plants. The park has many species of medicinal plants including Dactylorhiza hatagirea, Picrorhiza kurrooa, Aconitum violaceum, Polygonatum multiflorum, Fritillaria roylei and Podophyllum hexandrum.