Valley of Flowers National Park
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Nanda Devi and Valley of Flowers National Parks* | |
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| UNESCO World Heritage Site | |
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| State Party |  India |
| Type | Natural |
| Criteria | vii, x |
| Reference | 335 |
| Region† | Asia-Pacific |
| Inscription history | |
| Inscription | 1988 (12th Session) |
| Extensions | 2005 |
| * Name as inscribed on World Heritage List. † Region as classified by UNESCO. |
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Valley of Flowers National Park is an Indian national park, Nestled high in West Himalaya, is renowned for its meadows of endemic alpine flowers and outstanding natural beauty. This richly diverse area is also home to rare and endangered animals, including the Asiatic black bear, snow leopard, brown bear and blue sheep. The gentle landscape of the Valley of Flowers National Park complements the rugged mountain wilderness of Nanda Devi National Park. Together they encompass a unique transition zone between the mountain ranges of the Zanskar and Great Himalaya, praised by mountaineers and botanists for over a century and in Hindu mythology for much longer. The park stretches over an expanse of 87.50 km².
The Valley of Flowers is an outstandingly beautiful high-altitude Himalayan valley that has been acknowledged as such by renowned mountaineers and botanists in literature for over a century and in Hindu mythology for much longer. Its ‘gentle’ landscape, breath-takingly beautiful meadows of alpine flowers and ease of access complement the rugged, mountain wilderness for which the inner basin of Nanda Devi National Park is renowned.
The Valley of Flowers is internationally important on account of its diverse alpine flora, representative of the West Himalaya biogeographic zone. The rich diversity of species reflects the valley’s location within a transition zone between the Zaskar and Great Himalaya ranges to the north and south, respectively, and between the Eastern and Western Himalaya flora. A number of plant species are internationally threatened, several have not been recorded from elsewhere in Uttarakhand and two have not been recorded in Nanda Devi National Park. The diversity of threatened species of medicinal plants is higher than has been recorded in other Indian Himalayan protected areas. The entire Nanda Devi Biosphere Reserve lies within the Western Himalayas Endemic Bird Area (EBA). Seven restricted-range bird species are endemic to this part of the EBA.
The Valley of Flowers was declared a national park in 1982. This part of Uttarakhand, in the upper reaches of Garhwal, is inaccessible through much of the year. The area lies on the Zanskar range of the Himalayas with the highest point in the national park being Gauri Parbat at 6,719 m above sea level.
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[edit] History
The Valley was introduced to the world as the Valley of Flowers by Frank S Smythe - mountaineer, explorer, botanist who camped here for several weeks in the monsoon of 1937 and did valuable exploratory work. He authored a book called "The Valley of Flowers" which unveiled the beauty and floral splendours of the valley and thus threw open the doors of this verdant jewel to nature-enthusiasts all over the world.
In 1939, Miss Margarate Legge, a botanist deputed by the botanical gardens of Edinburgh arrived at the valley for further studies. While she was traversing some rocky slopes to collect flowers, she slipped off and was lost for ever in the garden of the gods. Her sister later visited the valley and erected a memorial on the spot where she was buried by the locals. The thoughtful memorial is still there.
[edit] Management
There is no settlement in the national park and grazing in the area has been banned. The park is open only in summers between June and October, being covered by heavy snow during the rest of the year.
[edit] The Trek
Getting to the Valley of Flowers requires a trek of about 17 km. The nearest major town is Joshimath in Garhwal, which has convenient road connections from railheads such as Hardwar and Dehradun, both about 270 km from Joshimath.
From Joshimath, a vehicle can be hired to take you to within 17 km of the park, to the settlement of Gobindghat. The route from Joshimath to the Valley of Flowers goes along the main road to Badrinath; roughly midway along this road, a minor road branches off to Gobindghat, the roadhead for the Valley. From Gobindghat, a trek of 14 km brings hikers to the tiny settlement of Ghangaria. Valley of flowers is about 3 KM from this place. Hemkund Sahib is aroung 5 KM from Ghangaria.
[edit] Fauna
The park is home to tahr, snow leopard, musk deer, red fox, common langur, bharal, serow, Himalayan black bearHimalayan brown bear, Pica (Mouse hare) and a huge variety of butterflies. Among the important birds and Pheasant are, Himalayan Golden Eagle, Griffon Vulture, Snow Partridge, Himalayan Snow Cock,Himalayan Monal, Snow Pigeon, Sparrow Hawk etc.
[edit] Flora
Flowers mostly orchids, poppies, primulas, calendulas, daisies and anemones carpet the ground. Alpine forests of birch and rhododendron cover parts of the park's area.
[edit] Species
| No. | Name of Flowers | Time of flowering |
| 1. | Rhododendron arboreum | February-June |
| 2. | Primula denticuleta | April-July |
| 3. | Iris kemaonensis | June-July |
| 4. | Fritillaria roylei | June-July |
| 5. | Lilium oxypetalum | June-July |
| 6. | Arisaema costautum | June-July |
| 7. | Thermopsisa barbata | June-July |
| 8. | Rosa macrophylla | June-July |
| 9. | Caltha palustris | June-July |
| 10. | Fragaria nubicola | May-July |
| 11. | Saxifraga roylei | July-August |
| 12. | Anemone obtusiloba | June-August |
| 13. | Cypripedium himalaicum | June-August |
| 14. | Rheum australe | July-August |
| 15. | Phlomis oracteosa | June-August |
| 16. | Hackelia uncinata | June-August |
| 17. | Senecio jacquemotiamus | August-September |
| 18. | Ligularia amplexicaulis | July-August |
| 19. | Morina longifolia | July-September |
| 20. | Geum elatum | July-August |
| 21. | Geranium wallichianum | July-August |
| 22. | Impatiense sulcata | July-August |
| 23. | Meconopsis aculeata | July-August |
| 24. | Delphenium roylei | July-August |
| 25. | Aconitum hookeri | August-September |
| 26. | Thalictrum reniforme | July-September |
| 27. | Potentilla atrosanguinea | July-September |
| 28. | Sedum ewersii | August-September |
| 29. | Dactylorhiza hatagirea | June-July |
| 30. | Bistorta affinis | August-September |
| 31. | Stachys sericee | August-September |
| 32. | Nepeta connata | August-September |
| 33. | Pedicularis hoffmeistri | July-August |
| 34. | Swertia hookeri | August-September |
| 35. | Gentiana ornata | August-September |
| 36. | Gaultheria erichophy | August-September |
| 37. | Codonopsis affinis | August-September |
| 38. | Angelica cyelocarpa | July-September |
| 39. | Leontopodium jacotianum | July-September |
| 40. | Saussurea fastuosa | July-September |
| 41. | Campanula latitotia | August-September |
| 42. | Cyananthus lobotus | August-September |
| 43. | Sassurea obvallata | August-September |
| 44. | Cremanthodium ellisii | July-September |
| 45. | Anaphalis triplineruts | July-September |
| 46. | Inula grandiflora | August-September |
| 47. | Aster albescens | July-September |
| 48. | Selinium tenuifolium | August-September |
| 49. | Heracleum pinnatum | August-September |
| 50. | Epilobium latisperma | August-September |
| 51. | Silene setisperma | August-September |
| 52. | Arenaria griffithii | August-September |
| 53. | Corydalis junecea | August-September |
| 54. | Erigerono multiradiatus | August-September |
| 55. | Polygonum molle | August-September |
| 56. | Himalayan Blue Poppy | July-September |
| 57. | Codonopsis viridis | July-August |
| 58. | Origanus vulgare | July-August |
| 59. | Hackelia uncinata | July-August |
| 60. | Salvia hins/lanata | July-August |
| 61. | Smilacina purpurea/oleracea | June-July |
| 62. | Viola biflora | June-August |
| 63. | Rhodiola heterodonta | July-August |
| 64. | Epilohium latifolium | July-August |
| 65. | Cotoneaster integrifolius | July-August |
| 66. | Dubyaea hispida | August-September |
| 67. | Saussurea costus | July-August |
| 68. | Ligularia fiseheri | July-August |
| 69. | Androsace museoidea | July-August |
| 70. | Eritrichium conum | July-August |
| 71. | Lindelofi anchusoides | July-August |
| 72. | Thymus linearis | June-August |
| 73. | Rheum webbianum | June-August |
| 74. | Megacorpaea polyandra | June-August |
| 75. | Trillidium govanianum | June-August |
| 76. | Satyrium nepoleanse | June-August |
| 77. | Podophyllum hexaneum | June-August |
| 78. | Picrorhiza kurrooa | June-August |
| 79. | Polygonatum multiflorum | June-August |
 Morning Dew on a pink flower |
 Multi storied Flowers |
 An exquisite white flower |
[edit] External links
- Official UNESCO website entry
- Pictures, Food, Guide, Prices & Accommodation at the Valley of Flowers
- Image Gallery of Journey to Valley of Flowers
- GMVN Trek details
- Valley of Flowers National Park
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