| Nanda Devi and Valley of Flowers National Parks * | |
|---|---|
| Country | 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. It is located in Uttarakhand state. 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 to the east. Together they encompass a unique transition zone between the mountain ranges of the Zanskar and Great Himalaya. The park stretches over an expanse of 87.50 km². Both parks are encompassed in the Nanda Devi Biosphere Reserve (223,674 ha) which is further surrounded by a buffer zone (5,148.57 km²).[1] This Reserve is in the UNESCO World Network of Biosphere Reserves since 2004.
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 religion for much longer. Its ‘gentle’ landscape, 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 splashed with colour as it bloomed with hundreds of different flowers, taking on various shades of colours as time progressed. The valley 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.
The valley is home to many celebrated flowers like the Brahmakamal, the Blue Poppy and the Cobra Lily. It is a much sought after haunt for flower-lovers, botanists and trekkers.
The Valley of Flowers is internationally important on account of its diverse alpine flora, representative of the Western Himalayan alpine shrub and meadows ecoregion. The rich diversity of species reflects the valley's location within a transition zone between the Zaskar and Great Himalayas ranges to the north and south, respectively, and between the Eastern Himalaya 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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The place had disappeared from the tourist map due to its inaccessible approach but in 1931 Frank S. Smythe a British mountaineer lost his way while returning from a successful expedition to Mt.Kamet and happened upon this valley which was full of flowers. He was so attracted towards the beauty of the place he named it the "Valley of Flowers". 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 Margaret Legge, a botanist deputed by the Royal Botanic Gardens 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. Her sister later visited the valley and erected a memorial near the spot. The memorial is still there.
Prof. Chandra Prakash Kala, a botanist deputed by the Wildlife Institute of India, carried out a research study on the floristics and conservation of the valley for a decade starting in 1993. He made an inventory of 520 alpine plants exclusively growing in this national park and authored two important books - "The Valley of Flowers - Myth and Reality" and "Ecology and Conservation of the Valley of Flowers National Park, Garhwal Himalaya'.
There is no settlement in the national park and grazing in the area has been banned. The park is open only in summer between June and October, being covered by heavy snow during the rest of the year.[2]
State: Uttrakhand
Exact location: The Valley of Flowers is nestled in the upper expanses of Bhyundar Ganga near Joshimath in Gharwal region and the old name of this valley was Bhyundar Valley.
District: Chamoli
Nearest town: Joshimath [1]
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 Haridwar and Dehradun, both about 270 km from Joshimath.
Govindghat is a small place close to Joshimath (around one hour distance), from where the trek starts. From Gobindghat, a trek of 14 km brings trekkers to the Ghangaria, a small settlement located about 3 km from the valley. The valley starts near a gorge over the Pushpawati River.
The park is home to tahr, snow leopard, musk deer, red fox, common langur, bharal, serow, Himalayan black bear, Himalayan brown bear, Pika (Mouse hare) and a huge variety of butterflies. Among the important birds and pheasant are, Himalayan Golden Eagle, Griffon Vulture, Snow Partridge, Himalayan Snowcock, Himalayan Monal, Snow Pigeon, Sparrow Hawk etc.
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.
| 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 |
The nearest airport is in Jolly Grant, Dehradun, 295 kilometers (183 mi) away, and the nearest railway station is in Rishikesh, 276 kilometers (171 mi) away. The closest you can get to The Valley of Flowers by road is Govind Ghat. This requires around an 11 hour drive to Joshimath from Dehradun, then another one hour to Gobindghat. From Gobindghat it is a 13-kilometer (8.1 mi) trek along a steep, narrow, but well defined mountain trail to base camp at Ghangaria. This will take between 4 and 8 hours, depending on your fitness. Ghangaria has hotels with electricity and mobile towers. From Ghangaria, another 3 km trek leads to the valley.
2. Kala, C.P. 2005. Indigenous uses, population density and conservation of threatened medicinal plants in Protected Areas of the Indian Himalayas. Conservation Biology, 19 (2): 368-378. http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1523-1739.2005.00602.x/full
3. Kala, C.P. 2005. The Valley of Flowers; A newly declared World Heritage Site. Current Science, 89 (6): 919-920. http://www.ias.ac.in/currsci/sep252005/919.pdf
4. Kala, C.P. 2004. The Valley of Flowers; Myth and Reality. International Book Distributors, Dehradun, India.
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