The Valley of Flowers

 
The Valley of Flowers National Park is the second core zone of the Nanda Devi Biosphere Reserve. The credit for the discovery of the Valley of Flowers goes to the British mountaineers Franks S. Smythe and R.L. Holdsworth who incidentally reached this valley after a successful expedition of Mount Kamet in 1931.

Distance from Delhi: 505 kms + 17 kms (trek)
Best season: August to October

Nestled in the west Himalayan region, Valley of Flowers covers a vast expanse of 87.50 sqkms with myriad alpine flowers. Valley of Flowers is situated in Bhyundar Valley at an elevation of 3,658 mts above sea level. You will encounter numerous cascading waterfalls on the route to Valley of Flowers. The region of Valley of Flowers is rich in varied flora and fauna. The valley of flowers was declared as the National Park of India in the year 1982 and it is now a world heritage site. The virgin beauty of this mystical valley has always lured botanists, nature lovers and adventure lovers.

Ghangaria is the last human habitation centre on the way to Valley of Flowers. Ghangharia (3,046 mts) is a scenic hamlet, situated 13 kms from Govindghat. Valley of Flowers lies in Chamoli district of Uttarakhand state offering diversified beauty of nature. The region remains completely covered with thick blankets of snow during winters and with blooming flowers from June to October. The Valley of Flowers is the home of over 500 species of wild flowers of unique design and colors.

Opening Time of Valley of Flowers

The Valley of Flowers National park remains open for visitors from 1st June to 31st October.
The best time to visit Valley of Flowers is during July, August and September.

Valley of Flower Seasons

• In May: The Valley of flowers becomes accessible in the last week of May when snow starts melting. In the month of May you will see a lot of snow but very less number of flowers. Advantage in visiting in May is that there will be no to less rain as the rainy season starts in the last week of June.
• In June: This month is flooded by a lot of pilgrims for Shri Hemkund Shahib, resulting in high cost of Food, Stay and transport facility. Also the availability of rooms gets affected. But, still certain specific flowers can be seen in this month. Also you can enjoy watching huge and beautiful glaciers, waterfalls in the valley of flowers. The biggest benefit in visiting in this month is that there will be very less to no rain. (Rain triggers landslide in this area and your plan may be affected). Rainy season starts only in June end or in first week of July.
• In July and August: As snow starts melting in May and new plants starts germinating and grow up till now. You will see a lot of flowers blooming till mid July. There are almost 650 varities of flowers in total that can be seen in Valley of Flowers. The Best time to see maximum number of flowers is mid July to Mid August.
• In September: The September is the Automon season of Valley of Flowers. This is the last month for visiting valley of flower. The plants starts drying up and put their seeds on the earth for the next season. Slowly at the end of the month and in the Next Month snow starts falling and the valley becomes inaccessible. The Last official trip to Valley of Flowers is generally taken in the last week of September.

The pristine water of Pushpawati River divides this enchanting valley into two parts. Capture thick dew drops on the vivid flowers, listen to the chirping of birds and enjoy the salubrious air of the Himalayas. This Valley was introduced to the world as the Valley of Flowers by Frank S, Smith, a mountaineer, explorer and botanist who camped here for several weeks in the monsoon of 1937. The locals always knew about the existence of the valley and believed that it was inhabited by fairies. The region is also rich in varied fauna and you might encounter Himalayan bear, snow leapord, musk deer, blue sheep and several colorful butterflies.

Note: Tourists are not allowed to stay in the Valley of Flowers and therefore there is no accommodation in the Park. You can stay at private lodges and hotels in Ghangaria, the base camp for your trek to the Valley of Flowers..