Valley of Flowers
Located in Bhyundar Valley at an attitude of 3658 meters above the sea level, Valley of Flowers covers a wide area of 87 square kilometers with myriads of alpine flowers. This area is rich in varied flora and fauna. One will encounter several cascading Jungles, glaciers and waterfalls on the route to Valley of Flowers. The area remains completely covered with blooming flowers from May to October and with thick blankets of snow during winters. It is also home to over 600 species of flowers of unique colors and design. The virgin beauty of this place has always lured nature lovers, botanists and adventure lovers.
The credit for the invention of the Valley of Flowers goes to the British Mountaineers R.L. Holdsworth and Franks S. Smythe who incidentally reached this place after a successful journey of Mount Kamet in 1931. The Valley of Flowers is infested with leeches in the wettest weather. Flowers mostly poppies, calendulas, orchids, primulas, anemones and daisies are found in the valley. Alpine forests of rhododendron and birch also cover a part of the area. Every year, thousands of tourists visit this valley and enjoy the beauty offered by nature.
Nestled in the west Himalayan area, the Valley of Flowers was declared as the National Park of India in 1982. The Valley of Flowers National Park is one of the core zones of the Nanda Devi Biosphere Reserve. It is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The spotless water of Pushpawati River divides this beautiful valley into two parts. One might encounter snow leopard, blue sheep, Himalayan bear, musk deer and numerous colorful butterflies in this region. You will also enjoy the salubrious air of the Himalayas, listen to the chirping of birds and capture thick drops on the vivid flowers.
There are many tourist places and religious destinations in this area where visitors can enjoy their quality time. All these places must be visited in order to make your journey memorable. So you must add these places in your itinerary.
- Valley of Flowers National Park
- Nanda Devi National Park
- Hemkund Sahib
- Joshmimath
- Govindghat
Govindghat is located on the banks of Alaknanda River at an attitude of 1830 meters. It is the starting place of the track to the valley. Govindghat is well connected by motorable roads. The trek from Govindghat to Valley of Flowers is easy to complete and covers 16 Kilometers.
Reaching Valley of Flowers By Air: Jolly Grant Airport is the nearest airport to the Valley of Flowers. Govindghat is well connected by roads with this airport. Taxis and buses are easily available from airport to Govindghat from where one has to traverse a trek of 16 km to reach Valley of Flowers.
Reaching Valley of Flowers By Road: Valley of Flowers is connected up to Govindghat with motorable roads and from here one has to go along a trekking route to reach the valley 14kms trek Govindghat to Ghangaria and 5kms trek Ghangaria to Valley of Flower . Govindghat is located on NH 58 which makes it very easy to reach here. This place is well connected by roads with all the major destinations of Uttarakhand like Pauri, Chamoli, Rishikeh, Haridwar etc. Taxis and buses are also easily available to Govindghat from all the major places of Uttarakhand state.
Reaching Valley of Flowers By Train: The nearest railway station to the valley is Rishikesh and the roads are only connected up to Govindghat from where one has to commence trek to reach the Valley of Flowers. Rishikesh railway station is located 275 kilometers from Govindghat. Rishikesh is well connected by roads to Govindghat. Buses and taxis are easily available from Rishikesh, Chamoli, Rudraprayag and Joshimath to Govindghat.
You can visit these tourist spots while enjoying your stay in Hemkund Sahib. All these places are nearby Hemkund Sahib which can be visited as a day trip. You must add these places in your itinerary to make your trip to Hemkund Sahib more enjoyable.
- Hemkund Sahib
- Mana