Valley of Flowers National Park

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Valley of Flowers National Park is an Indian national park in the Himalayan area in Uttarakhand, India. Together with Nanda Devi National Park, it forms part of the Nanda Devi and Valley of Flowers National Parks World Heritage Site. The park stretches over an expanse of 87.50 km².

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.

[edit] History

In 1931 the English mountaineer Frank Smythe stumbled across the Bhyundar Valley, an 8 km long glacier corridor in Chamoli Garhwal. This area, surrounded by snow-capped mountains and carpeted with over 500 species of flowers, soon became a protected site.

[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] Fauna

The park is home to tahr, snow leopard, musk deer, red fox, common langur, bharal, serow, Himalayan black bear and a huge variety of butterflies.

[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

Morning Dew on a pink flower

Multi storied Flowers

An exquisite white flower

[edit] External links

• Official UNESCO website entry
• Pictures, Food, Guide, Prices & Acomodation at the Valley of Flowers
• Image Gallery of Journey to Valley of Flowers
• GMVN Trek details
• Valley of Flowers National Park

it:Parchi nazionali del Nanda Devi e della Valle dei fiori pl:Park Narodowy Dolina Kwiatów fi:Valley of Flowersin kansallispuisto sv:Valley of Flowers nationalpark