Valley of Flowers - Uttaranchal

Spread over an area of 87.5 sq kms, the Valley of Flowers has been conferred as the World Heritage Site by UNESCOin 2005. Nestled high in the West Himalayas in the Chamoli district of Uttarakhand, the Valley of Flowers National Park is renowned for its meadows of endemic alpine flowers and outstanding natural beauty.

The Valley which is a flower bed of more than 500 species of wild flowers of different colours, shapes, sizes and fragrances is bestowed with the several fresh water streams and the river Pushpawat (pushp meaning flower) that flows through it.

Have you heard or witnessed the mystic beauty of the Valley of Flowers in Uttaranchal?

Valley of Flowers is a fairy-land situated high in the Himalayas of the Uttaranchal, at an altitude of 3,600 meters above the sea-level, protected by snowy mountains. Unknown to humans, for centuries this enchanting valley lay frozen during the colder months, and burst into its youthful beauty every year, as the snow melted with the advent of summer. Every year, the valley was splashed with color as it bloomed with hundreds of kinds of flowers, taking on various shades of colors as months progressed.

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 of course trekkers, for whom a sufficient excuse to embark on a mission to reach a place, is that it exists!
This article is a travelogue aimed to guide newbies about how to reach Valley of Flowers, with a limited budget. It is for those who want to go there as a group of friends, and not part of an organised tour, which is an easier, but not so much fun way to go there.

The trip starts by reaching Rishikesh from Delhi. For logistic reasons everybody seems to pass through Delhi. It is followed by an 11 hrs bus journey from Rishikesh to Joshimath. Then, 1 hr bus ride from Joshimath to Govindghat. Then comes the 14 km trek from Govindghat to Ghangria, along the river Lakshman Ganga. This is the most difficult, but also an enjoyable part of the trip. From the base camp Ghangria, the Valley of Flowers is a 3 km climb, where one has to go daily and come back the same day. The satellite picture above can give a reasonable idea about the location and the route.

Let us start from Delhi, which most people pass through, even if they are coming from Pune, Mumbai or Calcutta. Yes, people do come from that far off, not to speak of foreigners. If you are unorganised like us, you will not have booked train tickets in advance. So, the only option is to go to the ISBT, Kashmere Gate, and catch a bus to Rishikesh. It is better to start early in the morning, as one can get a deluxe bus. In the afternoon, only the ordinary buses will be there which will stop every now and then to pick up passengers. The bus takes about 6 hours, and one will get to stop in between for snack and tea. The journey is likely to be uneventful, and not very interesting, as most commuters will be going from Delhi to Roorkee or Haridwar. We met a saffron-clad sanyasin, who was a follower of Swami Agnivesh - we had a brief chat on her ideology during a stop-over for tea. Rishikesh is a small, noisy town with Ganga flowing right through it. One can easily find hotels for overnight stay - we found a 3-bed room for Rs. 350 per day.

Dear Mukta
You speak of sattelite picture, but there is no picture accompanying the text. I find the whole series of posts a COPY- PASTE- PROCESS from another website. Pray explain.

Hmmm..you are right Aparna77. Its fair to share information from the net, but please...we are looking out for some first hand account too.

Well, I'd like to share a little interesting piece of information here about the Valley of Flowers. I do not know much about the place, although I have heard it is majestically beautiful. I guess the name itself sounds like from a fairy tale. My friend once brought for me a special thing when he visited the Valley of Flowers. Do you know what?

It was a little piece of Bhojpatra tree. Bhojpatra was used for writing in the ancient times. He said a thin peal of Bhojpatra can be pulled out from the tree; and these trees are found in abundance in the Valley.

Valley of flower is splashed with colour as it bloomed with hundreds different beautiful flowers, taking on various shades of colours as time progressed. 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.