The valley of
flowers is located in the district of Chamoli, Uttarakhand, India. This is one
of the famous trekking routes of all times because of its unique feature of
having different types of flowers in the midst of snow capped Himalayan
mountains. This place is very special & fascinating which attracts lots of
visitors during its peak season between July to September every year.
The route:
Place
|
Altitude(m)
|
Distance (km.)
|
Rishikesh
|
340
|
-
|
Joshimath
|
1890
|
250
|
Govindghat
|
1829
|
20
|
Pulna
|
1920
|
3 trek
|
Bhyundar
|
2439
|
7 trek
|
Ghangaria
|
3049
|
5 trek
|
Valley of flowers
|
3352 (lowest), 3658 (highest)
|
4 to 10 trek
|
Valley of
flowers got recognition after its official discovery in 1931 by Frank Smythe,
though many believe that Richard Holdworth, a botanist member of Smythe’s
successful Kamet expedition was the real discoverer of this valley. The next
prominent visitor of this valley was Joan Margaret Legge, who visited this
valley in 1939 in pursuance to study the Smythe’s work on valley of flowers.
Joan Margaret Legge camped in valley of flowers for few days but died in an
accident while collecting the flowers when she slipped from a rock. In 1944,
her sister visited this valley and built a memorial tombstone attributing her
work for the valley with an inscription engraved, as follows:
“I shall lift my
eyes up to the mountains, from whence cometh my help”.
This valley has
concave shaped structure amidst snow capped mountains. The length of the valley
is around 10 km with 2 km width. The lowest
point is at an altitude of 3352 mtr.
whereas the highest point is
located at an altitude of 3658 mtr. At the other end this valley is blocked by
a massive mountain called Goradhungi, which is a snow capped Himalayan
Mountain. There is an old traditional route to an altitude of 5091 mtr. to Bank
kund, Gamshali valley and eventually to Niti, the last Indian village bordering
to Tibet, China.
The valley is
divided by the river Pushpawati along its length and many small water
streamsmelting from mountain glaciers merge with this river.
The Laxman Ganga
river flowing out from Hemkund Sahib merges with Pushpawati at Ghangaria. The
combined river retains its name Laxman Ganga until it merges with Alaknanda at
Govindghat.
Nag Tal :
On the left bank
of Pushpawatiriver, the area is known as Nag Tal, which is home to extremely
poisonous flower. This flower is blue in colour and quite attractive, the
botanical name of this flower is Aconitum Balfouri. Since the flower is quite
attractive, so one should not be tempted to touch or pluck it. Make it a point
that no flower should be plucked in order to maintain the valley’s sanctity and
ecological balance. The Nag tal is not accessible due to absence of any bridge
connecting it.
Time :
The different
time zones for valley of flowers are as follows:
April – May
:Galcial deposits melt to provide space for plants to crop out on surface.
Mid May to mid
June : The buds start appearing and few of the varieties even start blooming.
Mid June to mid
July : Many species start making their colonies and prepare to bloom.
Finally, between
mid July to 3rd week of August, the valley reaches to its youth
denoting full of flowers and this time may be considered the best time,
although this valley is visited during other times also. This flower blooming
continues till mid September and afterwards there is trend of flowers’
withering and dyeing.
The flowers of this valley:
Few of the
flowers are as follows:
Golden lily,
Pedicularis, creamy Anemones, pink Perimula, white androsace, large purple
Asters, blue Borage, rosy-petalled Cypripedium, blue forget-me-nots, green and
chequered Fritillaries, pink Geraniums, purple and dwarf Irises, dwarf
Larkspurs, Indigo-coloured Nomocharis, blue and yellow Pansies, mauve
Polemoniums, golden lilly and many others.
The trek:
One can travel
till Govindghat by using local motor transport or own vehicle. After
Govindghat, one has to trek 15 km till Ghangria for over night stay. Ponies can
be hired by those who can not trek by foot. On other day, the valley of flowers
trek is done, which is 10 km maximum one way. Out of those 10 km, 6 km is
valley of flowers. The tourists are mandatory to return on same day, as the
camping and staying is not allowed in the valley.
The place Ghangria is also the
base point for another famous holy place called Hemkund Sahib, which is 5 km
trek from this place.
For more please contact:
Dream Mountain and the links are as follows:
No comments:
Post a Comment