The Valley of
Flowers National Park is an Indian National Park located in West Himalayan range of Uttarakhand and is known for its meadows of native alpine flowers and the variety of flora. This richly
diverse area is also home to rare and endangered animals, including the Asiatic black bear, snow leopard,
musk deer, brown bear, red fox, and blue sheep. Birds found in the park include Himalayan Monal Pheasant and other high altitude birds. The gentle landscape of the Valley of
Flowers National Park complements the rugged mountain wilderness of Nanda Devi National Park to the east. Together, they encompass a unique transition
zone between the mountain ranges of the Zanskar and Himalaya. The valley was declared a national park in 1982 and now it is a World Heritage Site.
The place was little
known to outside world earlier. In 1931, Frank S. Smythe, Eric
Shipton and R.L.
Holdsworth, all British mountaineers, lost their
way while returning from a successful expedition to Mt.Kamet and happened upon the valley, which was full of flowers.
They were attracted to the beauty of the area and named it the "Valley of Flowers." Frank
Smythe later authored a book of the same name.




Getting to the Valley of Flowers
requires a trek of about 17 km (10.5 mi). The nearest major town is Joshimath in Garhwal,
which has convenient road connections from Haridwar and Dehradun,
both about 270 km (168 mi) from Joshimath. From Delhi, one can take
the train to Haridwar and then travel by bus to Govindghat via Rishikesh. Govindghat
is approximately 16 km before another important destination of Badrinath.
It is also possible to drive from Delhi to Govindghat, a distance of about
500 km.
