Valley of Flowers National Park Closes After Record Season

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Key takeaways

The Valley of Flowers National Park in Uttarakhand closed for winter after seeing a record 35,261 visitors.
Located at an altitude of 3,600 metres in Chamoli, this 87.5 sq. km park is part of the Nanda Devi Biosphere Reserve.
Discovered by Frank S. Smythe in 1931, the area became a National Park in 1982 and a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2005.
The park houses over 500-600 flowering species like Brahmakamal and rare fauna including snow leopards and musk deer.

Uttarakhand's famous Valley of Flowers National Park has closed for the winter season.
The park welcomed a record-breaking 35,261 visitors during its five-month opening season this year.

It is a high-altitude national park known for its colourful alpine flower meadows and rich ecosystem.
The area is recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site and forms a core zone of the Nanda Devi Biosphere Reserve.
It is located in the Chamoli district of Uttarakhand near Joshimath in the Western Himalayas.
The valley lies at an average height of 3,600 metres to over 4,000 metres above sea level.

Local people call this area the Bhyundar Ganga Valley.
According to Hindu beliefs, this is the Gandhamardan mountain where Lord Hanuman found the Sanjeevani herb.
British mountaineer Frank S. Smythe and his team accidentally discovered the valley for the outside world in 1931.
Frank S. Smythe later wrote a famous book titled The Valley of Flowers.
The Indian government declared it a National Park in 1982.
The park joined the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2005 as an extension to Nanda Devi National Park.

The park covers an area of 87.5 sq. km and has more than 500 to 600 species of flowering plants.
Famous flowers found here include the Brahmakamal, blue poppy, and primula, along with birch and rhododendron forests.
The sanctuary provides a home to rare animals like snow leopards, musk deer, black bears, red foxes, and blue sheep.
The Pushpawati River flows through the valley after starting from the Tipra Glacier.
This river joins the Bhyundar Ganga near Ghangaria and later feeds into the Alaknanda River.
Tourists can visit the park only from June to October because heavy snow blocks access for the rest of the year.

The valley forms a natural bridge between the Zanskar range and the Great Himalayas.
It protects a vital transition area between high alpine meadows and cold desert regions.
The area acts as a natural storehouse for valuable medicinal plants like Aconitum heterophyllum, Dactylorhiza hatagirea, and Picrorhiza kurroa.