After the Kedarnath floods, the government opened it again to provide an alternative entry to the valley and to serve as an escape route if another natural calamity traps people living in the region. It was the original way into the valley, before the one via Ghangaria was discovered. The other, relatively new (although not really) route, is known as the Kunthkhal-Hanuman Chatti trail. You can reach Ghangaria via a trek from Govindghat, which in turn is accessible from the town of Joshimath by road. The more popular one starts from a village, known as Ghangaria, situated at an altitude of around 10000 feet. There are two alternative trails to pick for a Valley of Flowers trek, both equally scenic.
Frank Smythe even authored a book titled Valley of Flowers.īeing deep in the Himalayas, this divine setting is accessible only on foot. That is how it has been known ever since. They were so mesmerized by what they saw that they immediately called it the Valley of Flowers. They entered this heavenly looking valley, which was blooming with many varieties and colours of flowers. Holdsworth were popular British Mountaineers, who in 1931, lost their way after returning from a successful climb of Mt. Valley of Flowers would have remained hidden from mankind, had a party of 3 mountaineers not chanced upon it. This quality has bestowed it with the status of a National Park as well as a UNESCO World Heritage Site!
It is home to over 600 species of flowers that thrive in the cool climes of the Western Himalayas, making it a dream destination for nature lovers, botanists and photographers. Positioned in the district of Chamoli, it is one of those places that will make you realise just why Uttarakhand is called Dev Bhoomi, meaning the Land of the Gods. Well, as the name suggests, it is a valley, renowned for its floral diversity. Below, I share with you the treasure of knowledge that I found about this “heavenly” place. For ages, I have wanted to visit the Valley of Flowers, located in the state of Uttarakhand! So, I went to the internet, wanting to know everything I could before I plan to go. The alternative obviously is going even higher, say 10-15000 feet? Whatever havoc the summers are laying in the rest of the country, such places always remain cool. But, mind you, even there the temperature can touch 30 degree Celsius. Within the chain, there are places, mostly above the altitude of 6000 feet that are cool even during the strongest and most pathetic of summers. What you can do in such a case is head to the mountains of the North…the mighty Himalayas. Call me demanding if you will, but I feel that a technologically fabricated environment can never match the feeling of being in the relatively cool places on Earth. Yeah, we can switch on the AC to get some respite and hike up our electricity bill, but I want something more. Just as March ends, the temperature starts rising to the point, where you feel the ground burning, even if you are wearing shoes. The real winters come in late December, and before you know it, it is summers already. India is infamous throughout the world for its sweltering summer heat, which I, for one, am sick and tired of.