Flora and Fauna

Brahma Kamal

The valley is home to many celebrated flowers like the Brahmakamal, the celestial flower which is offered to the gods, the Blue Poppy and the Cobra Lily. It is a much sought after haunt for flower-lovers, botanists and of course trekkers. The northern slopes are thickly forested with birch, rowan and rhododendron up to an elevation of 3,800 m with lichens carpeting the ground. The southern slopes at the base of the rock wall consist largely of meadows or bugyals, with a variety of alpine flowers, including anemones, asters, fritillarias, gentians, geraniums, larkspurs, lilies, orchids, poppies including the Himalayan blue poppy, potentillas and primulas, marsh marigolds. Medicinal herbs, such as rhubarb and aconite are also found in the valley.  Brahma Kamal grows on the higher reaches. 

Fairly devoid of fauna, animals that have been spotted in this region include the Himalayan musk deer and yellow-throated marten. It is believed that black bear, brown bear, Himalayan thar, blue sheep and snow leopard also frequent this area.