Location - History - Legends

This U-shaped alpine valley, formed by retreating glaciers and nestled high in West Himalaya, is above Ghangaria in the upper reaches of the Bhyundar Ganga in the Zanskar Range of the Garhwal Himalaya, Chamoli District, Uttarakhand (Uttaranchal), India. The gentle landscape of the Valley of Flowers National Park complements the rugged mountain wilderness of Nanda Devi National Park to the east. Bounded by high mountain ridges and peaks on all sides, this area was declared a national park in September 1982 and in the UNESCO World Network of Biosphere Reserves since 2004 and has become a World Heritage Site.

The Valley of Flowers is essentially the catchment area of the Pushpawati River, which is known as the Bhyundar Ganga, downstream of Ghangaria. It consists of a glacial corridor, 7 km long and 2 km wide, with it's source in the Tipra Glacier which descends from Gauri Parbat. It has a distinctive climate. In the monsoon, mornings are often clear, but as the day progresses, clouds gather. 

In 1931, Frank S. Smythe a British mountaineer lost his way while returning from a successful expedition to Mt. Kamet and happened upon this valley which was full of flowers. He was so attracted towards the beauty of the place he named it the "Valley of Flowers". He camped here for several weeks in the monsoon of 1937 and wrote a book called "The Valley of Flowers" which unveiled the beauty and floral splendors of the valley and thus threw open the doors of this verdant jewel to nature-enthusiasts all over the world.

In 1939 Miss Margaret Legge, a botanist deputed by the Royal Botanic Gardens Edinburgh arrived at the valley for further studies. While she was traversing some rocky slopes to collect flowers, she slipped off and was lost for ever. Her sister later visited the valley and erected a memorial near the spot. The memorial is still there.

Prof. Chandra Prakash Kala, a botanist deputed by the Wildlife Institute of India, carried out a remarkable research study on the floristics and conservation of the valley for a decade starting in 1993. He made an inventory of 520 alpine plants exclusively growing in this national park and authored two important books - "The Valley of Flowers - Myth and Reality" and "Ecology and Conservation of the Valley of Flowers National Park, Garhwal Himalaya'.