Valley of Flowers opens for tourists today
JOSHIMATH: The Valley of Flower, a world heritage biosphere reserve in Chamoli district will open for tourists from June 1 and will remain open till October.
Since Chardham Yatra is at its peak this year, officials of Nanda Devi National Park are expecting a good footfall in the valley too. Last year 13,754 tourists visited Valley of Flowers including 569 foreign tourists.
After a trek of 13 km from Govindghat near Joshimath, Ghangharia is a common base for pilgrims heading to Hemkund Sahib and the valley.
A five kilometre trek from Ghangharia throws before the visitors a vista of blooming endemic alpine flowers.
The Valley of Flowers, spreading across 87.5 sq km, keeps changing its colour with a wide array of 300 species of flowers.
In the months of August and September, the valley looks resplendent with Potentilla, Geranium, Anemone, Lily and blue Himalayan Poppy, that are the centres of attraction for tourists from Germany, USA, Mexico, France, Thailand, Singapore and especially Japan, said Sanjay Kunwar, tourist guide from Joshimath.
Since there is no night halt allowed in the valley, casual visitors reach only up to Baman Dhaur to have a glimpse of the beauty of nature and head back to Ghangaria while the more ardent ones go up to Tiprakhark. Tiprakhark, a richly diverse area, is also home to rare and endangered animals including Asiatic black bear, snow leopard, musk deer, red fox and blue sheep.
With his book on Valley of Flowers published in 1947, Frank S Smith drew the attention of botanists and tourists to this place and in 2005, UNESCO declared it a world heritage.
Trilok Singh, SDO, Nanda Devi National Park said that the pedestrian trek to the valley is clear for visitors and the valley is all set to receive them.