Nanda Devi and Valley of Flowers National Park

Nanda Devi with 7,816 m height is the highest mountain of the Himalayas. It lies in the state Uttaranchal and is completely within the Indian Territory. The Nanda Devi national park surrounds the mountain and has an area of 630 square km. The Nanda Devi national park is natural habitat for many animals such as bears, snow leopards, pheasants, musk deer and snow pigeon. Nanda Devi glacier is also a major attraction. Nanda Devi was first discovered in 1936 and in 1980 declared with an area of 630 square km as the natural reserve. In 1988, it is included in the list of UNESCO world natural heritage sites.

n 2005, the natural reserve of Nanda Devi national park was extended with the inclusion of Valley of Flowers. 28 km of Badrinath situated the Govind Ghat, the starting point to the Valley of Flowers and Hemkund Lake. The excursion is among the most beautiful and most popular in Garhwal (Uttaranchal). The 10 km long Valley, covered with flowers in summer, situated between the height of 3000 m and 4000 m, was discovered in 1931. The Valley of Flowers is a long stretched valley and has over 1000 different types of flowers, of which orchid, poppy, calendula, daisy are common. The park is covered by the Alpine forests of birch and rhododendron. Most beautiful the park looks in June and July.