Returning after climbing Mt Kamet (25,447
feet), Frank Smythe, the British climber, was lost. Then he stumbled on a
valley laden with flowers.The scene was surreal. The year was 1931.
In 1937, Smythe came back to the Valley "flower-hunting." And he "came face to face with . . . the most beautiful [flora] I have ever seen . . . I had not seen this [flora] before, nor did I see it [ever] again." And he saw many other rare flowers that he had never seen before, and never saw after. In 1938 he published a book, 'Valley of Flowers,' about the valley and its flora. That book made VALLEY OF FLOWERS (VOF), little known till then, famous.
Although VOF is popularly linked with Frank Smythe, it was, since ancient times, the summer grazing ground for migratory pastoralists, and a haven for meditation for Yogis, like Yogi Yogesh Mota.
The British discovered VOF, or Pushpawati valley, in 1862 when Colonel Edmund Smythe of the Indian Army, an explorer, visited the valley.
The 87.50 sq km VOF is at an elevation of 10,098 to 12,000 feet in the West Himalyas in Uttarakhand, 520 km from Delhi. A 503 km drive from Delhi brings us to Govindghat, height, 5500 feet. From there a 14 Km trek brings us to Ghaghariya, height 10200 feet, which is the camp for VOF and Hemkunt treks. Ponies are available for this trek.
The part of the VOF we visit is 8 km long and 2 km wide. On the first day we go the nearer part of the VOF, 03 km (06 km return) trek from Ghaghriya. On the second day, we trek deeper into the VOF, 08 km (16 km return) from Ghaghriya. On the second day we see the grave of Miss Joan Margarate Legge, a botanist, who was deputed in 1939 by the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh to study the flora of VOF. When traversing a rocky slope to collect flowers, she slipped and fell and died. Her sister later visited the valley and erected a memorial on the spot where she was buried by the locals. The inscription on Legge's headstone:
"I will lift mine eyes unto the Hills
from whence cometh my help"
VOF is a National Park since 1982 and a World heritage Site since 2005. It is home to 521 alpine plants that exclusively grow in VOF. Several of these are medicinal plants. It is also home to rare and endangered fauna.
VOF is truly a slice of paradise on earth; the garden of the Gods.
Valley of
Flowers - seen by an artist's eye
Valley of
Flowers - seen by camera's eye
Valley of
Flowers - seen by camera's eye
In 1937, Smythe came back to the Valley "flower-hunting." And he "came face to face with . . . the most beautiful [flora] I have ever seen . . . I had not seen this [flora] before, nor did I see it [ever] again." And he saw many other rare flowers that he had never seen before, and never saw after. In 1938 he published a book, 'Valley of Flowers,' about the valley and its flora. That book made VALLEY OF FLOWERS (VOF), little known till then, famous.
Although VOF is popularly linked with Frank Smythe, it was, since ancient times, the summer grazing ground for migratory pastoralists, and a haven for meditation for Yogis, like Yogi Yogesh Mota.
The British discovered VOF, or Pushpawati valley, in 1862 when Colonel Edmund Smythe of the Indian Army, an explorer, visited the valley.
The 87.50 sq km VOF is at an elevation of 10,098 to 12,000 feet in the West Himalyas in Uttarakhand, 520 km from Delhi. A 503 km drive from Delhi brings us to Govindghat, height, 5500 feet. From there a 14 Km trek brings us to Ghaghariya, height 10200 feet, which is the camp for VOF and Hemkunt treks. Ponies are available for this trek.
The part of the VOF we visit is 8 km long and 2 km wide. On the first day we go the nearer part of the VOF, 03 km (06 km return) trek from Ghaghriya. On the second day, we trek deeper into the VOF, 08 km (16 km return) from Ghaghriya. On the second day we see the grave of Miss Joan Margarate Legge, a botanist, who was deputed in 1939 by the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh to study the flora of VOF. When traversing a rocky slope to collect flowers, she slipped and fell and died. Her sister later visited the valley and erected a memorial on the spot where she was buried by the locals. The inscription on Legge's headstone:
"I will lift mine eyes unto the Hills
from whence cometh my help"
VOF is a National Park since 1982 and a World heritage Site since 2005. It is home to 521 alpine plants that exclusively grow in VOF. Several of these are medicinal plants. It is also home to rare and endangered fauna.
VOF is truly a slice of paradise on earth; the garden of the Gods.
Valley of
Flowers - a flora seen by camera's eye
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