Valley of the flower by Rishikesh Day Tour

Do you want to go trekking in India in the Himalayas? Perfect. But instead of frozen landscapes and steep peaks, choose the Valley of Flowers, the smallest Himalayan national park.

So particular, delicate and movingly beautiful to have convinced even UNESCO to include it in the list of human heritage along with the nearby and more famous national park of Nanda Devi.

How do you feel walking in a natural garden that seems to come out of a painter's mind? Imagine walking in the midst of 300 varieties of wildflowers, set in the Himalayan environment, where unique endemic species live in the world, rare brown bears from the collar, flowers called 'Lotus of the gods', birches and rhododendrons in the background and the Pushpawati river it flows beside you. Do not you feel better already just thinking about it?

The Valley of Flowers National Park is located in the state of Uttarakhand, in the district of Chamoli: we are in northern India, near the border with China. Although not as famous as the Rajasthan tour, it is a relatively small area (covering an area of 87.5 sq. Km) but with such a special microclimate that it has become the paradise of botanists all over the world.

The most famous of the scientists who were struck by the beauty of the place is Frank Smythe: he explored the Valley of Flowers for a long time in the '30s and was so impressed to write a book about it,' The Valley of Flowers', which brought the world aware of the park and where he wrote 'The Bhyundar valley is the most beautiful I've ever seen'.

Thanks to a set of brightly colored flowers, which create a very scenic effect: anemones, violets, geranium, gentians, primroses, rhododendrons, roses, all wild and spontaneous, an immense bouquet of wildflowers that would also move the soul more cynical. And in the background the birches, the peaks of the Himalayas (to be precise the 6,464 m of the Nilgiri and the 6,166 of the Rataban), the classic alpine flora, the purity of the air and the sky.

The Valley of the flower is a very nice place for trekking, but it can only be reached during the day from June to October: in the other months, the road that connects it to the nearby village of Ghangaria is hardly feasible. And keep in mind that even getting to the village itself is not easy, so trekking in the Valley of Flowers is not to be considered affordable for everyone. Seek an expert guide and find out well before leaving.

However, in addition to flora and fauna, in the vicinity of the Valley of Flowers, there are many sacred places that are worth seeing, also because they represent the door of another world, a sacred and still authentic and distant India. From mass tourism. First of all, Hemkund, the sacred Sikh lake located at 4,500 meters above sea level. According to the Sikh religion, on its shores it stopped to meditate on Guru Govind Singh, so be prepared to share the path with many pilgrims traveling for reasons of faith. And then the sanctuary dedicated to Vishnu, Badrinath, a sacred place for followers of the Hindu religion at 3,150 meters above sea level.