History of Valley of Flowers

History of Valley of Flowers - A case of Serendipitious Discovery

Summer is at its peak in India and the most wonderful news has been announced!

The Valley of Flowers has opened up for general public from June 1 and has created immense excitement among trekkers and nature lovers. The excitement is more so because it was not open for last few years due to the pandemic.

Established in 1982, the Valley of flowers National Park is one of the most globally-popular treks of the Himalayas. It is located in the higher Garhwal Himalayas in the state of Uttarkhand. The trek passes through dense forests, frigid glaciers and the gushing Pushpawati river.

This valley is known for its rare and exotic flowers and has been declared as a UNESCO World Site in 2005.

This valley has a unique history too. Nestled within the Himalayas, this area was hidden from common public for many years though Col. Edmund Smyth had discovered Pushpawati River as early as 1862.

It was accidentally discovered in 1931 by three British mountaineers Frank S. Smythe, RL Holdworth and Eric Shipton during their descent from Mt.Kamet. While descending they lost their way only to discover this heavenly valley. They named this flowery terrain, the Valley of Flowers!

One of the trekkers, Frank S Smythe an avid mountaineer, photographer, Botanist and an author, had already taken part in various expeditions to the Alps and Himalayas.

Common name: Brown’s Saxifrage , Botanical name: Saxifraga brunonis , Family: Saxifragaceae (saxifrage family)

He was so enchanted by the valley that he published a book bringing it global attention. The book details the story of his teams’ trekking adventure in upper Himalayas and how rain and sleet made them lose direction only to descend to this amazing place and discover the valley in the monsoon season.

It also records the names and features of the rare and special flowers condensed from the findings in that 1931 trip and two later trips undertaken by the author.

Joan Margaret Legge, was the next botanist to visit this valley. She was deputed by Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew in 1939 to collect some samples of the plants growing there.

However she lost her life slipping from a cliff. Later her sister built a memorial at the same spot. Trekkers going on this trail do not miss visiting this memorial.

The valley was frequented by many other trekkers since Frank and Joan.

It was closed to trekkers for some time in the 1960s due to border disputes. It was opened again and declared as a national park in 1980.

Research in Valley of Flowers

An acclaimed Indian Botanist Prof. Chandra Prakash Kala was deputed by Wildlife Institute of India to carry out research here between 1993 and 2003.

Prof. Chandra Prakash studied and listed more than 520 alpine plants growing here . Few of his findings uncovered an amazing fact – in just a short span of 3.5 Monsoon months, numerous wild flowers grew one after another in an amazing ecological succession!

He has detailed this and many other facts in his two books and numerous other articles. The names of his two books are:

The Valley of Flowers – Myth and Reality
Ecology and Conversation of the Valley of Flowers National Park, Garhwal Himalaya

His books and regular articles on the valley became the foundation for the declaration of the Valley of Flowers as a World Heritage site.

Some Mythology

Not only history, this place holds some curious mythical stories too. Locals believed that it the land was inhabited by fairies and Goddesses and hence left it untouched even before it was declared a world heritage site.

Folklore says that that Gods and the Mahabharata heroes, the Pandavas frequented this region.

Lord Brahma is said to have born from the local flower Brahma Kamal, which rose from the belly of Lord Vishnu. Brahma Kamal is a rare flower that blooms every 12 years. Also the flower takes more than 4 hours to open fully. This flower is auspicious to Lord Shiva and it is offered across all Shiva temples in this region.

You will hear more intriguing folklore and history from the locals once you do this amazing trek.

Do give this blog a read for more details on how to go to Valley of Flowers. https://kashtiadventures.com/valley-of-flowers-trek/

Blog by Kalpana