Chamoli, Since the 1st of June 2019 to-date i.e. 31st October is when the famous Valley of Flowers shuts-shop for winter, the Valley has set a new record. Contributing close to twenty- seven lakh, sixty thousand rupees to the State exchequer which were collected from the 17, 424 sightseers compared to the 14,965 visitors who visited the valley last year!
“16,904 Indian visitors along with 520 foreigners made their way to Uttarakhand’s pristine Alpine meadow in the five months that it was open this year,” Ranger Brijmohan Bharti tells us.
At an altitude of 11,500 ft in Chamoli District, the six kilometer long and two kilometer wide ‘U’ shaped UNESCO World Heritage Site is part of the Nandadevi Biosphere Reserve. Interlaced with waterfalls and rolling hills, carpeted with over six hundred varieties of floral species. Home to the elusive Black Bear, Monal Pheasant, Snow Leopard and Musk Deer makes it a must-visit for those who want to treat their eyes on the rich flora and fauna the place has to offer.
Post Kedarnath Disaster in 2013, the State Government had banned the entry of tourists to this alpine meadow for three years, giving the meadow enough time to replenish and rejuvenate. In the year 2016, in an attempt to revive tourism, the meadow was re- opened to trekkers, naturalists and tourists from home and abroad.
For few, the annual opening of the Valley of Flowers from June to October was a welcome move while others worried about how the influx of tourists, receding glaciers would upset the equilibrium of what is considered the most beautiful place on earth.
For young trekking enthusiast Gayatri Saili who recently visited the Valley, it was a trek of a lifetime, “I hope those who come visiting are conscious trekkers who don’t leave behind heaps of garbage, but walk away as they found it. Scenic and pristine, ” she signs off.
