Perfect Time To Visit Valley of Flowers National Park

If words could describe the Valley of Flowers National Park in Uttarakhand, then

Eternity begins here in the “Valley of Flowers”. A land of endless meadows, with insurmountable snow capped peaks bearing icy glaciers that burst into streams, and a background of birdsong. Flowers carpet the entire valley and the leaves form a porous umbrella

Location:

The valley of flower lies in Uttarakhand bordered by Nepal and Tibet comes alive with the monsoon rain. The valley of flowers spread around 87 sq.km and declared as national park in 1982. The main Valley of Flowers is a glacial corridor, around five kilometers and 2 km wide. The Valley of Flowers National Park is located in Chamoli Garhwal, close to Nanda Devi National Park. It’s about 600 kilometers from Delhi, the nearest Airport is Dehradun and nearest railway station is Rishikesh.

Best time to visit:

The valley of flower opens from starting of June and the end of September as it's covered in snow the rest of the year. The best time to visit is from mid July to mid August, when the flowers are in full bloom after the first monsoon rain. The Valley of Flowers presents a different look each day when it becomes accessible from May to September.

Valley of Flower:

There are no human settlements inside the national park and grazing has been completely banned.

This richly diverse area is also home to rare and endangered animals, including the Asiatic black bear, snow leopard, brown bear and blue sheep.  The valley is also home to several fauna like Himalayan musk deer, yellow throated marten, snow leopard, blue sheep, black and brown bears. It is also home to a variety of birds like Himalayan golden eagle, snow partridge, Himalayan snow cock, Himalayan monal, snow pigeon and sparrow.

Where to stay

There are no accommodation facilities inside the Valley in Flowers as visitors are not allowed to stay inside the park. Hotels and lodges can be found in Ghangaria.

Where to eat

Like options to stay, there are no options to eat inside the park too. It is advisable to carry enough food stocks to last your trek. Ghangaria is the place where one can find restaurant and hotels.

Important Tips:

Access to the National Park is checked at the entrance to the gorge just above Ghangaria, where a small entrance fee is payable.

Don't trample on flowers to take those photographs!

Wear warm clothing and carry packed food and water.

Make sure you're physically fit to undertake the trek. Carry first-aid and any medication that you are normally advised.

Some Unknown Indian Historical Facts

India is a country of diverse cultures, varied religions and innumerable languages and dialects. There are several fascinating things about this country’s history that you may not know. Here are just some of them…

·         World’s first university was built right here in India. The University of Nalanda in Takshila was established in 700 BC and is often termed as one of the biggest achievements of ancient India in the field of education. Students from all over the world came here to study courses in more than 60 subjects.

·         The three mathematical subjects Trigonometry, Algebra and Calculus have their origins in India. In fact, Sridhatacharya used quadratic equations as early as eleventh century. According to historical records, for Germans and Romans, the largest numbers were limited to 106 whereas Hindus used numbers as large as 10*53(10 to the power of 53) as early as 5000 BC with specific names for each. Even now, the highest that modern mathematics has gone to 10*12(Terra or 10 to the power of 12)

·         Indian medicine history shows usage of anesthesia from ancient times. Many ancient Indian texts give detailed account of the knowledge the ancient medical practitioners had of embryology, anatomy, metabolism, digestion, etiology, immunity and genetics.

·         Ayurveda enjoys the distinction of being the earliest known school of medicine known to mankind. It was actually consolidated by Charaka, also known as Father of Medicine, over 2500 years ago.

·         Your favorite board game, Snakes and Ladders, was created in this country by a 13^th century poet Gyandev. Originally known as ‘Mokshpat’ and played with dices and cowrie shells, the ladders and snakes were a way of indicating virtues and vices that happen in a person’s life.  The game was a way of showing that good deeds are a way of taking a man up in his life while the snakes indicated the evil that takes a man through the cycle of rebirths.

·         One of the greatest contributions of India to western philosophy is grammar. Composed by Panini, the world had its first formal grammar lesson between 750 and 800 BC through his Astadhayi.  

·         It was Bhaskaracharya who calculated the exact time taken by Earth to orbit sun hundreds of years before the famed astronomer Smart. He gave the time to be 365.258756484, later confirmed by Smart.

·         It was recently proved by USA base IEEE organization that it was Prof Jagdish Bose and not Marconi who pioneered the wireless communication.

·         Surgery was an intimate part of Indian Medicine. In fact, Sushruta is termed as father of surgery as even 2600 years ago he was performing complicated procedures of brain surgery, plastic surgery, artificial limbs, cataract, caesareans, and urinary stones along with his fellow scientists. Over 125 surgical instruments were found to be used by them for these procedures.

·         Sanskrit is said to be the mother of all European languages. In fact, according to a Forbes magazine report, it is the most suitable language that can be used to design a computer software.
 

India Travel Tips

India offers a different aspect of her personality – exotic, extravagant, elegant, eclectic to each traveler to the country

If you're planning to visit the India, fallowing travel tips can make your passage to India  much more comfortable and rewarding.

DO

Travel light. You don’t want to drag heavy bags in this climate. India is about cultural immersion, not wardrobe changes. Pack only unlined cotton, linen, rayon, and thin silk clothes anything synthetic or heavier, and you will drip sweat. Bring a cotton-knit cardigan or light shoulder-wrap for frostily air-conditioned hotels and restaurants. Bring a zippered backpack or tote bag when you’re touring or walking around. You’ll be making a lot of impulse purchases and don’t want to carry around a bunch of plastic shopping bags. Forget about perfect grooming. You’ll soon get used to the heat, humidity, and dirty air. If you’re traveling on the cheap, bring an airline pillow for your comfort on crowded buses and trains and for overnights in less-than-deluxe digs. Drink sterilized water: Do not drink tap water. Carry water everywhere or buy on the fly.

DON'T...

Don’t avoid taking cabs. They are cheap. If your cab doesn’t have a meter, negotiate the price beforehand. 

Don’t pack shoes or anything with heels. Streets and attractions lack surfaces flat enough to handle any kind of heel. Even in nice restaurants, fancy shoes are overkill. Indians wear flip-flops or go barefoot. Jeweled flip- flops are as dressy as you need. Sneakers are fine for touring.

Don’t bring expensive jewelry, bags or sunglasses. Not only is India very casual, you don’t want to call attention to yourself or worry about your stuff

Last but not the least, Don’t show too much skin. Kama Sutra aside, this is a modest culture.

Accommodation

Reservations – You can book by phone or email.
Ask for a pick up - this seemed to work 60% of the time. When booking your reservation, ask for a pick up from the train station if that’s how you’re arriving.

Shopping

 There are always many, many vendors for every product ,go shopping at all non ivy league streets- u'll find some great stuff- local and traditional- search-Bargain- buy! Use this principle and u'll be fine

Bargain shamelessly with vendors. They expect it and will typically go down to about two-thirds of their asking price.