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 The
Nanda
Devi
National
Park
is a
national
park
situated
around
the
peak
of
Nanda
Devi,
7,817
m
(25,646
ft),
in
the
state
of
Uttarakhand
in
northern
India.
It
was
established
as
national
park
in
1982
and
was
inscribed
a
World
Heritage
Site
by
UNESCO
in
1988.
It
covers
630.33
km˛. |
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The
park
encompasses
the
Nanda
Devi
Sanctuary,
a
glacial
basin
surrounded
by a
ring
of
peaks
between
6,000
metres
(19,700
ft)
and
7,500
m
(24,600
ft)
high,
and
drained
by
the
Rishi
Ganga
through
the
Rishi
Ganga
Gorge,
a
steep,
almost
impassable
defile.
Together
with
the
nearby
Valley
of
Flowers
National
Park
to
the
northwest,
it
is a
designated
World
Heritage
Site.
Both
parks
are
encompassed
in
the
Nanda
Devi
Biosphere
Reserve
(223,674
ha)
which
is
further
surrounded
by a
buffer
zone
(5,148.57
km˛). |
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The
entire
park
lies
at
an
elevation
of
more
than
3,500
m
(11,500
ft)
above
mean
sea
level. |
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Valley
of
Flowers
National
Park
is
an
Indian
national
park,
Nestled
high
in
West
Himalaya,
is
renowned
for
its
meadows
of
endemic
alpine
flowers
and
outstanding
natural
beauty.
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
gentle
landscape
of
the
Valley
of
Flowers
National
Park
complements
the
rugged
mountain
wilderness
of
Nanda
Devi
National
Park.
Together
they
encompass
a
unique
transition
zone
between
the
mountain
ranges
of
the
Zanskar
and
Great
Himalaya,
praised
by
mountaineers
and
botanists
for
over
a
century
and
in
Hindu
mythology
for
much
longer.
The
park
stretches
over
an
expanse
of
87.50
km˛. |
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The
Valley
of
Flowers
is
an
outstandingly
beautiful
high-altitude
Himalayan
valley
that
has
been
acknowledged
as
such
by
renowned
mountaineers
and
botanists
in
literature
for
over
a
century
and
in
Hindu
mythology
for
much
longer.
Its
‘gentle’
landscape,
breath-takingly
beautiful
meadows
of
alpine
flowers
and
ease
of
access
complement
the
rugged,
mountain
wilderness
for
which
the
inner
basin
of
Nanda
Devi
National
Park
is
renowned. |
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The
Valley
of
Flowers
is
internationally
important
on
account
of
its
diverse
alpine
flora,
representative
of
the
West
Himalaya
biogeographic
zone.
The
rich
diversity
of
species
reflects
the
valley’s
location
within
a
transition
zone
between
the
Zaskar
and
Great
Himalaya
ranges
to
the
north
and
south,
respectively,
and
between
the
Eastern
and
Western
Himalaya
flora.
A
number
of
plant
species
are
internationally
threatened,
several
have
not
been
recorded
from
elsewhere
in
Uttarakhand
and
two
have
not
been
recorded
in
Nanda
Devi
National
Park.
The
diversity
of
threatened
species
of
medicinal
plants
is
higher
than
has
been
recorded
in
other
Indian
Himalayan
protected
areas.
The
entire
Nanda
Devi
Biosphere
Reserve
lies
within
the
Western
Himalayas
Endemic
Bird
Area
(EBA).
Seven
restricted-range
bird
species
are
endemic
to
this
part
of
the
EBA. |
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The
Valley
of
Flowers
was
declared
a
national
park
in
1982.
This
part
of
Uttarakhand,
in
the
upper
reaches
of
Garhwal,
is
inaccessible
through
much
of
the
year.
The
area
lies
on
the
Zanskar
range
of
the
Himalayas
with
the
highest
point
in
the
national
park
being
Gauri
Parbat
at
6,719
m
above
sea
level. |
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