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The Valley was introduced
to the world as the Valley of Flowers by Frank S, Smith
- mountaineer, explorer, botanist who camped here for
several weeks in the monsoon of 1937 and did valuable
exploratory work. He authored a book called "The Valley
of Flowers" which unveiled the beauty and floral
splendours of the valley and thus threw open the doors
of this verdant jewel to nature-enthusiasts all over the
world.
In 1939, Miss Margarate Legge, a botanist deputed by the
botanical gardens of Edinburgh arrived at the valley for
further studies. While she was traversing some rocky
slopes to collect flowers, she slipped off and was lost
for ever in the garden of the gods. Her sister later
visited the valley and erected a memorial on the spot
where she was buried by the locals. The thoughtful
memorial is still there and the lines inscribed on the
marble slab read:
Also inhabiting the place are the Himalayan black bears,
musk deers, brown bears, snow leopards, tahr, bharal,
serow and an amazing variety of butterflies. A large
number of nature lovers, environmentalists and tourists
descend upon the valley every year. The valley can be
visited only during the day and overnight stay is
prohibited.
The valley is home to many celebrated flowers like the
Brahmakamal, the Blue Poppy and the Cobra Lily. It is a
much sought after haunt for flower-lovers, botanists and
of course trekkers, for whom a sufficient excuse to
embark on a mission to reach a place, is that it exists! |
