Valley of Flowers National Park:
With forest fire raging in the Valley of Flowers, a UNESCO heritage site, for the last five days, the Uttarakhand Disaster Management Department has sought the Indian Air Force’s (IAF) help to douse the inferno.
- It is located in the Chamoli district of Uttarakhand.
- It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and forms one of the two core zones (the other being the Nanda Devi National Park) of the Nanda Devi Biosphere Reserve.
- 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 Zanskar and Great Himalayan ranges.
- It is famed for its vibrant alpine meadows, rich biodiversity, and breathtaking scenic beauty.
- It has snow-capped peaks of the Himalayas as a backdrop.
- It remains covered with a thick blanket of snow during the winter
- Exotic flowers (over 600 species) like orchids, poppies, primulas, marigolds, daisies, and anemones are an eye-catching spectacle.
- The valley also abounds in medicinal plants and herbs.
- Sub-alpine forests birch and rhododendron cover parts of the park’s area.
- It is home to such rare and amazing wildlife species like the gray langur, the flying squirrel, the Himalayan weasel, black bear, the red fox, the lime butterfly, and the snow leopard.
