Rain and snow over
the past few weeks have blocked the progress of nature-lovers and
adventure-seekers to Uttarakhand’s tourism showpiece, the picture-postcard
Valley of Flowers nestled in the lap of Himalayas, officials said on Tuesday.
Since Monday, when
the Unesco World Heritage Site was thrown open for visitors for the season, not
a single visitor has been able to trek up to the Valley of Flowers, located at
over 3,500 metres above sea level in Chamoli district.
The Valley of
Flowers turns into a riot of colours at this time of the year when every wild
flowers of every hue fill up an 87 square km expanse, drawing tourists and
botanists to the place.
It was declared as
a World Heritage Site in 2005 by Unesco which described it as a “richly diverse
area….home to rare and endangered animals, including the Asiatic black bear,
snow leopard, brown bear and blue sheep.”
The Valley of
Flowers is also part of the Nanda Devi National Park.
Official said that
tourists will have to wait a little longer since a crucial 3-km stretch in the
valley is covered with snow at some points.
Tourists have to
negotiate 4 kms from the base camp at Ghangharia in Chamoli district, some 300
km from Dehradun to reach to meadows. The visitors are required to return on
the same day since tourists are not allowed overnight stay in the valley.
“We are letting
the glaciers to melt in a natural way. Chief minister Harish Rawat has also
advised us not to clear glaciers artificially,” said Rajiv Dhiman, divisional
forest officer (DFO) of Nanda Devi National Park.
“We are waiting
for next 8-10 days and by then it is not advisable for tourists to trek.”
The hiking trails
and small bridges in the valley were damaged in the 2013 flash floods which had
killed over five thousand people in the Uttarakhand hills.
Prior to flash
floods, thousands visited the valley but the numbers dropped sharply in the
last two years, officials added.
In 2012, over 5000
tourists visited the Valley of Flowers while only 484 visited in 2013. Last
year, the number came down to a mere 81.
“It took lot of
time in maintaining treks and bridges. We were hoping the numbers to grow this
year but weather seems erratic,” the DFO said.
Chandrashekhar
Chauhan, a local explorer from nearby village Ghangheria who has taken pictures
of almost 350 different species of flowers says valley is a visual treat for
the trekkers.
“A visitor often
goes to the valley with a mind set of watching the flowers in a great multitude
of colour and most of the times it happens,” Chauhan added.
