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Site description (2004 baseline):

The Valley of Flowers National Park, its buffer zone, and Khiron Valley are located in the Chamoli district of Garhwal Himalaya. The river Pushpawati originates from Tipra glacier in the valley, flows through the Park, joins River Bhyundar and drains into the Alaknanda at Gobindghat, forming a major tributary of the River Ganga. The Park is surrounded by the snow-clad summits of Nilgiri Parvat (6,407m), Gauri Parvat (6,590 m), Rataban (5,400 m), Sapta Sringa (5,025 m), and Kunt Khal (5,855 m). The altitude ranges from 3,200 m to 6,590 m. A British mountaineer Frank Smythe is credited with having discovered this valley. The upper Bhyundar Valley became internationally known following its exploration by Smythe, first as a member of the successful Kamet Expedition in 1931 (Smythe 1932) and later in 1937, when he made an extensive herbarium collection. Over-awed by the profusion of wild flowers he named it Valley of Flowers. He recorded that the flora was as rich as or probably richer than any valley in Sikkim, with many plants of restricted distribution (Smythe 1938). As the Valley received tremendous attention from tourists and plant explorers from all over the world, the Government of Uttar Pradesh notified its 8,750 ha area as a National Park in 1982 for the conservation of its rich biodiversity. Forests constitute 529 ha, alpine pastures 1,863 ha and 6,358 ha is estimated to be under permanent snow (Kala 1998). There are three main vegetation zones in the Park and its surroundings, namely temperate, sub-alpine and alpine. The temperate zone (2,400-3,000 m) is characterized by broadleaf and coniferous forests. Sub-alpine forest (3,000-3,300m) is dominated by Betula utilis, Rhododendron campanulatum, Abies pindrow, Acer caesium and Prunus cornuta. The alpine zone begins at the treeline (3,500 m) and is dominated by herbaceous vegetation with some small shrubs. Over 500 vascular plants are recorded from this IBA of which 31 are rare and endangered, including 13 medicinal plants (Kala 1998).

AVIFAUNA: D. N. Mohan and Manoj V. Nair (pers. comm. 2003) have identified 82 bird species from this site. Except for the Yellow-rumped Honeyguide Indicator xanthonotus, which is Near Threatened according to BirdLife International (2001), no other bird of conservation concern is found at the site. It must be added here that detailed studies on the bird life of this floral paradise have not been conducted. This site is one of the only two completely protected alpine grassland and scrub habitats in India, the other being Nanda Devi NP. Although the Valley of Flowers is better known for its alpine pastures, at lower elevations it has Sino-Himalayan Temperate Forest, where many representative birds of Biome-7 are found. BirdLife International (undated) has listed 112 species under Biome-7, of which 29 have been recorded here (D. N. Mohan and Manoj V. Nair pers. comm. 2003). The Black-throated Tit Aegithalos concinnus, Grey-hooded Warbler Seicercus xanthoschistos and Black-faced Flycatcher-warbler Abroscopus schisticeps belonging to Biome-8 (Sino-Himalayan Subtropical Forest) also occur here. Although most of the Sanctuary falls in Biome-5 (Eurasian High Montane- Alpine and Tibetan) where BirdLife International (undated) has recorded 48 bird species, only seven were noted by D. N. Mohan and Manoj V. Nair (pers. comm. 2003). Surveys in the alpine zone may reveal good breeding populations of pipits and rosefinches, and such species as Spotted Bush-warbler Bradypterus thoracicus typical of alpine breeding bird communities in Garhwal Himalayas. The alpine habitats are underexplored and are likely to be excellent alpine bird habitats in view of their strict protection from grazing. The site has been designated as an IBA due to its well protected high altitude alpine and temperate forests.

OTHER KEY FAUNA: The resident fauna of the Park includes Himalayan Musk Deer Moschus chrysogaster, Serow Nemorhaedus sumatraensis, Himalayan Tahr Hemitragus jemlahicus, Asiatic Black Bear Ursus thibetanus, Bharal Pseudois nayaur, Mouse Hare Ochotona roylei, Red Fox Vulpes vulpes and Himalayan Weasel Mustela sibirica.

MAIN THREATS: Vishnuprayag Dam Project; Resulting road construction and anthropogenic factors.

The Vishnuprayag Dam in the upper Alaknanda Valley is the most serious threat to the Park. In order to boost its generating capacity, it is proposed to divert water from the Pushpavati River via a 7.5 km long tunnel. The construction of the tunnel as well as a motorable road to the shrine at Hemkund Saheb would not only have geographical impact on the Bhyundar Valley, but also change its biodiversity values forever.

Key contributors: D. N. Mohan, Manoj V. Nair and Rashid Raza.

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Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: Valley of Flowers National Park (India). Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/valley-of-flowers-national-park-iba-india on 23/12/2024.