Upon a valley that stretched so wide,
with a bush of flowers on the side,
laid out in a beautiful bed,
orange, maroon, yellow and red.

A soft and delicate wind did blow,
and upon the hill a river did flow,
and slowly quite slowly my happiness did grow -
into the valley of flowers.

-Mansi Munshi

"Lovely, I haven't seen a place like this" I exclaimed, when I saw the beauty that abounds the valley of flowers in Uttaranchal. The U shaped alpine valley had something mystical that allures tourist from all over the world. The guide told me that the valley was introduced to the world as the valley of flowers by the Frank.S.Smith, a well established mountaineer, explorer and botanist.

" What's the area of this valley" I asked my guide Pinku. " sir" said Pinku ...I cautioned him.... " Don't call me sir, call me Alen!" I pressurized. " Alen , the valley stretches over an expanse of 87.50 sq km " he informed........in addition to this he told me that this valley was declared as a national park in 1982.

" Where are the flowers?" I inquired. " Alen you should have visited this place in the months of July to mid- August...and then you should have seen the splendor of flowers". As we kept on talking, I came to know that there are 300 species of wild flowers that blooms in natural way as soon as the ice melts. "!without much flowers the valley is looking so beautiful..what if the flowers bloom"....I imagined.

As I was going through one of the local library, I found a book The Valley on Flowers. The book beautifully unveiled the floral splendor of the valley.

As I went through one of the travel books, I found a legendary story associated with the valley of flowers. In 1939, Miss Margarate Legge lost his life while researching for a botanical flower. Later on her sister erected a memorial that following inscription written on it.

I will lift mine eyes
unto the Hills
from whence cometh my strength