Context:

=> The Valley of Flowers was recently opened for tourists.

Key Points:

=> It is located in Uttarakhand.

=> Declared a National Park in 1982, the Valley of Flowers stretches over an expanse of 87.50 sq. km.

=> It was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2005.

=> The valley was an accidental discovery by an avid British mountaineer and a botanist, Frank S Smythe, when he was traversing through the region in 1931.

=> The valley today is home to over 600 flowering species, including some exotic varieties like Brahmkamal, which is also the state flower of Uttarakhand.

=> Blue poppy, described as the Queen of Flowers, can also be found here.

=> The region also has a rich faunal diversity with species like the leopard, musk deer, and blue sheep.

=> It is located on a unique transition zone between the mountain ranges of the Zanskar and Great Himalaya.

=> The park lies completely in the temperate alpine zone.