Nanda Devi view from Auli. Nanda Devi North and Nanda Devi South are two important glaciers, each with a length of approximately 19 km located in the river Rishi Ganga catchment. These glaciers
originate on the southern slope of Nanda Devi peak (7108 m). We share pictures of areas that form part of the Nandadevi Biosphere Reserve. U see Auli, Ghagharia, Valley of Flowers, Badrinath,
last Indian village Mana. Atleast 15 pics are of different types of trees and flowers.
View of Auli from Ropeway. Nanda Devi National Park is a World Heritage site. Entrance to the park is restricted. Nanda Devi is situated in the Chamoli district of Uttranchal. U drive from Rishikesh
to Joshimath, then another 25 kms to the roadhead at Lata. Visit famous Nanda Devi temple there. The park remains open from 1st May to 31st October.
Auli -Meadow of Anemones with Oak forest.
Bugyals. Dr Chokshi contributed to narrations and taken info from other sites. To read about the Nanda Devi Biosphere Reserve click here
Oak lined road to Auli. The total core area of the biosphere consisits of of 712.12 Sq. Km. and it comprises two National Parks of international repute. The First and the foremost is the Nanda Devi
National Park which has a total area of 624.6 Sq. Km and the the other is the Valley of Flowers National Park which has a total area of 87.5 Sq. Km.
U see Auli. It is a skiing resort just above Joshimath. To see pics of skiing at Auli click here
Snowcapped 8000 m+ peaks from Auli.
Rugged landscape with meadow - to Niti Pass. Malari Glacier (in the Nandadevi Biosphere reserve) is approximately 60 kilometers from Joshimath and lies enroute to
Niti village, the last village on the Indo-Tibetan border. Motor-able road goes all up to the village of Bampa and from there you have to trek 6 kilometers to Niti village.
Enroute to Niti Pass 5300 ie on the eastern boundary of this biosphere reserve.
Anemone Obtusiloba flower.
Arisema Tortuosum.
Cirsium Falconeri-Falconer''s Thistle.
Codonopsis spp.
Forest Ferns.
Forget-me-not.
Golden Emperor Butterfly.
Meconopsis aculeata-Himalayan Blue Poppy.
Morina Longofolia.
Potentila Nepalensis - Nepal Cinquefoil.
Silver Birch-Bhojpatra.
Silver Fir.
Maple.
Snaking Mountan Road from Joshimath that takes u to Badrinath.
Landslides are a common feature in the hills. The sooner u accept them the happier your journey would be.
One hour before Badrinath u get off on the highway and then proceed to Ghangharia (tough trek). From here u can go to Hemkunt Sahib and Valley of Flowers. Clicked enroute to Ghangharia.
It is a great yet tough trek. Loved it.
Nice paved walkway in Ghangharia. There were no walkways during my first trip there in 1989. To see pics of Valley of Flowers click here
u see Pushpavati River - Valley of Flowers.
Near source of river Alakananda near Badrinath.
River Alakananda Badrinath. As it flows at Devprayag it joins with the Bhagirathi to become the Holy Ganga.
Vyasa Cave. This is the entrance to the cave where Veda Vyasa sat and wrote the Mahabharata with Ganesha as his scribe. It is in this cave that he collected the Vedas and divided them into four parts.
Entry to Mana last Indian village. If you see the map Mount Kailash is very close to here but after China''s illegal occupation of Tibet one has to do a five day drive from Kathmandu or trek thru Kumaon.
Locals of Mana.
Mana 3118 ms. Left of pic is Dr Salil Chokshi who has contributed these pics.
A typical house in Mana, invariably saw houses made of stone.
Meadows and Morraine. Moraine is material transported by a glacier and then deposited.
Moraine Rocks -spherical and sub-angular. What we see is Lateral Moraine (one of the 8 types of Moraine). Lateral moraine forms along the edges of the glacier. Material from the valley walls is
broken up by frost shattering and falls onto the ice surface. It is then carried along the sides of the glacier. When the ice melts it forms a ridge of material along the valley side.
Morraine, formed by retreating glaciers.
Glacier at Mana.
Devprayag is the point at which the Bhagirathi and Alakananda rivers join to become the Ganga. U can see the water coming in from two different sides.
After a tough trip we returned to Rishikesh. What better place, then Laxman Jhoola (whose pic u see) to relax.