Carved sandstone spires and figure sculpture on a temple at Khajuraho.
A carved stone chariot wheel on the plinth of the Sun Temple at Konark.
The Taj Mahal in white marble, reflected in its watercourse at dawn.
Temple ruins among granite boulders in the landscape at Hampi.
Rock-cut monuments on the shore at Mahabalipuram.
Carved sandstone spires and figure sculpture on a temple at Khajuraho.
A carved stone chariot wheel on the plinth of the Sun Temple at Konark.
The Taj Mahal in white marble, reflected in its watercourse at dawn.
Temple ruins among granite boulders in the landscape at Hampi.
Rock-cut monuments on the shore at Mahabalipuram.

Nanda Devi and Valley of Flowers National Parks

Chamoli district, Uttarakhand

Inscribed
1988
Period
Parks from 1982 and 1982
Property
Natural
Alpine meadow in bloom below snow peaks in the Valley of Flowers.
Shyammilan · CC0 · Commons

The property combines two adjacent parks in the Garhwal Himalaya: the Nanda Devi National Park, a glacial basin enclosed by a ring of high peaks around India's second-highest mountain, and the Valley of Flowers National Park, an alpine valley known for its seasonal flowering.

History

Nanda Devi's inner sanctuary was reached by climbers only in 1934. Heavy expedition traffic and grazing led to closure of the core zone in 1983, and the area has been largely off-limits since, which has allowed substantial recovery. Nanda Devi was inscribed in 1988 and the Valley of Flowers added as an extension in 2005.

Landscape and wildlife

The Nanda Devi basin is a near-enclosed glacial amphitheatre surrounded by peaks above 6,000 metres, holding high-altitude meadow, birch and rhododendron. The Valley of Flowers, at around 3,600 metres, carries several hundred flowering plant species that bloom in succession through the monsoon. Fauna includes snow leopard, Himalayan musk deer, Asiatic black bear, blue sheep and Himalayan monal.

Significance

The two parks together protect a full Himalayan altitudinal sequence and an unusually intact high-altitude ecosystem. Nanda Devi's closure is one of the few cases where access was withdrawn to let a site recover, and it worked.

UNESCO recognition

Inscribed in 1988, extended 2005, under criteria (vii) and (x) for exceptional natural beauty and biodiversity significance.

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