Youth Hostels trek to Valley of Flowers

New Delhi, Aug 3 (UNI) Youth Hostels Association of India is organising this season's first trek to savour Valley of Flowers in full bloom.

More than 400 enthusiasts from arcoss the country were expected to visit the valley, located in the Garhwal Himalaya, in batches between August 7 to 30, Programme Director J K Srivastava said in a statement here today.

The first batch would be flagged off from Rishikesh, Uttranchal, by International Youth Hostels Federation President H K Saxena.

The valley with enchanting flowers in a riot of colours and lush green medows is surrounded with snow clad mountains on three sides.

It is set at a gradient from 3,500 to 6,500 m.

Some of the prominent flowers found in this valley were saxifrags, sediams, lilies, poppy, calendular, daisies, denthus, turmopsis, primula, dadiculatar, pontitala, geranium, cipro nepolysis, holly, pansy, zinnia, petunia, fox and caropsis dynthus.

Also found were different kinds of insects, birds and butterflies.

The valley was given its name by British mountaineer Frank Smith in 1931.

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