The stunning landscape of The Valley of Flowers National Park in northern India's state of Uttarakhand, bordered by Nepal and Tibet, comes alive with the monsoon rain.

Best time to visit Valley of Flowers National Park

The Valley of Flowers is only open from the beginning of June until the beginning of October, as it's covered in snow the rest of the year. The best time to visit is from mid July to mid August, when the flowers are in full bloom after the first monsoon rain.

If visit before July, you’ll find hardly any flowers at all. However, you will be able to see snow and melting glaciers. After mid August, the color of the Valley changes quite dramatically from greenish to yellowish, and the flowers slowly die. In September, the weather becomes clearer with less rain but the flowers start drying up.

Entry Fees and Charges

The entry fee is 650 rupees for foreigners and 150 rupees for Indians for a 3-day pass. Each additional day is 250 rupees for foreigners and 50 rupees for Indians. There’s a Forest Department checkpoint less than a kilometer from Ghangaria, which marks the official beginning of The Valley of Flowers. This is where you pay the money and obtain your permit. (Make sure you carry appropriate ID).

Expect to pay 1,000 rupees upwards per person for a porter or a mule (depending on demand), for the trek to Ghangaria. Cheap plastic raincoats are also available for purchase at Govind Ghat. A guide will cost about 2,000 rupees. Travel by helicopter one way from Govind Ghat to Ghangaria (or the opposite direction) costs about 3,500 rupees per person.