important books – "The Valley of Flowers – Myth and Reality" and "Ecology and Conservation of the Valley of Flowers National Park, Garhwal Himalaya. Timeline 1862: The Pushpawati River Valley was discovered by Col. Edmund Smyth; 1931: The valley visited by the climber Frank S. Smythe who wrote a book publicising the "Valley of Flowers"; 1934: The upper Nanda Devi Sanctuary was reached and described by mountaineers Eric Shipton & Bill Tilman; 1936: Mountaineers Bill Tilman & Noel Odell climbed Nanda Devi; 1939: The basin established as the Nanda Devi Game Sanctuary by Government Order 1493/XIV- 28 of 7/01; 1962: Border disputes closed the area to traffic, altering the local economy; 1974–82: The sanctuary was opened to mountaineering, but the ensuing degradation led to its closure to all users; 1980: The park was established as Sanjay Gandhi National Park by Notification 3912/ XIV 3-35-80; grazing and mountaineering stopped; 1980: The Valley of Flowers was declared a national park by Government Order 4278/XIV-3-66-80 under the provisions of the Wildlife Protection Act of 1972, for the conservation of its flora; 1982: The park was renamed Nanda Devi National Park; 1988: The Nanda Devi National Biosphere Reserve established (223,674 ha) with the national park as core zone (62,462 ha) and a 514,857 ha buffer area surrounding both sites; restrictions were imposed on the rights of nearby villagers. Inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage site; 2000: The Biosphere Reserve extended by the government to 586,069 ha and the Valley of Flowers National Park was added as the second core zone (62,462 ha+ 8,750 ha, totalling core areas of 71,212 ha); 2004: The two core zones and buffer zone designated a UNESCO MAB reserve. Geoclimatic Location and reaching the park Getting to the Valley of Flowers requires a trek of about 17 km (10.5 mi). The nearest major town is Joshimath in Garhwal, which has convenient road connections from Haridwar and Dehradun, both about 270 km (168 mi) south of Joshimath. From Delhi, one can take the train to Haridwar and then travel by bus to Govindghat via Rishikesh. Govindghat is approximately 24 km before another important destination of Badrinath. It is also possible to drive from Delhi to Govindghat, a distance of about 500 km. Govindghat is a small place close to Joshimath (around one hour driving distance), where the trek begins. From Govindghat, shared taxis up to 4 km and then a trek