The Nanda Devi National Park and the adjoining Valley of Flowers National Park�
to the northwest, were inscribed a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1988. Nanda Devi Sanctuary, is a glacial basin surrounded by a ring of peaks between 6,000 metres (19,700 ft) and 7,500�m (24,600 ft) high, and drained by the Rishi Ganga through the Rishi Ganga Gorge, a steep, almost impassable defile. The entire park lies at an elevation of more than 3,500�m (11,500 ft) above mean sea level. Sir Edmund Hillary, in his autobiography, has described that the �Nanda Devi Sanctuary is a god-gifted wilderness-India�s-training ground for adventure�.
Valley of Flowers National Park is renowned for its meadows of endemic alpine flowers and outstanding natural beauty. This richly diverse area is also home to rare and endangered animals, including the Asiatic black bear, snow leopard, brown bear and blue sheep.
The gentle landscape of the Valley of Flowers National Park complements the rugged mountain wilderness of Nanda Devi National Park to the east. Together they encompass a unique transition zone between the mountain ranges of the Zanskar and Great Himalaya.
(photo – source)