Flora and Fauna on Pin Parvati Pass

You are never alone in the mountains. There is life all around you; in the waterfalls, you see in the distance, the flowers that bloom in the valleys, the stars that fall from the sky at night, or the animals hopping about and munching and hunting things.

Here is a glimpse of wildlife you come across on the Pin Parvati Pass trek.

Flora:

Walking in the beautiful lush green Pin valley in Kullu is no less than walking in the valley of flowers. You will find some very romantic, exotic, dwarf, pesky and ‘this could save the world’ flowers in here.

1. The romantic and elegant white flowers:

Okay so even after hours of research I am not a 100% sure of what these flowers are called but the minute you see them, you’ll definitely feel a resemble to ‘bridal veil spirea shrubs’ that you might have seen at weddings. They could be ‘Myricaria elegant’ but I am not sure. But these beautiful elegant flowers dominate the pin valley in Kullu. You’ll see them right from day 1 all the way till Odi Thatch on day 4 of your trek. You’ll walk beside them, you’ll walk amongst them, you’ll see them everywhere. They are extremely beautiful and give the entire valley a delicate and elegant feel.

2. The Mountain Fleeceflower:

These flowers get their name because of their soft velvety texture. They are mostly found in China, India and Pakistan but are extremely popular in the gardening world in Europe and the US. They look extremely beautiful when the wind blows, of course they would add a touch of wild beauty to any garden. You’ll see these flowers bloom in the summer, and they love moist fertile soil. Flowers begin white, change to pink then red then rust as they age.

Oh and butterflies love them.

3. The flower traditionally used as a blue dye: Geranium ‘Mayflower’:

You’ll see these violet-blue saucer shaped flowers throughout the trail until Odi Thatch. These charming babies are happiest in moist shady areas in summers.

Here’s a fun fact for you, these flowers yield a blue-gray dye that was used in ancient Europe to dye war cloaks, believing it would protect them in battle. For this reason, this flower was called Odin’s Grace.

4. The super healthy Dandelion:

We’ve all seen these pretty little things in gardens or bouquets or in the wilderness, however, did you know they are super good for you?

They have amazing health benefits and each part of a dandelion can be used for alternative treatments. You can make dandelion wine, fry up the flowers into fritters, make coffee and tea drinks out of the stem and seeds, and so much more.

And eating dandelions promotes digestion, aids in treating jaundice, lowers blood pressure, helps prevent cancer, lowers sugar levels in diabetics and helps cure acne.

Try these edible beauties next time you see them.

5. The nuclear radiation absorbing sunflowers:

Sunflowers, in all their colourful glory, are a happy sight to behold. We all know that Sunflowers face the sun, and that sunflower seeds are used as snacks and for extracting oil, but there is so much more to them.

Sunflowers are good at absorbing toxins and thousands were planted in Japan after the devastating tsunami destroyed the reactors in the Fukushima nuclear power plant in 2011. They soak up sunshine and nuclear radiation too. In addition to that, they make people happy. No other flower can lift someone’s spirits quite like sunflowers.

6. The flower that created havoc in Britain – the Himalayan Balsam:

These pretty little things are usually found on the banks of a river, and you’ll see a field of them along the pin river on your way to Thakur Kuan. They are pesky little invasive plants that spread quickly and wipeout it’s neighboring vegetation. Bees love these flowers over others for some reason, which further aids the pollination process.

Britain had to get scientists involved to find a solution of the invasion of this trouble maker back in 2010. Even today, in the town of Norfolk Broads, it is an offence to plant or allow these flowers to grow in the wild.

There are so many other beautiful flowers you’ll see that I haven’t even mentioned here. But, this was just to give you a gist of what you’ll find on the trail. An appetizer so to speak.

Fauna:

Spotting exotic animals on a trail depends on a lot of factors, like the season, weather conditions and sometimes on sheer luck. Pin valley is home to some beautiful creatures like blue sheep, marmots, pikas, Tibetan gazelle, Himalayan crows, brown bears and the shy snow leopards. But we didn’t get to see any of them. Badum tish!

What we did see were some very ordinary yet super special animals, and it filled our hearts with joy.

We saw wild horses…