Summiters Adventures

Nanda Devi is renowned as being the second highest mountain in India rising tall over 7900 feet, located in Garwhal Himalayas between Rishiganga and Goriganga on two sides. The name means "Blessed Goddess". This is one of the most spectacular wilderness areas in the Himalayas. Breathtakingly beautiful viewed from any angle, it is regarded as the patron Goddess of Garhwal and Kumaon, or the Uttarkhand Himalayas. A 2-km high long ridge halves the mountain into 2 peaks towering over a staggering 25,600 feet; the west summit which is higher than the eastern summit (Nanda Devi East). Together the peaks are referred to as the twin peaks of the goddess Nanda. These scintillating mountain peaks occupy a center stage in the Indian Himalayas, with their majesty being undescribable!

The Nanda Devi National Park is situated in Chamoli district of Uttaranchal entirely at an elevation of more than 3,500 m, and it's drained in part by the Alaknanda and Saraswati rivers. Nanda Devi National Park has only as recently as 1982 been partially opened to a trickle of visitors. This world heritage site is a nature-lover’s grail of flora and fauna, and enchantment. Surrounded by the ice-capped peaks of the mighty Himalayas, imposing glaciers and periglacial lakes, witnessing this masterpiece creation of Nature comes with the price or perk of having to trek through virgin, challenging terrain. It is the home to several endangered mammals, especially the snow leopard and Himalayan musk deer. Sir Edmund Hillary himself in his autobiography, has described that “The Nanda Devi Sanctuary is God-gifted wilderness-India’s-training ground for adventure...” In 1988, Nanda Devi National Park was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site along with the nearby Valley of Flowers National Park to the northwest.