Valley of Flowers Best Time & The Blue Poppy Story: How a Passion Became a Profession

Name: Valley of Flowers Best Time & The Blue Poppy Story: How a Passion Became a Profession
Uploaded: 2026-11-12T19:00:00+05:30
Duration: 13 min 14 s
Description: Valley of Flowers best time to visit, explained by the founders of Blue Poppy Holidays, Devkant and Seema Sangwan, in conversation with one of our guests among the liliums at Blue Poppy Premier, Joshimath. Filmed in July 2026.

Blue Poppy Premier, Joshimath · 13:13 · Watch on YouTube

Valley of Flowers best time to visit, explained by the founders of Blue Poppy Holidays, Devkant and Seema Sangwan, in conversation with one of our guests among the liliums at Blue Poppy Premier, Joshimath. Filmed in July 2026.

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Transcript

Hello, all. I'm with a very unique couple, a very compatible couple, and I'm so happy to have met them. I'm in a place called Blue Poppy Premier in Joshimath, and we have come for this Valley of Flowers trek, and we have gone and stayed in their properties: in Auli also, and in the Swiss camps in Ghangaria. And believe me, anyone who comes here will want to come here again and again. So let me start by asking both of them to first introduce themselves, and let me find out why they wanted to take up this field.

See, I'm Devkant Sangwan. I'm Seema. So basically we started this business in 2012, and earlier we came here as tourists, especially to the Valley of Flowers, and then later on we came into the hotel business. Now we have one resort in Auli, by the name Blue Poppy Resorts, one in Joshimath, where we are standing right now, and these are beautiful liliums. They are not artificial flowers, actually. They look so beautiful. And then we have camps in Ghangaria. So basically we want our clients to stay with us only, so that we can take care of them personally for the trek to the Valley of Flowers. Seema, you would like to say something, how you started? Yeah. Valley of Flowers is our passion. That's why we are here today. Okay, so you started in 2012, but you started from the basics. That means you first had to learn about the Valley of Flowers before you opened all this up.

See, basically we did not learn officially anything. We just kept on coming, kept on seeing everything, and because of the hobby you tend to learn more things. As clients came, they wanted me to tell them about the flowers: which flower is this, which flower is that. Then I started learning all that stuff.

In Ghangaria we used to stay at least 15 days continuously, before we started this business, just to understand the Valley of Flowers, because we loved watching the Valley change every day. In the first week of July we would see different kinds of flowers, and the second week was very attractive. So we used to spend 15 days at a time in the valley.

First I would like to ask... before I ask you any question, I would just like to say that in all their three properties the views are fantastic. I would say that anybody who would come here would want to stay in their properties rather than go to the Valley of Flowers. Because if you come here to Blue Poppy Premier, just look at the number of various flowers, of different kinds, of different colours, and look at the view. It's just so fantastic from morning to night, and look at the birds that come here, so many. Yesterday I was fortunate to see the green pigeon also, which is quite rare in India. On the fig tree, yes. What would you say to people who would like to come here and maybe experience this whole thing?

See, at Blue Poppy we always take care of our clients as if they are our own personal guests. Especially the food, you must have experienced. We try to give you organic food as much as possible, but we cannot promise, because we need more food and some things are not grown here. Like the wheat: we bring the Sharbati wheat all the way from MP. Most of our ration is bought from Chandigarh, so that we maintain the best quality. And these plants, they are like our personal lifeline.

These liliums we imported four years ago, only 400 bulbs from the Netherlands, but this year we have bought around 4,000. So we have a lot of liliums everywhere, and whenever you come to this place you will find some lilium bed or other, like this.

Okay. Now I find that you have written a book called Guide to Valley of Flowers. What made you write this? See, that was just coincidence. In the starting days of our organising tours to the Valley of Flowers, I was personally going as a guide with all of the groups, so obviously people used to ask me the names of the flowers. Earlier I used to tell, but I cannot be with everyone, because the group size was sometimes more than 100. So we thought I should write a book telling about each and every flower: where it is found, when it is found. Because in a span of two to three months when the Valley of Flowers is open, each flower bloom has its own cycle. If somebody goes in the first week of July you will find one variety, in the second week of July another variety, and so on. But it again depends on the weather conditions. If there is a lot of snowfall this season, the flowering will be a little late. All these factors decide which flowers will bloom at what time. So because of this I wrote this book and gave it to all of our clients, so that they can see for themselves. It must be a very popular book. It is very useful also.

So I observed and noticed that both of them, Mr. Devkant and Mrs. Seema, are so interested in gardening that from morning to night they seem to be doing something or other. And their personal management is very good, I must say. The staff that they have here are very obedient and disciplined, and they keep the place very clean. Something really good to observe. So basically, as I told you, we keep this as our home, not like a hotel or a resort. This is like our home. We ourselves stay here for more than six months a year, so that we can maintain this place, and also enjoy this place, because of the nature we see around here. We have a resort in Auli also, and we stay at both places, around six months each in a year.

Now you might observe that it's Mr. Devkant who has done a lot of talking, but it is his wife who from morning to night is doing all the logistics and administration. Can you tell me more about her? She is very intelligent, and very sharp. Because of the management of the Valley of Flowers, I focus on the Valley clients, from beginning to end. I'm always happy to reply, all the time, whether it is day or whether it is night. I love the Valley of Flowers so much. That's why I'm here.

So what type of people come here, and is it always full? When is the peak period for coming here? Actually, the peak period according to the general public is May and June. But I personally think that nowadays, today is I think July 8th or 9th, there are very few people now, and people are scared of the landslides and all, but I don't think that is so frequent. In fact in May and June it is more difficult to come, because a lot of people are coming. But if you talk to me about occupancy, May and June is the peak season, and then comes the end of December, because of the Christmas holiday, so most of the hotels are full, and we are also full. And January, February and March, because of the skiing in Auli, again this is the peak season. So what type of people come? Is it from India or from all over the world?

Normally people come from all over the world. In May and June a lot of pilgrims come. For the Valley of Flowers, a lot of NRIs come. But basically the people coming to Blue Poppy are mostly nature lovers. That is the common trait among all of them.

And you can do it end to end. That means right from Dehradun onwards. We can give solutions from airport pick-up to airport drop, we can manage it well. So I would suggest people come to this place, Joshimath, and also to their properties in Auli and Ghangaria, if the Valley of Flowers is open. Yes, during that time. And also I noticed so many different types of birds. See, for instance, there's one there right now. Yes, this is also very rare.

Not many people know about such beauty in India. You know, it's almost like Switzerland. You don't need to go to Switzerland, the views are fantastic. So what would you advise people? See, at least you should have a week. You should not make it in a hurry. That is one thing. And second, you should be a nature lover, then only you come here. But here in this resort, even if you want luxury of almost a five-star level, we are giving it. I think you will agree. Yes, definitely. So we are giving luxury in nature.

Otherwise no preparation is required. Whenever you want to come, you can come. But for the Valley of Flowers, the peak season is July and August. That is the peak flowering time for the Valley of Flowers.

And for those who are listening to this, I want to let people know that Mr. Devkant Sangwan left his job as a company secretary. What made you do that? See, I think that life comes only once. There is no second chance. When I was doing my job as a company secretary, I used to take leave to come here. Then suddenly in 2012 I thought, let's try. My first year of income was more than my one year of salary at that time, so then I thought that we should leave. Seema also helped me, and so we did it. So you have really, literally grown from scratch. Yes.

And I must say I really admire what you all have achieved, because you have done it in such a way that you are protecting nature also. And those birds that come here, such rare birds, and the beauty of the place. We try to feed them also. In fact, I've decided that the next time I come here, it's only just to relax here, and not to go for any trek or anything. And thank you for being so good to us and looking after us so well. Anytime you can come. I'm looking forward to coming again within the next five years. Most welcome, most welcome. Thank you. Thank you so much.

Valley of Flowers Best Time & The Blue Poppy Story: How a Passion Became a Profession

Transcript

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