CLIMATE Being an inner Himalayan valley, Nanda Devi Basin enjoys a distinctive microclimate. Conditions are generally dry with low annual precipitation, but there is heavy rainfall during the monsoon, from late June to August. Prevailing mist and low cloud during the monsoon keeps the soil moist, hence the lusher vegetation than is usually characteristic of drier inner Himalayan valleys. The basin is snow-bound for about six months of the year, snow being deeper and at lower altitudes on the southern side than the northern (Lavkumar, 1979; Lamba, 1987). Meteorological data are not available.