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park is
spread over an area of 1318.54 square kms and includes
apart from Corbett National Park, additional areas of
Sonanadi wildlife sanctuary and Reserve Forest buffer
zone. The topography in this park comprises of hilly and
riverine areas, temporary marshy depressions, plateaus
and ravines. The major wildlife animals found in this
park are Tiger, Leopard, Elephant, Deer, Wild Boar,
Leopard Cat, Jungle Cat, Sloth Bear, Himalayan Black
Bear, Wild Dog, Langur, Rhesus Monkey, Himalayan Palm
Civet, Indian Grey Mongoose, Common Otter, Blacknaped
Hare, Porcupine and Jackal. Along the banks of the
Ramganga River, one can also spot the Crocodiles.
Besides various wildlife animals about 580 species of
resident and migratory birds are also found here. This
park can be visited either by having an Elephant or a
Jeep Safari. There are watchtowers inside the park from
where one can also view the animals at a very close
distance. The best season to visit the Corbett National
Park is from November to June.
More....
Govind Wildlife Sanctuary
The Govind Wildlife Sanctuary is situated in the
Uttarkashi district of Uttararanchal. This wildlife
sanctuary was established on 1st March, 1955 and spreads
over an area of 957.969 square kms. This sanctuary forms
the upper catchment of the Tons river, which is the most
important tributary of River Yamuna in its upper
reaches. The area is very rich in medicinal plants and
its large area along with the forests of the
neighbouring forest divisions helps in maintaining
genetic diversity. The area is a home of over 15 species
of mammals and 150 species of birds. The main attraction
of this wildlife sanctuary is the Snow leopard. Black
bear, Brown bear, Musk deer, Bharal, Himalayan Tahr and
Common leopard are the other animals which can be seen
in this sanctuary. The birds which can be seen in this
sanctuary are Monal pheasant, Koklas pheasant, Western
Tragopan, Himalayan Snow cock, Golden eagle, Steppe
eagle, Black eagle and Bearded vulture, pigeons,
parakeets, cuckoos, owls, minivets, bulbuls, tits,
warblers, thrushes, finches, buntings, etc. The best
time to visit this wildlife sanctuary is from April to
June and September to November. The nearest airport is
the Jolly Grant in Dehradun, about 231 kms from the
sanctuary. |
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as a
National Park in 1982. The Valley was introduced to the
world as the Valley of Flowers by Frank S. Smith, the
mountaineer, explorer, botanist who camped here for
several weeks in 1931 and did valuable exploratory work.
In 1939, Miss Margarate Legge, a botanist arrived at the
valley for further studies. While she was traversing
some rocky slopes to collect flowers, she slipped off
and was lost for ever in the garden of the gods. Her
sister later visited the valley and erected a memorial
on the spot where she was buried by the locals.
According to local people, this valley is the playground
of fairies and nymphs, and the Hanuman also collected
herbs from this region to revive Laxman. The valley of
Flowers National Park starts from Ghangharia but the
main valley starts after crossing the gorge and the
stream from Nar Parvat, 3 kms. from Ghangharia. In front
of the Valley stands the snowclad peak of Ratban Parvat
and at the back is the Kunt Khal, the Nar Parvat, which
separates the Badrinath valley from this valley is in
the left, and the dense Birch forests is on the right
side. The river Pushpavati, which emerges from glacial
deposits, cuts through the alpine valley. There are also
various waterfalls that enhances the beauty of the
valley. The region remains snow covered from November to
May and the blooming of flowers starts immediately after
the melting of snow but the peak blooming period is from
mid July to mid of August. Almost 300 species of wild
flowers bloom here in natural way. Various species of
flowers like Anemone, Anaphalles, Geranium, Marsh
marigold, Primulas, Potentilla, Lilium, Brahma Kamal,
Campanula, Pedicularis, Impatiens, Ligularia, Anaphalis,
Saxifrages, Strawberry, Rhododendrons, herbs and
medicinal plants are also found here. The valley is
carpeted with alpine flowers during the monsoon and is
highly colourful and attractive. The abundance of
Asmanda fern in this valley is a rare sight than in
other Himalayan valleys. Besides flowers, some species
of Butterfly, Musk deer, Blue sheep (Bharal), Himalayan
bear, Snow leopard, Himalayan mouse hare and some
Himalayan birds are also found in this area. The
splendour and the scintillating beauty of the valley
attracts tourists from all over the world. The best time
to visit the Valley of flowers is from mid of July to
mid of August.
Rajaji National Park
The Rajaji National Park is situated on the edge of the
Shivalik hills in Dehradun, Haridwar and Pauri Garhwal
districts in Uttaranchal. The Rajaji National park is
named after late Shri C. Rajgopalachari, popularly known
as Rajaji. In 1983, three wildlife sanctuaries, namely
Motichur, Chilla and Rajaji, were combined into a single
park of deciduous forest, riverine vegetation, grassland
and pine forest under Rajaji National Park. The Rajaji
National Park covers an area of about 820 square kms. It
is known for its pristine scenic beauty and rich
bio-diversity. It represents the flora of several zones
of the forest, raverine, broad leaf mixed forest,
chrpined forest, scrub land and grassy pasture lands.
This sanctury offers exciting opportunities of viewing
the wild animals in their natural habitat. About 23
species of mammals are found in this national park. The
wildlife includes elephant, tiger, leopard, panther,
bear, deer, ghoral, barking deer, spotted deer, hog
deer, sambar, wild boar, nilgai, python, rhesus monkey,
common langur, Leopard cat, Jungle cat, Civet cat,
Yellow Throated Martin, hyena, jackal, bengal fox and
monitor lizard. About 315 species of birds are found in
the park. Some of these birds are peacocks, ducks,
teals, cormorants, egrets, lapwing, pond herons, pea
fowl, jungle fowl, kaleej pheasant, hornbill,
woodpecker, kingfisher, parakeet, warbler, drongo,
crows, owlets and nightjars and several species of
migratory birds in winter season. 28 species of snakes,
12 species of turtles and tortoises and 9 species of
lizards are also being recorded from the park. The best
season to visit the park is from November to June. The
nearest airport is located in Jolly Grant, Dehradun,
about 24 kms from the sanctuary.
Nanda Devi National Park
The Nanda Devi National Park is situated in the Chamoli
district of Uttaranchal. This park is spread over an
area of 630 square kms. and lies in the vicinity of
Nanda Devi Peak, the India's second highest mountain
peak. This park is regarded as a UNESCO world Heritage
site. The park was established in 1980 and includes some
of the hightest mountain peaks of the western Himalayas
like the Trishul, Dunagiri and Bethartoli peaks. The
naturalist WW Garden also made an expedition here in
1883. This park has a unique combination of flora and
fauna with 312 species of plants and over 80 species of
animals. Some of the animals and birds include snow
leopard, brown and Himalayan black bear, bharal,
Himalayan tahr, monal and chir pheasants. To visit the
park, you need to trek for 50 km, after taking a jeep
from Joshimath to the mountain village of Lata.
Kedarnath Wildlife Sanctuary
Kedarnath Wildlife Sanctuary was established in 1972 and
spread over an area of 967 square km. in the Garhwal
Himalayas. This wildlife sanctuary takes its name from
the Kedarnath shrine, a hotspot for Hindu pilgrims. The
fascinating Garhwal Himalayas present a spectacular
viewing of mountains, valleys, forests, grasslands,
butterflies and flowers. Snow leopard, leopard, tahr,
goral, snow leopard, black bear, brown bear, snow cock
and musk deer are the various animals which have made
their habitat in this wildlife sanctuary. Kaleej and
monal pheasants are the birds which can be seen here.
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