|
|
 |
 |
National Parks & Sanctuaries
Below is a list of national parks and sanctuaries in Himachal Pradesh.
|
|
-
Great Himalayan National Park
LOCATION
Lies in Seraj Forest Division, Kulu District, some 60km by road south-west
of Kulu Town. Tirthan Sanctuary adjoins the southern boundary of the park.
The park is bounded by mountain ridges on all but its western side, notably
Mathaun Dhar/Rakti Dhar to the north-east and Sirikand Dhar to the
south-east. 31*38'-31*55'N, 77*20'-77*46'E (park) 31*34'-31*40'N,
77*28'-77*37'E (sanctuary)
DATE AND HISTORY OF ESTABLISHMENT Tirthan was notified a sanctuary
on 17 June 1976. Part of this was subsequently included in Great Himalayan
National Park. Intention to declare the park was issued on 1 March 1984
(Notification No. 6-16/73-SF-11), but settlement of rights and final
notification is outstanding. Some 111,600ha adjoining the park has been
notified as a buffer zone. The park was re-named Jawaharlal Nehru Great
Himalayan National Park in mid-1989, but its original name is still commonly
used (Singh et al., 1990).
AREA
Great Himalayan National Park: 62,000ha (re-estimated as 60,561ha)
LAND TENURE
Provincial government. Local people still have rights of access and use of
land resources.
ALTITUDE
Ranges from 1,500m to 5,805m in Great Himalaya National Park, and from
2,100m to 4,875m in Tirthan Sanctuary.
PHYSICAL FEATURES
The park comprises the upper catchment areas of Jiwa, Sainj and Tirthan
rivers in the inner Seraj. These rivers flow west into the Beas River. Sainj
and Tirthan valleys are narrow and steep-sided throughout their length,
showing little sign of glaciation. The upper section of Sainj Valley abuts
on the upper Parbati Valley to the north, while the upper Tirthan forms part
of the watershed separating the Beas and Sutlej catchments. The eastern part
of the park is permanently under snow and ice. Tirthan Sanctuary is drained
by Palachan Gad, a tributary of Tirthan Gad.
CLIMATE
Compared to the rest of the upper Beas area, conditions are more akin to
those for Simla and the front ranges, with less snowfall in winter, more
rainfall during the summer monsoon and probably higher temperatures. Simla,
at 2,200m, receives in excess of 1500mm annual precipitation and experiences
mean monthly maximum and minimum temperatures ranging from 8.6*C to 24.1*C
and from 1.9*C to 15.7*C, respectively (Gaston et al., 1981a). Mean
annual precipitation in Tirthan Sanctuary is 1500mm, and temperature ranges
from -5*C to 30*C (Singh et al., 1990).
CULTURAL HERITAGE
Places of religious importance in and around the park include the hot
springs at Khirganga and Mantalai Rakti Sar (source of the Rakti Nal) and
Hans Kund (source of Tirthan River) (Singh et al., 1990).
VISITORS AND VISITOR FACILITIES
Tourists are few. There are 13 rest houses in the vicinity of the park
and 7 on the outskirts of the sanctuary.
-
Pin Valley National Park
GEOGRAPHICAL LOCATION
Lies in Lahul and Spiti districts, 48km west of Tabe. 31*45'-32*11'N,
77*45'-78*06'E
AREA
Notified as 67,500ha, but re-estimated by IIPA/Environment Studies
Division (pers. comm.) as 80,736ha using digitised maps. The park forms part
of a much larger protected areas complex: it abuts onto Rupi Bhabha
Sanctuary to the south and onto the buffer zone of Great Himalayan National
Park to the south-west.
LAND TENURE
Provincial government. Local people from adjoining areas enjoy certain
rights.
ALTITUDE
Ranges from 3,300m to 6,632m.
PHYSICAL FEATURES
The park encompasses the headwaters of the Parahio River, a tributary
of the Spiti. The entire area is a cold desert (Singh et al., 1990).
CLIMATE
Conditions are generally cold and dry, with heavy snowfalls in winter.
Mean annual precipitation is 170mm (Singh et al., 1990).
LOCAL HUMAN POPULATION
The park is uninhabited but there are 17 villages, with a total
population of 1,258 people, in the adjacent buffer zone. Some 2,800
livestock from these villages graze inside the park, together with
additional numbers of sheep and goats from Kinnaur (Singh
et al., 1990).
VISITORS AND VISITOR FACILITIES
An Inner Line permit is required by all nationals wishing to visit the
park; foreign nationals are normally not allowed into the area. There are
three rest houses in the vicinity of the park.
CONSERVATION VALUE
Pin Valley is a high-altitude Himalayan park typical of Tibetan cold
desert and supports a variety of rare and threatened mammals. It is largely
unstudied owing to its remote location within a politically sensitive area
(Singh et al., 1990).
CONSERVATION MANAGEMENT
Local people are allowed to graze their livestock inside the park, and
enjoy herb collection rights. A management plan is under preparation (Singh
et al., 1990).
LOCAL ADDRESSES
Divisional Forest Officer (Wildlife), Sarah Division, Sarahan
Bushehar 172 102, District Simla, Himachal Pradesh
Manali Sanctuary
This Sanctuary lies immediately west of Manali township
in Kulu District and comprises the catchments area of the Manalsu Nala.
Manalsu Nala is a minor tributary of the Beas River. It flows south from its
headwaters, comprising Neliall Lake, and then east until its confluence with
the Beas River. Only the upper section of the valley shows signs of recent
glaciation.
CLIMATE
The Manali area experiences a temperate climate characterised by cool
summers and heavy snowfall in winter, regularly in excess of 1m at 2,000m.
Snow remains from December to March, and in January and February cold
northerly winds keep temperatures low (Gaston et al., 1981). Mean
annual precipitation is 1,080mm. Temperature ranges from -4*C to 30*C (Singh
et al., 1990).
There are no villages within the sanctuary. During the summer six
settlements are temporarily occupied by pastoralists, having a total of
50-60 water buffalo and 500-700 sheep and goats .
VISITORS AND VISITOR FACILITIES
Manali Town is a popular summer resort with thousands of visitors
arriving annually in April and May, and again in September and October, but
relatively few tourists visit the sanctuary which is accessible by foot.
There are no visitor facilities in the sanctuary, but various accommodation
is available in town.
CONSERVATION MANAGEMENT
People from nearby villages have rights to graze livestock, extract
fodder, fuelwood, timber and minor forest products and to quarry.
Semi-nomadic Gujjars and Gaddis also have grazing rights.
LOCAL ADDRESSES
Range Officer (Wildlife), PO Manali 175131, Kulu District, Himachal Pradesh
-
Kais Sanctuary
- Chail Sanctuary
- Shimla Water Catchment Sanctuary
- Majathal Sanctuary
- Pong Dam Sanctuary
- Daranghati
Sanctuary
- Kugti Sanctuary
- Kalatop-Khajjiar Sanctuary
- Churdhar Sanctuary
- Gamgul Siahbehi Sanctuary
- Kanawar Sanctuary
- Lippa Asrang Sanctuary
- Rupi Bhabha Sanctuary
- Sechu Tuan Nala Sanctuary
- Gobind Sagar and Naina Devi Sanctuary
|
|
|
