Major wildlife sanctuaries and reserves of Uttaranchal

Askot Wildlife Sanctuary: Uttaranchal

Askot Sanctuary, established in 1986, is located in the pastoral surroundings of Indo-Nepal border, in Pithoragarh. Nestled in the picturesque Kumaon Himalayas, Pithoragarh is often called 'Mini Kashmir'. The park is rich in various species of captivating flora and fauna. The wild species of fauna include snow tiger, leopard, bharal, thar, kakar, black and grey himalayan bear and different types of pheasants and other birds.

Corbett National Park: Uttaranchal

The Corbett National Park is located in the terai region of the state of Uttar Pradesh, straddling the undulating Shivalik foothills of the Himalayas. Located around 300 kilometres away from New Delhi, it is India's first ever national park. The park was established in 1936 as the Hailey National Park, following the advice of the hunter-naturalist Jim Corbett. The park covered 520 sq.kilometres in 1986, and a proposed extension of 588 sq. kilometres is under consideration. Project Tiger, which was set up with the help of the World Wildlife Fund, was launched at Dhikala, in the Corbett National Park on April 1, 1973. This project was aimed at saving the Indian tiger (Pantheratigris tigris) from extinction. Over 50 mammals, 580 birds and 25 reptile species have been listed in the Corbett National Park. The insect life is also astounding, noticeably specially after the monsoons. But undoubtedly, the jewel of the Corbett is the Indian tiger. It was estimated that in 1984, the tiger population was 90 in this park. Leopards as well as lesser cats such as the leopard cat, jungle cat, fishing cat are also found here.

Fauna :The sloth bear, Himalayan black bear, dhole, jackal, yellow throated martin, Himalyan palm civet, Indian grey mongoose, common otter, porcupine, clack taped hare are the other attractions of this area. It is possible to see elephants all over the park. Four species of deer are found here. These are the chital, the well-known spotted deer, para, kakka, and the barking deer. The goat antelopes are represented by the ghoral. There is a lot for the bird watchers in this park. It has over 580 species of birds. Most of the water birds are migrant, and arrive in winters. Some of these are the greylag, barheaded goose, duck, grepe, snipe, sandpiper,gull and wagtail. The residents include darters, cormorants, egrets, herons, the blacknecked stork and the spurwinged lapwings. Reptiles, which are residents of this area, are the gharial, the rare fish eating, long - nosed crocodile, and a few species of turtles and tortoises. The Indian python, viper, cobra, krait and king cobra also inhabit the Corbett National Park.

Govind National Park: Uttaranchal

Govind Wildlife Sanctuary is surrounded by Uttarkashi district. The sanctuary spread over an area of 953 sq. kms. This sanctuary was set up in 1955. It is believed to be one of the most beautiful towns in the Garhwal region. It has snowclad peaks and glaciers including mountains like Swarg Rohini, Black Peak and Bandarpunch. The popular destination for the trekkers is Har-ki-dun, which is famous for its emerald greenery. The wildlife populations count as snow leopard, brown and Himalayan black bears, thar, bharal, musk deer, serow, monal, trogopan chir, koklas and khaleej pheasants and chukor.

Kedarnath Sanctuary: Uttaranchal

Founded in 1972, Kedarnath Wildlife Sanctuary sprawls over an area of 967 sq. km of the Garhwal Himalayas. This stretch of the Chamoli and Rudraprayag districts affords a splendid view of mountains and dales, forests and grasslands, exotic butterflies and flowers. Some of the interesting residents of the sanctuary are the snow leopard, leopard, tahr, serow, snow cock and musk deer. Khaleej and monal pheasants are some of the feathered inhabitants. The Garhwal Himalayas have some of the highest peaks in India, housing the sacred Badrinath and Kedarnath shrines as well as several forest reserves. It is from here that the holy Ganga and Yamuna rivers originate.

Nanda Devi National Park: Uttaranchal

Nanda Devi National Park lies in Chamoli District, within the Garhwal Himalaya. The main entry point to the park is via Lata Village, some 25km from Joshimath township. Declared a national park in 1982, the park is bound by high mountain ridges and peaks on all sides except its western side, which features a deep and virtually inaccessible gorge. The area is reputedly one of the most spectacular wildernesses in the Himalaya. Nanda Devi, the highest complete mountain in India dominates the basin.

It supports a diverse flora, largely on account of the wide altitudinal range, and an interesting variety of large mammals, including a number of rare or threatened species. Unlike many other Himalayan areas, it is free from human settlement and has remained largely unspoilt due to its inaccessibility.

Rajaji National Park: Uttaranchal

The Rajaji National Park is rich in faunal wealth because of the varied types of ecological niches existing in the reserve. The main groups occur are birds, mammals & reptiles snakes and lizards, amphibians (frogs & toads) and fishes, and chiefly the invertebrate groups are, the scorpions, centipedes, Odonata (dragon & damselflies), hymenoptera (wasps, bees, etc.) Isoptera (termites) and lepidoptera, which comprises more than 60 species. Our National bird Peacock is found here in abundance.

The smaller carnivores as co-predators are leopard cat, jungle cat, civet cat and yellow-throated martin. Besides, other mammals like hyena, jackal and Bengal fox are not an uncommon sight and work as scavengers in the park.

315 birds species are reported to occur in the park. Birds like ducks, teals, cormorants, egrets, lapwing, pond herons, peafowl, jungle fowl, various species of partridges and pheasants, drongo, crows, owlets and nightjars, birds of prey, etc, are quite common. Twenty-eight species of snakes, 12 species of turtles & tortoises and 9 species of lizards among Reptilia are being recorded from the park.

Valley of Flowers National Park: Uttaranchal

The famous Valley of Flowers with the largest concentration of various species of wild flowers is off the Rishikesh-Badrinath road, 16 km from Govindghat. A virtual treat to the eyes, this beautiful valley in the Himalayas was established in the year 1982.This park, the smallest national park in the Himalayas was created to protect the catchment area of the Pushpavati River. The park spans an area of 87.5 sq. km and is perched on the upper reaches of the Bhyundia Ganga of Chamoli district of Garhwal. The Pushpawati River flows by the valley while the awesome Rataban peak forms a spectacular backdrop.