Chail Wildlife Sanctuary

Chail Wildlife Sanctuary in Himachal Pradesh was a game reserve during the reign of Maharaja of Patiala. Situated 3 kilometers from his summer capital, Chail, the sanctuary area lies in the districts of Solan and Shimla. Indianholiday.com brings you details about the Chail Sanctuary.

Area and Altitude: It covers an area of 108.54 square kilometers and is spread across the Himalayan slopes at varying altitudes of 701 to 2,408 meters above sea level.

Forest Cover: This West Himalayan bio-geographic zone has Himalayan subtropical pine forest cover in the higher altitudes, and moru and ban oak forest cover in the lower altitudes. It is home to a number of bird species.

Climate and Visiting Season: The weather is pleasant during the summer season (28 degree centigrade) and winter has temperatures below freezing point (-4 degree centigrade). So, the best time to visit is during the months April to June and September to November.

Flora at the Chail Sanctuary: The ban oak and chir pine trees dominate the foothills of the Himalayan slopes. As you trek towards the peak, you will find rhododendron, robinia, cedar and blue pine trees. Check out the wild orchids as you walk around. They are stunning!

Fauna at the Chail Sanctuary:Chail Sanctuary is famous for the endangered cheer pheasant or Wallich's pheasant. This pheasant is gray and brown in color and has a long tail. You can identify it by the red patch around its eyes. Look out for the cheer pheasant in the grasslands of Blossom and Khari-un. Four other pheasant species, red junglefowl, koklass, kaleej and peafowl, can be found in the higher altitudes of the sanctuary.

If you are lucky, you may spot the red headed vulture and pallid harrier that belong to the near threatened category of the ICBN Red List. Other bird species include the grey winged blackbird, slaty headed parakeet, Himalayan bulbul, black headed jay, blue capped redstart, bar tailed tree creeper, green backed tit and white browed rosefinch. Look out for Eurasian bird species, the plain backed thrush, in the higher elevations of 2,700 to 4,000 meters.

Among the animal species, there are leopard, barking deer, goral, European red deer, sambhar, Asian black bear, langur, black naped hare and wild boar.

Things to do in Chail Wildlife Sanctuary

Vehicle safari is not possible in Chail Sanctuary since the region has an undulating terrain. Trekking is the best way to enjoy its natural beauty. Please do not litter while trekking in this protected area.

How to reach Chail Sanctuary

Chail is easily accessible by road from anywhere in the state and neighboring states. If you are traveling by train, get down at Kalka and board a bus or cab to Chail. The nearest international airport to Chail is Chandigarh (110 kilometers). You can avail of a bus or cab from Chandigarh to Chail.

Plan a wildlife tour to Chail Sanctuary by booking on indianholiday.com.