Great Himalayan National Park

Home to a wide range of endemic west Himalayan flora and fauna, the Great Himalayan National Park in the Kullu district is the largest national park in Himachal Pradesh. Distinct varieties of plant and animal species are found in the three major river valleys in the national park: Tirthan, Sainj and Jiwa.

Established in: 1984

Area and Altitude: It is not only spread across a large area (754.4 square kilometers) but also covers varying altitudes of the great Himalayan range (1,500 to 5,805 meters above sea level). The national park also covers the areas beyond the snow line at 4,000 meters elevation.

Forest Cover: This Park lies in the northwest Himalayan biogeographic zone and has 14 forest types including sub tropical broadleaf hill, alpine moist pasture and sub alpine dry scrub forests.

Climate and Visiting Season: The Great Himalayan National Park experiences temperatures as low as -10 degrees centigrade in the higher altitudes during winter and as high as 30 degrees centigrade during summer. Rainfall (1,500 millimeters) occurs usually from July to September. Though you can visit the park throughout the year, the visiting season is during summer and autumn months when you can take part in various adventure sports and other activities organized by the tourism and forest department. If you are traveling during winter, be prepared for snow, landslides and avalanches.

Flora at the Great Himalayan National Park: Tirthan valley, in the south of the national park comprises dense forests of oak, cedar and blue pine on the gentle slopes and west Himalayan fir on the steep slopes. Jiwa valley, in the west, has abundant Himalayan yew vegetation. Sainj valley, towards the north, has wide areas of rhododendron and various species of alpine fir. Other commonly found trees in the park are west Himalayan spruce, English yew, deodar and horse chestnut. The sub alpine and alpine pastures above 3,000 meters altitude are replete with numerous grasses and medicinal herbs.

The faunal variety in the national park varies from oriental in the lower altitudes and palaeartic in the higher altitudes. More than 300 bird species across the varying altitudes makes this park a bird watcher's paradise. Popular bird species include kaleej, koklas, Himalayan monal, western tragopan, cheer pheasant, Himalayan snowcock, white cheeked and white throated tits, hill patridge, chukar partridge, snow partridge, spectacled finch and orange bullfinch.

The park is also home to the Himalayan fauna including langur, rhesus macaque, leopard, Asiatic black and brown bears, serow, bharal, goral, Himalayan tahr, barking deer and musk deer.

With encouragement from the forest and tourism department, this national park is a hub of ecotourism. You can visit this park for enjoying the mountain villages, their festivals and lifestyle. Religious people can visit centuries old stone and wooden temples in the park. Adventure lovers can have the best time of their life here. Animal and bird watching, rafting, mountaineering and rock climbing, angling and trekking are popular among adventure enthusiasts. You have to pay an entry fee for entering inside the park and using a camera. You are prohibited from smoking, carrying anything that can catch fire, electronic devices, calling out to the animals and birds and feeding them.

The national park is connected by road from Kullu, which is 60 kilometers away. The nearest airport to Kullu is Bhuntar (50 kilometers) and railway station is at Joginder Nagar (100 kilometers). You can easily avail of buses and cabs for Kullu.

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