Wildlife in Himachal Pradesh

The breathtaking landscape, rare species of birds and animals and a range of adventurous activities make exploring the wildlife in Himachal Pradesh enchanting and thrilling. With an area of 14,668 sq km, Himachal Pradesh has about 26.3% of its total geographic area under forests. These are home to a wide range of flora (3295 species) and fauna (5721 species) spread across the Himalayan mountain ranges. Due to their endemic habitat and medicinal value as well as commercial significance, they are threatened into depletion. To conserve these, the forest department established and is managing many wildlife protected areas including 2 national parks and 33 wildlife sanctuaries. You can visit these national parks and wildlife sanctuaries in Himachal Pradesh to enjoy the variety of unique plants, birds and animals. Indianholiday.com brings you the details.

When you visit a protected area in Himachal Pradesh, you can look out for the species endemic to that particular area of the Himalayas.imHima The forests are at varying altitudes of about 900 to 5000 m above sea level. In the higher altitudes, the terrain is steep and undulating with sparse vegetation and in the lower altitudes there are gentle slopes and valleys with gushing streams.

Vegetations in these terrains of Himachal Pradesh range from sub tropical to alpine. In the Trans Himalayan areas of Lahaul & Spiti you can visit the Pin Valley National Park that covers the area above tree line. The animals here, including snow leopards, snow partridge and Himalayan snowcock, are adapted to extreme cold climate. In the lower altitudes wildlife sanctuaries have animals and birds adapted to the temperate climate. They include endangered bird species of cheer pheasant and western tragopan and rare animal species of musk deer and Himalayan thar. If you are a bird lover, Himachal Pradesh has a number of rivers, glacial lakes and artificial reservoirs that receives various migratory birds during the summer and autumn seasons. You can visit sanctuaries in Maharana Pratap Sagar Reservoir, Renuka Lake and Khajjiar Lake to enjoy bird watching.

Sabarimala

Sabarimala