Hemis National Park

Coordinates: 33°59′00″N 77°26′00″E / 33.98333°N 77.43333°E / 33.98333; 77.43333
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Hemis National Park
Hemis NP
National Park
Precipitation
160.5 millimetres (6.32 in)
Avg. summer temperature15 °C (59 °F)
Avg. winter temperature−30 °C (−22 °F)

Hemis National Park is a high-elevation

Tso Lhamo
Cold Desert Conservation Area in North Sikkim.

The park is bounded on the north by the banks of the

Zanskar Range
.

History

The park was founded in 1981 by protecting the Rumbak and Markha catchments, an area of about 600 km2 (230 sq mi). It grew in 1988 to around 3,350 km2 (1,290 sq mi), by incorporating neighbouring lands,[2] before increasing in 1990 to 4,400 km2 (1,700 sq mi),[3] and is the largest national park in South Asia.

Geography and ecological significance

The park lies within the

Karakoram-West Tibetan Plateau alpine steppe ecoregion, and contains pine forests, alpine shrublands and meadows, and alpine tundra vegetation
.

Fauna

The park is home to a viable breeding

Asiatic ibex is also present in Hemis. Hemis is the only refuge in India containing the Shapu.[4]

The

Tibetan wolf, the Eurasian brown bear (endangered in India), and the red fox are also present in Hemis.[5] Small mammals include the Himalayan marmot, mountain weasel and the Himalayan mouse hare.[6]

Among

Himalayan griffon vulture.[6] The Rumbak Valley offers opportunities for birdwatching,[6] including several Tibetan species not common in other parts of India. Birds present here include brown accentor, robin accentor, Tickell's leaf warbler, streaked rosefinch, black-winged snowfinch, chukar, Blyth's swift, red-billed chough, Himalayan snowcock, and the fire-fronted serin.[6]

16 mammal species and 73 bird species have been recorded in the park so far.[6]

Flora

Perovskia atriplicifolia
)

This region is in the

medicinal plants growing in the park, which include Acantholimon lycopodioides, Arnebia euchroma, Artemisia maritima, Bergenia stracheyi, Ephedra gerardiana, Ferula jaeschkeana, and Hyoscyamus niger.[7][8]

Environmental issues

Over 1,600 people live inside the park boundaries, mostly pastoralists raising poultry, goats, and sheep. This results in considerable animal-human conflict within the region. Snow leopards prey on livestock, sometimes killing several animals from a single flock in one hunt. This has been attributed to the overgrazing of livestock. Crop damage caused by bharal has also been seen.

The Department of Wildlife Protection, Government of Jammu and Kashmir is the custodian of the park. Any activity in the park is prohibited unless special permission is obtained from the Chief Wildlife Warden J&K. The department has initiated many projects for biodiversity conservation and rural livelihood improvement in Ladakh, including the Hemis National Park, such as:

  • Project Snow Leopard for Conserving the entire Himalayan biosphere. The project was initiated by the department in 2004 and was formally launched on 20 February 2009.
  • Ladakh Eco tourism Project
  • Ladakh Home stays: A program for providing tourists with access to home stays in local villagers' residences (source of additional income).
  • Nature Guide Training for the educated unemployed youth.
  • Eco Cafe for the women Help Group to run the cafe and sell the local handicraft products to the tourist.
  • Creation of a no-grazing zone for domestic livestock
  • Predator-proofing livestock pens in the area[3][5]

Tourism

See also: Kang Yatze

The park offers a number of routes for trekking from mid-June to mid-October; some of these trekking routes are among the most popular in Ladakh. This includes the Markha valley trek and the trek from Spituk to Stok over the Ganda La pass.

Tsechu) every summer. Lodging is restricted to backcountry camps and homestays initiated by the Snow Leopard Conservancy India Trust (SLC-IT) in 2000 [10]
and supported and managed by the local government.

Check posts at the park boundaries

There is no metalled road in Hemis National Park. However, a few rough roads enable local people to reach their villages. There is a rough road connecting Chilling bridge to Skiu village in the Markha valley and another one connecting Spituk to Zingchen and Rumbak village. On Hemis side, there is a road connecting Martselang to Shang Sumdo.

In order to protect the national park and its tourism-related activities (trekking, homestays, wildlife spotting), the in inhabitants of the region demanded in 2018 a regulation of vehicle access to the park. Since 2019, ALTOA (All Ladakh Tour Operator Association) and the Department of Wildlife Protection have set up check posts at each entrance of the Hemis National Park. These check posts are located at Skiu village, at Zingchen, and at Shang Sumdo. Beyond these check posts, only motorized vehicles used by villagers who live inside the park are allowed. Tourists are not allowed to use motorized vehicles inside the park, they shall walk. Tourists also need to pay a fee (called “wildlife fee”) when entering the park.

Ganda La

Ganda La
Himalaya

Ganda La (also called the Kanda La,

Markha valley villages to Leh
, and is regularly used by local people. The summer pass is open from June, and the winter pass (half kilometre north-west of summer pass) is open from late April.

The Markha Valley trek crosses the pass on the section between

Skiu villages, which is usually done over 2 days.[11] The other pass on the trek is the Gongmaru La (Kongmaru La).[11]

Gallery

  • Hemis NP
  • The top of Ganda La Winter Pass on the way to Skiu
    The top of Ganda La Winter Pass on the way to
    Skiu
  • Mountain Range in the eastern part of the park
    Mountain Range in the eastern part of the park
  • A terrain map of Hemis National Park and the surrounding trans-Himalayan Ranges
    A terrain map of Hemis National Park and the surrounding trans-Himalayan Ranges
  • Courtyard of the historic Hemis Monastery inside the NP
    Courtyard of the historic Hemis Monastery inside the NP
  • Hemis monastery in the 1870s
    Hemis monastery in the 1870s
  • Stok Kangri, the highest peak inside the park boundaries
    Stok Kangri, the highest peak inside the park boundaries

In culture

The park houses numerous Tibetan

chortens within its boundaries. These include the famous 400-year-old Hemis Monastery. Hemis was a destination and via point on the silk routes of Tibet
. Over 1,600 people live inside the park presently, with a large number of tourists and pilgrims visiting during the Hemis Tsechu festival.

The 400-year-old

Lost years of Jesus
)

The national park, monastery and the Changthang Wildlife Sanctuary were prominently featured in the award-winning documentary Riding Solo to the Top of the World.

See also

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Hemis National Park.
  • Karakorum Wildlife Sanctuary
  • Changthang Cold Desert Wildlife Sanctuary
  • Tourism in Ladakh

References

  1. ^ http://www.cloudbirders.com/tripreport/repository/BARUAH_India_03_2014.pdf [bare URL PDF]
  2. ISBN 9788170411000
    )
  3. ^ a b http://www.snowleopardnetwork.org/bibliography/anlp99.htm[permanent dead link]
  4. ^ Wild Sheep and Goats and Their Relatives: Status Survey and Conservation Action Plan for Caprinae By David M. Shackleton, International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources Species Survival Commission. Caprinae Specialist Group Contributor David M. Shackleton, Published by IUCN, 1997 (
    ISBN 9782831703534
    )
  5. ^
    National Geographic Magazine
    , June 2008
  6. ^ a b c d e Khan, Asif (2016). "Ladakh: The Land Beyond". Buceros. 21 (3): 6–15.
  7. ^ Kala, CP 2005. Indigenous Uses, Population Density, and Conservation of Threatened Medicinal Plants in Protected Areas of the Indian Himalayas. Conservation Biology, 19 (2): 368-378 http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1523-1739.2005.00602.x/abstract
  8. ISBN 9788173871283
    )
  9. ^ "Markha valley trek, Ladakh".
  10. ^ Majumdar, Swapna (9 December 2017). "Himalayan Homestays". The Hindu.
  11. ^
    ISBN 978-1-85284-675-6
    .
  12. ^ "Hemis National Park on Google Maps". Retrieved 28 October 2016.

Bibliography

  • Management Plan Hemis High Altitude National Park, Jigmet Takpa IFS and Saleem Ul Haq.
  • Hemis High Altitude National Park-Government of Jammu and Kashmir, Department of Wildlife Protection, Wildlife Division(LAHDC) Leh-Ladakh
  • Chettri, Nakul. 2003.
  • Namgail, T., Fox, J.L. & Bhatnagar, Y.V. (2004). Habitat segregation between sympatric Tibetan argali Ovis ammon hodgsoni and blue sheep Pseudois nayaur in the Indian Trans-Himalaya. Journal of Zoology (London), 262: 57-63.
  • Ladakh: The Land and the People, By Prem Singh Jina. Published by Indus Publishing, 1996 (
    ISBN 9788173870576
    )
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