About Great Himalayan National Park
Though not as famous as its counter parts in the country, still the Great Himalayan National park is a place not to be missed by tourists, especially if they are a wildlife aficionado. The park is situated in Kullu district and occupies the three sides of the majestic Himalyan peak in Himachal Pradesh. This is probably one of the few parks where altitude range from1500 mts to 6000 mts with snow capped mountains, river valleys and steep cliff providing shelter to some of the rare and magnificent flora and fauna of the country.
The park was created in the year 1984 and is officially known as the Jawaharlal Nehru Great Himalayan National Park. The park, which spreads toan area of 754.4 sq kms comprises the water sheds of Jiwa, Sainj and Tirthan rivers and temperate forests. In winters, a huge portion of this park gets covered with snow. This National Park, situated on the mountains is one of the best place to view the exotic wildlife of the Himalayan region.
Tourist desirous of visiting this park need to have a good health, as the only way they can enjoy this park is on their legs. No jeeps or other modeof transportation is available. Trek routes are well laid out and the tourists are required to take a guide along with them. Also entry is allowed in this national park between sunrise to sunset - tourists are not entertained before or after that.
Best Time to Visit
The National park is best visited during the months between April to June and between September to November. Beyond November, heavy snow fall cover this region and in the month of July to September rainfall is maximum. Both of these period (cold and rainy) season can cause problems for tourists.
Wildlife of the Great Himalayan National ParkThe wildlife of this national park include musk deer, ghoral ( a small goatantelope), thar, bharal ( blue sheep), serow, langurs, Himalayan black bear,Asiatic brown bear, leopard and snow leopard.
The birds of the park are also varied 68 resident species and close to 50 migrant species. Pheasants, such as the gloriously beautiful monal, the kaleej and the Western Tragopan are also found. The Western Tragopan is listed amongst the endangered species of bird life and is only found in this park in entire India. Other birds that can be seen by tourists include the Himalayan Monal, Raptors, Lammergeiers, Himalayan Griffon Vultures, and Golden Eagles.
Reaching There» By Air - The nearest airport is at Bhuntar whichis is 10 kms from Kullu.
» By Rail - There is a narrow gauge railhead at Jogindernagar which is at a distance of 95-km from Kullu
» By Road - For reaching the Great Himalayan National Park, tourists need to take eastern divergence at Aut (30-km from Kullu) on the Kullu- Manali highway. From Aut a short distance of 4 kms leads tourist to Largi from where, two routes, one along the Sainj Nala (motorable till Neuli -26 kms) and the second along Tirthan Nala (motorableupto Gushaini -28 kms) will take tourists to the park.
