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Pin Valley National Park
Location: North-East Himachal Pradesh
Area: 675 sq. km.
Major Wildlife Attractions: Ibex, Snow Leopard, Blue Sheep,
Tibetan Wolf
Best time to visit: Late March to June
Places to Stay: Trekkers Hut (Kungri)
About Pin Valley National Park
Situated in the Spiti sub division
of the Lahaul and Spiti district in Himachal Pradesh, the Pin Valley
National Park came into being in January 1987. The landscape of the
park is desert like and the altitudinal variation, which ranges from
3500 to 6000 mts make it a place ideal for flora and fauna typical of
mountainous regions. The park offers its visitors opportunities to
spot the rare snow leopard and other highly endangered animal and bird
species.
Most of the areas in the park remain inaccessible during winters and
the temperature may plummet to as low as minus 32 degrees in Jan-Feb.
July and August are the hot months when temperatures may climb to
around 30 degrees. The months of April and May are best for observing
wildlife when the animals come down to the lower regions of the park.
The park has several trekking routes while there are no motorable
roads. The only way to explore the park is on foot. Take a trek to the
pastures where you may be rewarded with a rare sighting of the Ibex or
the Blue Sheep. There are various trekking routes available ranging
from the difficult ones to the easy for the 'not so fit' people. The
Mikim-Debsa walk is a moderate rated trek while the Pin Parvati trek
is a difficult one suited for trained trekkers.
Wildlife Attractions in Pin Valley National Park
Because of the harsh climatic conditions, the park has sparse
vegetation with Herbaceous and shrub growth dominating the flora. More
than 400 species of plants are believed to be found in the area which
also include some rare medicinal plants. The amazing view of white
flower covered valleys in summer is a spectacle worth watching.
The park presents excellent opportunities for bird lovers owing to
the thin vegetation and the sparse forest cover. Some of the commonly
seen birds in and around the area include goldfinch, gold-fronted
finch, brahminy myna, grey wagtail, yellow headed wagtail, yellow
billed chough, horned lark and Himalayan griffon.
The park is home to mammals like the Ibex, Bharal, Snow Leopard, Red
Fox, Tibetan Wolf, Marmot and Woolly Hare.
Best Time to Visit Pin Valley National Park
The ideal time to visit the Pin Valley National Park is between the
months of Late March to June (Most of the areas in the park are
inaccessible during winters).
How to Get there
Air: Jubbarhatti airport near Shimla is the nearest airport.
It is ideal to hire a taxi from Shimla to reach Spiti. Jagson Airlines
operates a Delhi-Shimla-Kullu-Shimla-Delhi flight on Monday, Wednesday
and Friday which takes off from Delhi at 7:15 and arrives in Shimla at
8:15.
Rail: Kalka is the nearest railhead with a broad gauge rail
line, connected by daily trains from Delhi, the Paschim Exp. (9:40) &
HWH DLI KLK Mail (22:20). Mumbai is connected with Kalka through the
Paschim Exp. (11:35).
Road: The route from Shimla is NH22 to Sumdo via Narkanda,
Rampur Bushehr, Wangtu, Karchham, Spello, Pooh, Yangthang and Chango.
From there, follow the state highway to Atargu via Tabo and Poh, from
where a link road leads to Mudh village via Mikim. The route from
Manali is through the state highway to Atargu via Kothi, Rohtang Pass,
Gramphoo, Batal, Losar, Rangrik and Kaza. From here, take the link
road to Mudh village.
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