Wildlife in Jammu and Kashmir

Wildlife in Jammu and Kashmir: Expect the Unexpected

Amidst alpine pastures, meadows, scattered scrub vegetation and waterfalls, Jammu and Kashmir is embraced by the snow covered mountains. With Jammu Kashmir Wildlife Tour, get a taste of the wildlife in Jammu and Kashmir. Wildlife Sanctuaries in Jammu and Kashmir are home to the rarest of rare migratory birds and snow leopards.

Wildlife in Jammu and Kashmir has a history of national parks that have been preserved with great care. They are known for coniferous forests as well as birch?rhododendron flowers. These national parks are famous for Leopard cat, jackal, hill fox, long-tailed marmot as well as Tibetan wolfs and Asiatic Ibex.

Following are the National Parks in Jammu and Kashmir:

Dachigam National Park

About 22 km away from the capital Srinagar, this is a wildlife adventure spot in Jammu and Kashmir. The literal meaning of the name of the park is ?ten villages?. Presumably, ten villages had been relocated and rehabilitated for the construction of this national park. It was given the status of a national park in 1981.

Covered in coniferous forests, Dachigam is famous for preserving animals such as Musk deer, Himalayan serow, Leopard cat, jackal, hill fox, long-tailed marmot and Himalayan weasel. The spotted birds are Cinnamon sparrow, Minivet, Kashmir flycatcher, Black-and-yellow grosbeak and others. It is also known for waterfalls, scrub vegetation, meadows and alpine pastures.

Hemis National Park

One of the popular national parks in Jammu and Kashmir, Hemis is located at a high altitude in Ladakh. It is known for being the only national park in India which is located in the north of Himalayas. It is also one of the largest national parks in the country.

The park preserves species of snow leopards, Asiatic Ibex, Bharal, Tibetan wolf, mountain weasel and Himalayan marmot. One can spot rare birds from the Rumbak Valley such as streaked rosefinch, Tickell's leaf warbler, robin accentor, brown accentor and chukar.

Kishtwar National Park

Located in the Kishtwar district of Jammu and Kashmir, it is embroidered by Rinnay River, Marwa River and Kibar Nala catchment. It was declared a national park in 1981. Kishtwar is famous for spruce ?Picea wallichian? and silver fir ?Abies pindrow?. Blue pine Pinus griffithii and deodar trees are found here in large numbers. The alpine pasture is neatly demarcated with the birch ?rhododendron flowers.

Salim Ali National Park

Locally called City Forest National Park, it is situated in Srinagar and popular among adventure hunters, wildlife enthusiasts and bird-watchers. Endowed the status of national park in 1992, it is famous for snow cock, hangul, serow and monal. The National Park has been named after the famous Indian naturalist and bird watcher Salim Moizuddin Abdul Ali. The flora of the national park is distinguishable with the Mangrove Shrubbery. It is a paradise for bird watchers, especially during the winter months when coots, kingfishers and pintails can be spotted easily.

In short, make most of your Jammu Kashmir Wildlife Tour and explore the famous national parks in Jammu and Kashmir this season.