Kishtwar National Park
 

The  National  Park  encompasses  the  catchments  of  Kiar,  Nath  and  Kibar  Nalas,  all  of  which  drain  south-west  into  Marwa  River  which  joins  the  Chenab  River  just  above  Kishtwar  Town.  The  terrain  is  generally  rugged  and  steep,  with  narrow  valleys  bounded  by  high  ridges  opening  in  their  upper  glacial  parts.  The  area  lies  in  the  Central  Crystalline  belt  of  the  Great  Himalayas.  Rocks  are  strongly  folded  in  places  and  composed  mainly  of  granite,  gneiss  and  schist,  with  the  occasional  bed  of  marble.
  The  shallow,  slightly  alkaline  soils  are  mostly  alluvial  with  gravel  deposits  .  Kishtwar  National  Park  is  a  national  park  located  in  the  Kishtwar  district  of  Jammu  and  Kashmir,  India.  it  is  bounded  to  the  north  by  Rinnay  river,  south  by  Kibar  Nala  catchment,  east  by  main  divide  of  Great  Himalaya  and  west  by  Marwa  river.  Based  on  revised  classification  of  Champion  and  Seth  (1968),  some  13  vegetation  types  are  represented  .
 

  In  general,  silver  fir  'Abies  pindrow'  and  spruce  'Picea  wallichian',  mixed  with  cedar  Cedrus  deodar  and  blue  pine  Pinus  griffithii  are  predominant  from  2,400m  to  3,000m.  Notable  is  the  small  expanse  of  chilgoza  pine  Pinus  geradianain  the  Dachan  Range. 
At  lower  altitudes  occur  nearly  pure  stands  of  cedar  and  blue  pine,  and  moist  temperate  deciduous  forest,  represented  by  horsechestnut,Aesculus  indica,  walnut  Juglans  regia,  maple,  Acer  spp.  poplar,  Populus  ciliata,  hazel  Corylus  cornutam  bird  cherry  Pasus  corfnuta,  ash  Fraxinus  cornuta  and  yew  Taxus  wallichiana.  

The  sub-alpine  zone,  from  3,000m  to  the  tree  line  at  3,700m,  supports  mostly  silver  fir  and  birch  Betula  utilis  forest  and  this  merges  with  birch  -rhododendronRhododendron  campanulatum  scrub,  above  which  is  alpine  pasture.
Among  the  animals  that  make  their  home  here  include  the  Himalayan  snowcock  and  the  brown  bear.

There  are  permanent  settlements  but  some  1,115  families  of  nomadic  graziers,  with  25,000  head  of  livestock,  and  an  unspecified  number  of  families  from  nearby  villages,  with  10,000  head,  have  grazing  rights  in  the  national  park.  Some  agriculture  is  practised  in  peripheral  areas.  (Bacha,  1986).
The  influence  of  the  monsoon  is  weak.  Mean  annual  rainfall  at  palmar  and  Sirshi  (1,761  m),  located  near  the  periphery  of  the  national  park,  is  827  mm  and  741  mm,  respectively,  precipitation  is  maximal  and  in  excess  of  100  mm  per  month  in  March  and  April,  and  again  in  July  and  August.Most  snow  fall  in  December  and  January  when  the  whole  area  becomes  snowbound.  Mean  maximum  and  minimum  temperatures  recorded  at  Sirshi  are  130  and  -70  in  January  and  350c  and  110c  in  July  respectively  (Kurt,  1976;Bacha,1986).

                 Navegaon National Park

The name "Navegaon" comes from the word Nave + gaon (Nave means new in Marathi and Gaon means village). This area also known as Navegaon Bandh locally because of the presence of the water body. Mostly tribal people leaves here and this area was under Gond Kings in the old days.

Strolling down the lanes of history, we can find traces of the existence of the Kohali Community as far back as 1300 A.D. and beyond. Even in that primitive era, the Kohali community was recognized as geologists in a broader sense, as geophysics may have been in its infancy in our land. This community had developed skills, by inheritance, in excavation and stone- construction work. Archives shows, that the grandiose temples at Jagannath-puri and Bhubneshwar, the picturesque lakes of Kashmir and Rajasthan, were constructed by the Kohali community. This can be corroborated from documented reports in the Book, " Aaj Bhi Khare Hain Talav " a Gandhi Pratisthan Publication, New Delhi.

This tribe, in search of a vacation, migrated to Central India, concentrating in areas known today as Chandrapur, Gadchiroli, Bhandara and Gondia Districts, where their population density is pretty high. But as William Blake the poet says that the wheels of fortune must turn, so fortune had in store, something surprising for this industrious community would change the course of their destiny.

 

Rani Durgawati, after her marriage to king Dalpatshah the powerful Gond Kings, plunged into the affairs of the state. The welfare of her subjects, become her paramount concern. Agriculture was the source of livelihood, and agriculture depends on whims of Lord Indra and his supply of water. To supplement resources, reservoirs, lakes were essential. The most unique experiences of the Navegaon National Park that you will have are going on a jungle safari, staying in a tree top house and riding a sail boat in the lake.

                        Pin Valley National Park

Pin Valley National Park is a National park of India located within the Lahaul and Spiti district .  in the state of Himachal Pradesh, in far Northern India . Southeast of Kaza, the snaking Spiti River is joined by the Pin River . flowing out of a wind-scoured but beautiful valley from the heights of the Great Himalaya Range  . The road into the Pin Valley branches off the Tabo road 15km from Kaza .  Mudslides at Kirgarang Nullah, 8km along, can block the road, sometimes for weeks, from some time in June, so take soundings before heading into the valley in early summer .  

 Gulling village has a couple of simple guesthouses . The park is located in the desert habitat of the Spiti Valley, within the Cold Desert Biosphere Reserve, in the Himalayas region .  Spreading south of Dhankar Gompa near theTibetan border, the park marks the border between the formerly separate districts of Lahaul and Spiti .

 The elevation of the park ranges from about 3,500 metres near Ka Dogri to more than 6,000 metres . at its highest point. Some plants within the park's alpine habitats have significant medicinal properties . Twenty two rare and endangered medicinal plant species, have been discovered in and around Pin Valley National Park .  which are distributed over 10 different habitat types  .  Aconitum rotundifolium, Arnebia euchroma, Ephedra gerardiana, Ferula jaeschkeana, Hyoscymus niger are the threatened but medicinally important plants occur in this national park . 

 

Because of the park's high altitude and extreme temperatures, the vegetation density is sparse, consisting mostly of alpine trees and groves of  . In summer, rare birds such as the Himalayan snowcock, chukar partridge, snow partridge and snowfinch flourish in the park . Steeped in historical and present day Buddhist Tibetan culture, the area has many Tibetan Buddhist influences, evident architecturally in monasteries and stupas , and in the daily living of its residents and lamas . Pin Valley National Park was established by India in 1987.

                                 Rajaji  National  Park

Rajaji  National  Park  of  India  is  nestled  between  the  Shivalik  ranges  and  the  Indo-Gangetic  plains.  Broadleaved  deciduous  forests,  riverine  vegetation,  scrubland,  grasslands  and  pine  forests  form  the  range  of  flora  in  this  park.  The  dense  jungles  here  are  home  to  vivacious  wildlife.  The  varied  topography  of  the  national  park  is  also  responsible  for  vivid  animal  life  inhibited  here.  The  under-wood  is  light  and  often  absent,  consisting  of  rohini  Mallotus  philippensis,  amaltas  Cassia  fistula,  shisham  Dalbergia  sissoo,  Sal  Shorea  robusta,  palash  Butea  monosperma,  arjun  Terminalia  arjuna,  khair  Senegalia  catechu,  baans  Dendrocalamus  strictus,  semul  Bombax  ceiba,  sandan,  chamaror  Ehretia,  amla  Phyllanthus  emblica,  kachnar  Bauhienia  variegata,  ber  Ziziphus  mauritiana,  chilla  Casearia,  bel  Aegle  marmelos,  etc. 

 The  Union  government  has  given  the  nod  to  a  proposal  to  grant  the  Rajaji  National  Park  in  Uttarakhand  the  status  of  a  tiger  reserve.  It  will  be  the  second  tiger  reserve  in  the  State  after  the  Corbett  Tiger  Reserve.

As  per  directions  of  the  Tiger  Conservative  Authority  of  India,  the  Rajaji  National  Park  will  be  core  area  of  the  Rajaji  Tiger  Reserve,  while  about  300  km2.  of  Shyampur  range  of  the  Haridwar  forest  division  and  parts  of  Kotdwar  and  Laldhang  forest  division,  which  function  as  a  buffer  zone,  will  also  be  included  in  the  Tiger  Project,  augmented  area  to  1150  km2.  Rajaji  National  Park  is  predominantly  formed  from  dense  green  jungles,  and  this  environment  forms  a  habitat  for  a  number  of  animals.  

The  Park  is  at  the  northwestern  limit  of  distribution  for  both  elephants  and  tigers  in  India.  The  park  is  most  renowned  for  its  elephants.  The  mountain  goat,  goral  is  another  noteworthy  resident.  It  is  mainly  confined  to  the  precipitous  pine-covered  slopes.  Besides  the  huge  pachyderms  and  the  nimble  goats,  you  might  come  across  huge  herds  of  chital,  sometimes  as  many  as  250  to  a  herd.  Sambar,  barking  deer,  hog  deer,  nilgai,  wild  pigs  and  sloth  bears  also  inhabit  these  forests  though  you  may  not  always  catch  a  glimpse  of  these. 

 

 The  rhesus  macaque  and  the  common  langur  are  fairly  common  here.  Rajaji  National  Park  has  been  named  after  C.  Rajagopalachari  (Rajaji),  a  prominent  leader  of  the  Freedom  Struggle,  the  second  and  last  Governor-General  of  independent  India  and  one  of  the  first  recipients  of  India's  highest  civilian  award  Bharat  Ratna  (in  1954).