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.