Shey Phoksundo National Park
Encyclopedia
Shey Phoksundo National Park is the largest and only trans-Himalayan
National Park in Nepal
. It covers an area of 3555 km² (1,372.6 sq mi) in the districts of Dolpa
and Mugu
in the northwestern part of the country.
The park was formally gazetted in 1984 with its headquarters in Palam, in Dolpa District.
The park contains the famous Phoksundo Lake
, the deepest lake in Nepal.
. Phoksundo Lake, famous for its magnificent turquoise color, lies at 3660 metres (12,007.9 ft) in the upper reaches of Suligad and is Nepal’s deepest and second largest lake. Near the lake’s outlet is the country’s highest waterfall. Many beautiful glaciers can be found near and above the lake area.
The Langu river drains the high Dolpo
plateau situated in the north-east of the park. The Suligad and Jugdual rivers form the southern catchment flowing south into the Thuli Bheri river.
dominated to an arid climate. Annual precipitation reaches 1500 mm (59.1 in) in the south, whereas on northern slopes less than 500 mm (19.7 in) of rain falls. Most of the precipitation occurs during monsoon from July to September. The Dhaulagiri
and Kanjiroba massifs form a massive barrier preventing most of the rain from reaching the Trans-Himalayan area. Winters are quite severe with frequent snowfalls above 2500 m (8,202.1 ft) and temperatures remaining below freezing above 3000 m (9,842.5 ft) through much of the winter.
, caragana
shrubs, salix, juniper
, white Himalayan birch
, and the occasional silver fir
dominate the high meadows of the Himalayas. Less than five percent of the park is forested, with much of it lying in the southern portion. The Suligad Vally’s flora consists of blue pine
, spruce
, hemlock
, cedar
, silver fir, poplar
, rhododendron
, and bamboo
. The park also contains 286 species of ethnobotanical importance.
The park provides important habitat for endangered species including the snow leopard
, grey wolf, musk deer
, and blue sheep. Goral
, great Tibetan sheep, Himalayan tahr
, leopard
, jackal
, Himalayan black bear and yellow-throated marten are also found in the park. The park is home to six reptile
s and 29 species of butterfly
, including the highest flying butterfly in the world, Paralasa nepalaica. The park provides habitat for over 200 species of birds, such as Tibetan partridge
, wood snipe
, white-throated tit, wood accentor
and crimson-eared rosefinch
.
s and religious sites, many of which have been renovated. Shey Gompa, the most famous, was established in the 11th century. Thashung Gompa located near Phoksundo Lake was built about 900 years ago to conserve wildlife. Ringmo village, a typical Tibetan village, is scenically nestled in the park.
The park is home to more than 9,000 people, and their villages are among the highest settlements on earth. The local people are subsistence farmers
growing potatoes, buckwheat
, mustard
, beans and some barley
; and keeping livestock for food and wool
. They barter with Tibetans
for salt
and wool. Their lifestyle is typically Tibetan. Most of them are Buddhists
; the people around Phoksundo area practice Bön. There are communal gompas in most of the villages.
Himalayas
The Himalaya Range or Himalaya Mountains Sanskrit: Devanagari: हिमालय, literally "abode of snow"), usually called the Himalayas or Himalaya for short, is a mountain range in Asia, separating the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau...
National Park in Nepal
Nepal
Nepal , officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked sovereign state located in South Asia. It is located in the Himalayas and bordered to the north by the People's Republic of China, and to the south, east, and west by the Republic of India...
. It covers an area of 3555 km² (1,372.6 sq mi) in the districts of Dolpa
Dolpa District
-Geography:Dolpa is the largest district of Nepal covering 5.36% of the total landmass of the country. Located between 28°24’ N - 29°43’ N latitude, and 82°24’ E - 83°38’ E longitude, the elevation in Dolpa ranges from above sea level...
and Mugu
Mugu District
Mugu District of 43,937. The biggest lake in Nepal, Rara Lake, also known as Mahendra Daha, lies in the Mugu District.It is one of the biggest districts of Nepal.Pulu is one of the famous Village Development Committee of Mugu district...
in the northwestern part of the country.
The park was formally gazetted in 1984 with its headquarters in Palam, in Dolpa District.
The park contains the famous Phoksundo Lake
Phoksundo Lake
Phoksundo Lake, also known as Shey Phoksundo Lake, is an alpine fresh water oligotrophic lake in Nepal's Shey Phoksundo National Park, located at an altitude of above sea level in the Dolpa District. Phoksundo Lake is in size with a water volume of and a discharge of...
, the deepest lake in Nepal.
Features
Shey Phoksundo National Park provides a diversity of spectacular landscapes and ranks among the most scenic mountain parks in the world. Much of the park lies north of the Himalayan crest. Elevations range from 2130 metres (6,988.2 ft) in the southeast near Ankhe to 6883 metres (22,582 ft) at the summit of Kanjiroba Himal, which lies at the southern edge of the Tibetan plateauTibetan Plateau
The Tibetan Plateau , also known as the Qinghai–Tibetan Plateau is a vast, elevated plateau in Central Asia covering most of the Tibet Autonomous Region and Qinghai, in addition to smaller portions of western Sichuan, southwestern Gansu, and northern Yunnan in Western China and Ladakh in...
. Phoksundo Lake, famous for its magnificent turquoise color, lies at 3660 metres (12,007.9 ft) in the upper reaches of Suligad and is Nepal’s deepest and second largest lake. Near the lake’s outlet is the country’s highest waterfall. Many beautiful glaciers can be found near and above the lake area.
The Langu river drains the high Dolpo
Dolpo
Dolpo is a high-altitude culturally Tibetan region in the upper part of the Dolpa District of western Nepal, bordered in the north by the Tibet Autonomous Region of China. Part of the region lies in Shey Phoksundo National Park...
plateau situated in the north-east of the park. The Suligad and Jugdual rivers form the southern catchment flowing south into the Thuli Bheri river.
Climate
Spanning the northern and southern aspects of the Himalayan crest, the park experiences a wide climatic range and lies in the transition zone from a monsoonMonsoon
Monsoon is traditionally defined as a seasonal reversing wind accompanied by corresponding changes in precipitation, but is now used to describe seasonal changes in atmospheric circulation and precipitation associated with the asymmetric heating of land and sea...
dominated to an arid climate. Annual precipitation reaches 1500 mm (59.1 in) in the south, whereas on northern slopes less than 500 mm (19.7 in) of rain falls. Most of the precipitation occurs during monsoon from July to September. The Dhaulagiri
Dhaulagiri
Dhaulagiri is Earth's seventh highest mountain at ; one of fourteen over eight thousand metres. Dhaulagiri was first climbed May 13, 1960 by a Swiss/Austrian expedition....
and Kanjiroba massifs form a massive barrier preventing most of the rain from reaching the Trans-Himalayan area. Winters are quite severe with frequent snowfalls above 2500 m (8,202.1 ft) and temperatures remaining below freezing above 3000 m (9,842.5 ft) through much of the winter.
Flora and Fauna
The flora found within the park is exteremely diverse. The northern regions contain barren areas of the upper Himalayas. The Trans-Himalayan slope lands consist of some rhododendronRhododendron
Rhododendron is a genus of over 1 000 species of woody plants in the heath family, most with showy flowers...
, caragana
Caragana
Caragana is a genus of about 80 species of flowering plants in the family Fabaceae, native to Asia and eastern Europe.They are shrubs or small trees growing 1-6 m tall...
shrubs, salix, juniper
Juniper
Junipers are coniferous plants in the genus Juniperus of the cypress family Cupressaceae. Depending on taxonomic viewpoint, there are between 50-67 species of juniper, widely distributed throughout the northern hemisphere, from the Arctic, south to tropical Africa in the Old World, and to the...
, white Himalayan birch
Betula utilis
Betula utilis is a Birch tree native to the Himalayas, growing at elevations up to . The specific epithet, utilis, refers to the many uses of the different parts of the tree. The white, paper-like bark of the tree was used in ancient times for writing Sanskrit scriptures and texts...
, and the occasional silver fir
Silver Fir
Abies alba, commonly known as the European silver fir, is a fir native to the mountains of Europe, from the Pyrenees north to Normandy, east to the Alps and the Carpathians, and south to southern Italy and northern Serbia.-Description:...
dominate the high meadows of the Himalayas. Less than five percent of the park is forested, with much of it lying in the southern portion. The Suligad Vally’s flora consists of blue pine
Blue Pine
Pinus wallichiana is a pine native to the Himalaya, Karakoram and Hindu Kush mountains, from eastern Afghanistan east across northern Pakistan and India to Yunnan in southwest China. It grows at high altitudes in mountain valleys at altitudes of 1800–4300 m , and is a tree from 30–50 m in height...
, spruce
Spruce
A spruce is a tree of the genus Picea , a genus of about 35 species of coniferous evergreen trees in the Family Pinaceae, found in the northern temperate and boreal regions of the earth. Spruces are large trees, from tall when mature, and can be distinguished by their whorled branches and conical...
, hemlock
Hemlock
The word hemlock may refer to:*Hemlock, several poisonous plants in the Apiaceae family :**Hemlock , two species, one formerly used as a method of execution**Water Hemlock...
, cedar
Cedar wood
Cedar wood comes from several different trees that grow in different parts of the world, and may have different uses.* California incense-cedar, from Calocedrus decurrens, is the primary type of wood used for making pencils...
, silver fir, poplar
Poplar
Populus is a genus of 25–35 species of deciduous flowering plants in the family Salicaceae, native to most of the Northern Hemisphere. English names variously applied to different species include poplar , aspen, and cottonwood....
, rhododendron
Rhododendron
Rhododendron is a genus of over 1 000 species of woody plants in the heath family, most with showy flowers...
, and bamboo
Bamboo
Bamboo is a group of perennial evergreens in the true grass family Poaceae, subfamily Bambusoideae, tribe Bambuseae. Giant bamboos are the largest members of the grass family....
. The park also contains 286 species of ethnobotanical importance.
The park provides important habitat for endangered species including the snow leopard
Snow Leopard
The snow leopard is a moderately large cat native to the mountain ranges of South Asia and Central Asia...
, grey wolf, musk deer
Musk deer
Musk deer are artiodactyls of the genus Moschus, the only genus of family Moschidae. They are more primitive than the cervids, or true deer, in not having antlers or facial glands, in having only a single pair of teats, and in possessing a gall bladder, a caudal gland, a pair of tusk-like teeth...
, and blue sheep. Goral
Goral
Goral may refer to:* Three species of Asian ungulates in the genus Naemorhedus.* The Gorals, a people living in southern Poland, northern Slovakia and the Czech Republic....
, great Tibetan sheep, Himalayan tahr
Himalayan Tahr
The Himalayan Tahr or Common Thar is a large ungulate related to the wild goat.-Habitat:...
, leopard
Indian leopard
The Indian leopard is a leopard subspecies widely distributed on the Indian subcontinent. It is one of the five big cats found in India, apart from Asiatic lion, Bengal tiger, snow leopard and clouded leopard....
, jackal
Jackal
Although the word jackal has been historically used to refer to many small- to medium-sized species of the wolf genus of mammals, Canis, today it most properly and commonly refers to three species: the black-backed jackal and the side-striped jackal of sub-Saharan Africa, and the golden jackal of...
, Himalayan black bear and yellow-throated marten are also found in the park. The park is home to six reptile
Reptile
Reptiles are members of a class of air-breathing, ectothermic vertebrates which are characterized by laying shelled eggs , and having skin covered in scales and/or scutes. They are tetrapods, either having four limbs or being descended from four-limbed ancestors...
s and 29 species of butterfly
Butterfly
A butterfly is a mainly day-flying insect of the order Lepidoptera, which includes the butterflies and moths. Like other holometabolous insects, the butterfly's life cycle consists of four parts: egg, larva, pupa and adult. Most species are diurnal. Butterflies have large, often brightly coloured...
, including the highest flying butterfly in the world, Paralasa nepalaica. The park provides habitat for over 200 species of birds, such as Tibetan partridge
Tibetan Partridge
The Tibetan Partridge is a gamebird in the pheasant family Phasianidae of the order Galliformes. They are found widely across the Tibetan Plateau and have some variations in plumage across populations. They forage on the ground in the sparsely vegetated high altitude regions, moving in pairs...
, wood snipe
Wood Snipe
The Wood Snipe is a species of snipe which breeds in the Himalayas of northern India, Nepal, Bhutan and southern China. In winter, it occurs at lower altitudes in the Himalayas, as a regular visitor in small numbers to north Vietnam...
, white-throated tit, wood accentor
Accentor
The accentors are in the only bird family, the Prunellidae, which is completely endemic to the Palearctic. This small group of closely related passerines are all in a single genus Prunella...
and crimson-eared rosefinch
Rosefinch
The rosefinches are birds in the finch family Fringillidae. Most Carpodacus species are called "rosefinches", but the three North American species are simply called "finches". As the names imply, various shades of red are the characteristic plumage colours of this group...
.
Culture
The park contains many gompaGompa
Gompa and ling are Buddhist ecclesiastical fortifications of learning, lineage and sadhana , located in Tibet, India, Nepal, and Bhutan...
s and religious sites, many of which have been renovated. Shey Gompa, the most famous, was established in the 11th century. Thashung Gompa located near Phoksundo Lake was built about 900 years ago to conserve wildlife. Ringmo village, a typical Tibetan village, is scenically nestled in the park.
The park is home to more than 9,000 people, and their villages are among the highest settlements on earth. The local people are subsistence farmers
Subsistence agriculture
Subsistence agriculture is self-sufficiency farming in which the farmers focus on growing enough food to feed their families. The typical subsistence farm has a range of crops and animals needed by the family to eat and clothe themselves during the year. Planting decisions are made with an eye...
growing potatoes, buckwheat
Buckwheat
Buckwheat refers to a variety of plants in the dicot family Polygonaceae: the Eurasian genus Fagopyrum, the North American genus Eriogonum, and the Northern Hemisphere genus Fallopia. Either of the latter two may be referred to as "wild buckwheat"...
, mustard
Mustard seed
Mustard seeds are the small round seeds of various mustard plants. The seeds are usually about 1 or 2 mm in diameter. Mustard seeds may be colored from yellowish white to black. They are important spices in many regional foods. The seeds can come from three different plants: black mustard , brown...
, beans and some barley
Barley
Barley is a major cereal grain, a member of the grass family. It serves as a major animal fodder, as a base malt for beer and certain distilled beverages, and as a component of various health foods...
; and keeping livestock for food and wool
Wool
Wool is the textile fiber obtained from sheep and certain other animals, including cashmere from goats, mohair from goats, qiviut from muskoxen, vicuña, alpaca, camel from animals in the camel family, and angora from rabbits....
. They barter with Tibetans
Tibetan people
The Tibetan people are an ethnic group that is native to Tibet, which is mostly in the People's Republic of China. They number 5.4 million and are the 10th largest ethnic group in the country. Significant Tibetan minorities also live in India, Nepal, and Bhutan...
for salt
Halite
Halite , commonly known as rock salt, is the mineral form of sodium chloride . Halite forms isometric crystals. The mineral is typically colorless or white, but may also be light blue, dark blue, purple, pink, red, orange, yellow or gray depending on the amount and type of impurities...
and wool. Their lifestyle is typically Tibetan. Most of them are Buddhists
Buddhism
Buddhism is a religion and philosophy encompassing a variety of traditions, beliefs and practices, largely based on teachings attributed to Siddhartha Gautama, commonly known as the Buddha . The Buddha lived and taught in the northeastern Indian subcontinent some time between the 6th and 4th...
; the people around Phoksundo area practice Bön. There are communal gompas in most of the villages.