Singalila National Park

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Singalila National Park

Senchel Wildlife Sanchuary

Neora Valley National park

Mahananda Wildlife Sanctuary

The Singalila National Park, located in Darjeeling district of WestBengal covers an area of 78 km2 and has an altitudinal range of2,400-3,650 metres. The National Park shares a natural boundary

with Nepal on the west and with Sikkim on the north. Theinternational border between India and Nepal is identified by a 52km road running from Phalut (3,650 m) down to Manebhanjyang(1,920 m).The National Park is an Important Bird Area and an IUCNCategory II Protected Area.

Singalila National Park is under the administrative control of theWildlife Division-I, Department of Forest, Government of WestBengal.

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Ashoka Trust for Research inEcology and the Environment

HistoryThe Singalila area in Darjeeling was purchased by the British Government from Sibbim Durbar in 1882, and notified aReserve Forest under the Indian Forest Act 1878. It was notified as a National Parb in 1992 and was also officially openedup for tourism.

However even before this, Singalila has a history of receiving visitors. Some of theI prominent visitors include Sir Joseph Dalton Hoober - one of the greatest British**" y '* botanists and explorers in 1883; Heinrich Harrer author of "Seven Vears in Tibet"

visited Singalila several times. Singalila range used to be a regular route forexpeditions to Kanchenjunga. Sri Tenzing Norgay Sherpa felicitated the firstKanchenjunga summitters on their return from the mountain at Sandabphu in

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PATAFOUNDATION

PeopleSherpas, Tibetans, Rais, Tamangs, Newars, Lepchas, Chettris, Bahuns,

Sunwars, Limbus, Gurungs and Bhujels are the hey ethnic groups in thelandscape.

Ashoka Trust for Research inEcology and the Environment

www.ruffordsmaiIgrants.org

3630mThe Singalila Landscape

encompasses the Eastern HimalayaBroadleaf Temperate and

Subalpine Conifer Forests between2,200 - 3,636 meters.

Conifer Forest

ConiferForest

3300m

MixedBroadleaf

Conifer Forest

The temperate zone comprises ofOaks, Beech (Castanopsis spp.)

interspersed predominantly withMagnolia, Michellia, Maple (Acerspp.), Sorbus and Rhododendronswith an understorey of bamboo.

3 50m

Broadleaf Deciduous Forest

wThe Subalpine zone comprises ofconifers such as Silver Fir (Abies

densa), Hemlocks interspersed withBirch with an understorey of

bamboo.

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Mixed BroadleafConifer Forest

Oar? Forest

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Oak Forest

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Ground FloraDarjeeling Himalaya is very rich in plant life and is estimated to have about 2,900 species ofangiosperms (Das 2011). Singalila National Park has a large number of flowering ground

flora of which the Primulas, Aconites, Asters, Arisaema, Meconopsis, Cotoneasters, Geraniumsare predominant.

Aconitum spicatum

Geranium wallichii

Arisaema sp. Arisaema griffithiiArisaema nepenthoidesCotoneaster microphylla

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' * .Primula bracteosaPrimula calderianaMeconopsis napaulensis Primula listenPrimula capitata

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RhododendronsRhododendrons are regarded by many as the best flowering evergreen plants in the temperate

landscape. Sir Joseph Hooker, the famous naturalist discovered 25 new species of rhododendronsin the Himalayas. Singalila National Park has 18 recorded species of rhododendrons.

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& tX-Ai-f '"V"Singalila National Park has a record of 350 species of birds. Some of theprominent birds are - Pheasants and Partridges like the Satyr Tragopan,Blood Pheasant, Kaleej Pheasant, Hill Partridge, and Rufous-throatedPartridge. Others include Beautiful Nuthatch, Firetail Myzornis, HimalayanGriffon Vulture, Fire-tailed Sunbird, Crimson Sunbird, Brown Parrot Bill.

Himalayan Griffon Vulture (.Gyps himalayensis)

Singalila National Park with its diverse habitats supports a rich community of birds ranging

from small sized birds like warblers, sunbirds and flowerpeckers to the relatively larger sizedspecies like Raptors, Magpies, Jays and Thrushes.

Darjeeling Woodpecker(Dendrocopos darjellensis)

Beautiful Nuthatch(Sittaformosa)

Fire-tailed myzornis(Myzornispyrrhoura)

Fire-tailed sunbird(Aethopyga ignicauda)

Crimson Sunbird(Aethopyga siparaja)

Brown Parrotbill(Cholornis unicolor)

Satyr Tragopan (Tragopan satyra)Kalij Pheasant (Lophura leucomelanos)Blood Pheasant (Ithaginis cruentus)

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Red Panda is an Endangered mammal. Red Pandasubsists on an extremely specialized herbivorous dietof bamboo leaves, while still retaining itsmorphological features of a carnivore. Red Panda isdistributed across Eastern Himalayas in Nepal, India(Sibbim, Darjeeling and Arunachal Pradesh),Bhutan, extending into Myanmar and China. RedPanda numbers may be as low as 10,000 in its entiredistribution range with rapid declines reported. RedPanda is threatened due to loss and fragmentation

of its habitat and direct harvest, and trade.

Singalila National Parb is an important Red Pandahabitat

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Destinations1 To Sibbim J

Phalut

Prom To Distance (Kms.)

Manaybjanjyang Dhotrey 17

Manaybjanjyang Tumling 13

Dhotrey Rimbicb 26

Tumling Sandabphu 19

Rimbicb Sandabphu 17.1

Sandabphu Phalut 19.4

Sandabphu Mollay 15.1

; Mollay Rimbicb 16.3

Phalut Gorbhey 11.6

Gorbhey Rimbicb 16.1

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Mountain Peaks from SingalilaSingalila National Park is known for its picturesque views of some of the highest Himalayan Mountain peaks. Many spotswithin the Park such as Tonglu (3,070 m), Sandakphu (3,636 m) and Phalut (3,600 m) offer magnificent views of someof the highest mountains of the world above 8,000 metres which are the Everest (8,850 m), Lhotse (8,516 m),Kanchenjunga (8,586 m) and Valung Kang (8,505 m). Apart from the mountains of Nepal & Sikkim Himalaya, MountChomolhari (7,326 m) which is a watershed boundary between Tibet and Bhutan can also be seen from the Park. MountEverest is 145 kilometres aerial distance from Sandakphu. It is also recorded that the height of Mt. Everest was measuredfor the first time from Sandakphu.

KanchenjungaKabru S

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Everest range from Sandakphu Kanchenjunga range from Sandakphu Kumbhakarana Everest range from Sandakphu-Phalut Road

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Do's and Don'tsRemember

* Singalila National Park is protecting the important and remaining Eastern Himalaya Broadleaf andSubalpine Conifer Forests.* These forests are home to many animals species such as the Endangered Red Panda, beautiful birds anddiverse plant life.* Singalila supports almost 70 percent of the local community with tourism as their livelihood.

Do's Don'ts1. Do take a local guide - they are now being trained. This will 1. Do not litter - apart from dirtying, litter destroys habitats ofhelp you on your trek and will also be contributing to thecommunity livelihood2. Do eat local cuisines3. If you are taking vehicles, do tell drivers not to play loudmusic4. The fuel/energy used here is largely firewood, which comesfrom habitats of some of the significant species. Be thoughtful !5. Respect and be sensitive to local values and culture.

Singalila is a beautiful trekking destination - Trek and enjoy !

some important ground flora. Minimise garbage creation.2. Do not damage flowers and plants.3. Do not play loud music while inside the National Park.4. Do not dirty the water and the streams.

PATAFOUNDATION

AcknowledgementsSingalila National Park? is one of the most popular tourist destinations in the Eastern Himalaya (approx. 8,000 tourists annually). At thesame time it provides significant habitat for iconic species like the Red Panda, Satyr Tragopan, Blood Pheasant, numerous birds, richdiversity of plants while supporting a landscape with people, their livelihoods, culture, history and heritage. These posters came out of thefeedback received from visitors to the Park as part of an assessment carried out by ATREE in 2012-2014. We found that there was need forvisitors to understand and appreciate the Singalila landscape more holistically. This assessment supported by Rufford Foundation, UK andPacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) Foundation, USA came up with two initiatives:1. Capacity building of the local tour guides of Singalila National Park (ongoing)2. Developing Interpretation Posters

Many people generously contributed in making these posters:

* Dr. Amal Bawri identified Primula spp.

* Mr. Deependra Sunwar validated texts on ground flora.* Mr. Dorjee Lhatoo shared his enormous knowledge in validating thetexts for the History and Mountains posters

* Mr. Nayan Thapa identified ground flora

* Mr. Roshan Pradhan researched on the history of Singalila.

* Mr. Saibal Sengupta provided texts for the Mountain poster.

* Dr. Santosh Rai reviewed the text on ground flora

Potter Detignt Rohit George, ATREE

Photo Credit!:History: Dorjee Lhatoo, Laba Paul,Tenzing Sherpa, Wikipedia

People: Laba Paul, Rohit George, Sunita Pradhan,Tenzing Sherpa

Foreitt:Rohit George, Tenzing Sherpa

Ground flora: Deependra Sunwar, Pradip Sherpa, Tenzing Sherpa

Rhododendron: "The Rhododendrons of Sibbim-Himalaya" by Joseph DaltonHooker; Rohit George, Tenzing SherpaBird!: Laba Paul, Rohit George, Sagar Gosavi, Tenzing Sherpa, Wikipedia

Red Panda: Dhritiman Mukherjee, Rohit George, Sunita Pradhan

Mountain!: Laba Paul, Rohit George, Tenzing Sherpa

Dettinationt:Anand Gazmer, Laba Paul, Roshan Pradhan, Sunita Pradhan,

Tenzing Sherpa

For more informationcontactsDFO Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment (ATREE)

Darjeeling Wildlife Division Regional Office Eastern HimalayaMeadow Bank Theyzong Heem, Development Area

Bengal Natural History Museum Gangtok-737101, Sikkim, IndiaDarjeeling - 734101, West Bengal www.atree.org

Phone: 91-354-2257314 Phone: 91-3592206403

Email: dfowl1darj@gmail.com Email: info@atree.org