UpdateBot at 17:57, 25 June 2022

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{{Short description|Protected area and UNESCO World Heritage Site in Sikkim, India}}
{{Use Indian English|date=February 2015}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2015}}
{{Infobox protected area
| name = Khangchendzonga National Park
| photo = Kangch-Goechala.jpg
| photo_caption = Mt. Kanchenjunga from [[Goecha La]] pass, Khangchendzonga National Park, [[Sikkim]]
| map = India Sikkim#India
| map_width =
| relief = 1
| label = Kanchenjunga NP
| iucn_category = II
| location = [[North Sikkim]], [[Sikkim]], [[India]]
| nearest_city = [[Chungthang]]
| coordinates = {{coord|27|39|22.7|N|88|18|44.3|E|format=dms|display=inline,title}}
| area_km2 = 1784
| established = 1977
| visitation_num =
| visitation_year =
| governing_body = [[Ministry of Environment and Forests]], [[Government of India]]
| embedded1 = {{designation list | embed=yes
| designation1 = WHS
| designation1_date = 2016 <small>(40th [[World Heritage Committee|session]])</small>
| designation1_type = Mixed
| designation1_criteria = iii, vi, vii, x
| designation1_number = [https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1513 1513]
| designation1_free1name = State Party
| designation1_free1value = [[India]]
}}
}}
'''Khangchendzonga National Park''', also '''Kanchenjunga Biosphere Reserve''', is a [[national park]] and a [[biosphere reserve]] located in [[Sikkim]], [[India]]. It was inscribed to the [[UNESCO]] [[World Heritage Site]]s list in July 2016, becoming the first "[[World Heritage Site#Selection criteria|Mixed Heritage]]" site of India.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=O'Neill |first1=A. |date=2017 |title=Sikkim claims India's first mixed-criteria UNESCO World Heritage Site |url=http://www.currentscience.ac.in/Volumes/112/05/0893.pdf |journal=Current Science |volume=112 |issue=5 |pages=893–994 |access-date=2017-05-11}}</ref> It was included in the UNESCO [[Man and the Biosphere Programme]]. The park is named after the mountain [[Kangchenjunga]] (alternative spelling ''Khangchendzonga''), which is the third-highest peak in the world at {{convert|8586|m|ft}} tall. The total area of the park is {{convert|849.5|km2|mi2|abbr=on}}.

==Human history==
{{Main|Tholung Monastery}}
There are a few [[Lepcha people|Lepcha]] tribal settlements inside the park.

The park contains [[Tholung Monastery]], a [[gompa]] located in the park's buffer zone. It is considered one of the most sacred monasteries in [[Sikkim]].<ref name=":0">{{cite web|url=http://www.sikkimeccl.gov.in/History/Monasteries/North/TholungMonastery.aspx|title=Tholung Monastery (1789 A.D)|website=Department of Ecclesiastical Affairs, Government of Sikkim|publisher=Department of Information Technology Government of Sikkim|access-date=14 April 2017|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170415011555/http://www.sikkimeccl.gov.in/History/Monasteries/North/TholungMonastery.aspx|archive-date=15 April 2017|df=dmy-all}}</ref><ref name=":1">{{cite web|url=http://www.alpineadventureclub.com/tolung-monastery-trekking.html|title=Tholung Monastery Trekking - 10 Days|website=Alpine Adventure Club|publisher=Alpine Adventure Club Treks & Expedition|access-date=14 April 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://whc.unesco.org/en/documents/141195|title=Khangchendzonga National Park: Tholung monastery in the buffer zone of KBR|publisher=UNESCO World Heritage Centre|access-date=14 April 2017}}</ref>

==Geography==
[[File:Khangchendzonga np.jpg|thumb|upright|Map of the Indian protected areas of the Kangchenjunga Biosphere Reserve and National Park]]
The Kanchenjunga Park is situated in the [[North Sikkim district|North]] and [[West Sikkim district]]s in the Indian state of Sikkim. It has an elevation of {{convert|1829|m|ft|abbr=on}} to over {{convert|8550|m|ft|abbr=on}} and has an area of {{convert|849.50|km2|mi2|abbr=on}}. It is one of the few high-altitude [[National park]]s of India and was recently included as a mixed-criteria UNESCO World Heritage site.<ref name="O'Neill_2019"/>

In the north it adjoins the [[Qomolangma National Nature Preserve]] in [[Tibet]], and in the west the [[Kanchenjunga Conservation Area]] in [[Nepal]].<ref name=nbrb2007>{{cite book |author=Bhuju, U. R. |author2=Shakya, P. R. |author3=Basnet, T. B. |author4=Shrestha, S. |name-list-style=amp |year=2007 |title=Nepal Biodiversity Resource Book. Protected Areas, Ramsar Sites, and World Heritage Sites |publisher=International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development, Ministry of Environment, Science and Technology, in cooperation with United Nations Environment Programme, Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific |location=Kathmandu |isbn=978-92-9115-033-5 |chapter=Kanchenjunga Conservation Area |pages= |url=https://lib.icimod.org/record/7560}}</ref>

===Climate===
Snowfall is heavy during the winter months and monsoon showers occur from May to mid-October.

==Flora==
The vegetation of the park include [[temperate broadleaf and mixed forests]] consisting of [[oak]]s, [[fir]], [[birch]], [[maple]], [[willow]].<ref name="O'Neill_2019">{{cite journal |last1=O'Neill |first1=A. R.| date=2019 |title=Evaluating high-altitude Ramsar wetlands in the Sikkim Eastern Himalayas |journal=Global Ecology and Conservation |volume=20 |issue=e00715 |pages=19 |doi=10.1016/j.gecco.2019.e00715|doi-access=free }}</ref> The vegetation of the park also includes Alpine grasses and [[shrub]]s at higher altitudes along with many [[medicinal plant]]s and [[herb]]s.<ref name="O'Neill_al2017">{{cite journal |last1=O'Neill |first1=A. R. |last2=Badola |first2=H.K. |last3=Dhyani |first3=P. P. |last4=Rana |first4=S. K. |date=2017 |title=Integrating ethnobiological knowledge into biodiversity conservation in the Eastern Himalayas |journal=Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine |volume=13 |issue=1 |pages=21 |doi=10.1186/s13002-017-0148-9 |pmid=28356115 |pmc=5372287}}</ref>

==Fauna==
The park contains many mammal species including [[musk deer]], [[Indian leopard]], [[snow leopard]], [[Himalayan tahr]], [[dhole]], [[sloth bear]], [[viverrid]]s, [[Himalayan black bear]], [[red panda]], [[Tibetan wild ass]], [[Himalayan blue sheep]], [[mainland serow]], [[goral]] and [[takin]], as well as reptiles including [[rat snake]] and [[Russell's viper]].{{cn|date=May 2020}}

A 2014 study revealed that the dhole has become very rare in the area. The wild dogs in the Khangchendzonga Biosphere Reserve are thought to belong to the rare and genetically distinct subspecies ''C. a. primaevus''.<ref>{{cite journal |author=Bashir, T. |author2=Bhattacharya, T. |author3= Poudyal, K. |author4=Roy, M. |author5=Sathyakumar, S. |date=2014 |title=Precarious status of the Endangered Dhole ''Cuon alpinus'' in the high elevation Eastern Himalayan habitats of Khangchendzonga Biosphere Reserve, Sikkim, India |journal=Oryx |volume=48 |issue=1 |pages=125–132 |doi=10.1017/S003060531200049X |doi-access=free}}</ref>

===Avifauna===
About 550 species of birds are found inside the park including [[blood pheasant]], [[satyr tragopan]], [[osprey]], [[Himalayan griffon]], [[lammergeier]], [[Western tragopan]], [[green pigeon]], [[Tibetan snowcock]], [[snow pigeon]], [[impeyan pheasant]], [[Asian emerald cuckoo]], [[sunbird]] and [[eagle]].<ref name="O'Neill_2019"/> A new species of bird named [[Himalayan thrush]] has been found in 2016. Its scientific name is ''Zoothera salimalii''.{{cn|date=May 2020}}

==Park specific activities==

===Trekking===
Most of the trekking routes start from [[Yuksom]] ({{convert|145|km|mi|abbr=on}} from [[Gangtok]]) in [[West Sikkim]]. Necessary Permit can be obtained from the Wildlife Education and Interpretation center at [[Yuksom]] or from the check post. State Tourism Department along with other travel agents organize treks to Dzongri ({{convert|4050|m|ft}}) and other places. The popular trek routes are:
*Yuksom - Tshoka - Dzongri
*Bakim - Dzongri - Thangshing - Samuteng - Goechala
*Dzongri Base Camp - Rathong – Khangerteng
*Thangshing - Lam Pokhari - Kasturi Orar - Labdang - Tashiding

Another popular trekking point includes a path to the Green Lake with [[Lachen (Sikkimese town)|Lachen]], a village in North Sikkim as the starting point.
Foreign nationals require a restricted area permit from the Ministry of Home Affairs, [[Government of India]], [[Delhi]] to visit the park and the associated region. Indian nationals are required to obtain an [[Inner Line Permit]] from the State Home Department. Permission of the State Chief Wildlife Warden is also mandatory for everybody visiting the park.
The important and popular routes are:
*Lucanes Jakchen-Yabuk-Rest Camp (Marco Polo Camp) - Green Lake
*Lachen-Thasngu ({{convert|13695|ft|m}}) - Muguthang ({{convert|16000|ft|m}}) - Thay La ({{convert|17000|ft|m}}) - Khyoksa La ({{convert|18000|ft|m}}) - Rest Camp - Green Lake.
Most of these trekking routes pass through the Kanchenjunga National Park and is shown in the film [[Singalila in the Himalaya]]

===Transport===
*Nearest airport:
*[[Pakyong Airport]], a [[Greenfield project]] near Gangtok
**[[Bagdogra Airport]], [[Darjeeling district]], [[West Bengal]] ({{convert|222|km|mi|abbr=on}})
**Gangtok Helipad, [[East Sikkim]] district, [[Sikkim]]
*Nearest railhead: [[New Jalpaiguri]], [[Siliguri|Siliguri Junction]] ({{convert|221|km|mi|abbr=on}})
*Nearest highway: NH 31A ([[Sevok]] – Gangtok)
*Nearest town: Yuksom in West and Chungthan in North ({{convert|20|km|mi|abbr=on}})
*Nearest city: [[Gangtok]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{commons category|Khangchendzonga National Park}}
* [http://tourism.webindia123.com/tourism/wildlife/nationalpark/khangchendzonga_national_park/index.htm?ModPagespeed=noscript Khangchendzonga National Park], WebIndia123
* [http://theindia.info/Blog/Goecha-La-In-Search-of-Kangchenjunga-Script/ Goecha La: In search of Kangchenjunga] by [[George Thengummoottil]] - documentary on Goechala Trek inside Kangchenjunga National Park
* {{wikivoyage-inline}}

{{National Parks of India}}
{{World Heritage Sites in India}}

[[Category:National parks in Sikkim]]
[[Category:Protected areas established in 1977]]
[[Category:North Sikkim district]]
[[Category:Protected areas of Sikkim]]
[[Category:World Heritage Sites in India]]
[[Category:1977 establishments in Sikkim]]

Khangchendzonga National Park - Revision history

UpdateBot at 17:57, 25 June 2022