Singalila National Park Singalila National Park SIKKIM Neora Valley National park J~ N~— -.ri-A! Senchel Wildlife Sanchuary BHUTAN rkhey Mahananda Wildlife Sanctuary amanden barkhum ollay ammam BANGLADESH €irikhola ÿRimbic The Singalila National Park, located in Darjeeling district of West andakphu Bengal covers an area of 78 km2 and has an altitudinal range of eekhay Bhanjyang 2,400-3,650 metres. The National Park shares a natural boundary ÿKalipokhri with Nepal on the west and with Sikkim on the north. The international border between India and Nepal is identified by a 52 Kaiyakatta km road running from Phalut (3,650 m) down to Manebhanjyang ÿairibas ÿDhotrey (1,920 m). The National Park is an Important Bird Area and an IUCN Tonglu Category II Protected Area. E irrfing fyleghma P _amey Dhura Singalila National Park is under the administrative control of the A Wildlife Division-I, Department of Forest, Government of West litray îiniybhanjyang Bengal. RATA Ashoka Trust for Research in FOUNDATION Ecology and the Environment History The Singalila area in Darjeeling was purchased by the British Government from Sibbim Durbar in 1882, and notified a Reserve Forest under the Indian Forest Act 1878. It was notified as a National Parb in 1992 and was also officially opened up for tourism. However even before this, Singalila has a history of receiving visitors. Some of the I 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 for expeditions to Kanchenjunga. Sri Tenzing Norgay Sherpa felicitated the first Kanchenjunga summitters on their return from the mountain at Sandabphu in * * v PATA FOUNDATION People Sherpas, Tibetans, Rais, Tamangs, Newars, Lepchas, Chettris, Bahuns, Sunwars, Limbus, Gurungs and Bhujels are the hey ethnic groups in the landscape. Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment www.ruffordsmaiIgrants.org 3630m The Singalila Landscape encompasses the Eastern Himalaya Conifer Forest Broadleaf Temperate and Conifer Subalpine Conifer Forests between Forest 2,200 - 3,636 meters. 3300m Mixed The temperate zone comprises of Broadleaf Oaks, Beech (Castanopsis spp.) Conifer Forest interspersed predominantly with Magnolia, Michellia, Maple (Acer 3 50m spp.), Sorbus and Rhododendrons with an understorey of bamboo. Broadleaf Deciduous Forest w Subalpine comprises The zone of 2800m ( ..-«ÿÿ.ÿSRaHunauaHVÿ v conifers such as Silver Fir Abies Mixed BroadleafConifer Forest — densa), Hemlocks interspersed with Birch with an understorey of Oar? Forest bamboo. 2200m Oak Forest uffor Ashoka Trust for Research in idation FOUNDAT ON Ecology and the Environment www.ruffordsmaIlgrants.org Ground Flora Darjeeling Himalaya is very rich in plant life and is estimated to have about 2,900 species of angiosperms (Das 2011). Singalila National Park has a large number of flowering ground flora of which the Primulas, Aconites, Asters, Arisaema, Meconopsis, Cotoneasters, Geraniums are predominant. Aconitum spicatum Geranium wallichii Arisaema griffithii Cotoneaster microphylla Arisaema sp. Arisaema nepenthoides Iris clarkei ' * . Primula capitata Meconopsis napaulensis Primula calderiana Primula bracteosa Primula listen P«if« 4M Travel AivkUWki FOUNDATION Rhododendrons Rhododendrons 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 rhododendrons Rhododendron cinnabarinum in the Himalayas. Singalila National Park has 18 recorded species of rhododendrons. ÿ m f is Rhododendron barbatum Rhododendron edgeworthu Rhododendron dalhousiae 4 I >1 ISPI m émJL Rhododendron* campanulatum Rhododendronfalcorneri Rhododendronfulqens Rhododendron hodgsonii Rhododendron triflorum PATA 'Milk Alla Trawl Awxlallo" FOUNDATION Singalila National Park has a record of 350 species of birds. Some of the 'ÿé% j- prominent birds are - Pheasants and Partridges like the Satyr Tragopan, & tX-Ai-f '"V" Blood Pheasant, Kaleej Pheasant, Hill Partridge, and Rufous-throated Partridge. Others include Beautiful Nuthatch, Firetail Myzornis, Himalayan Himalayan Griffon Vulture (.Gyps himalayensis) Griffon Vulture, Fire-tailed Sunbird, Crimson Sunbird, Brown Parrot Bill. 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 sized species like Raptors, Magpies, Jays and Thrushes. Darjeeling Woodpecker Beautiful Nuthatch (Dendrocopos darjellensis) (Sittaformosa) Fire-tailed myzornis Fire-tailed sunbird Crimson Sunbird Brown Parrotbill (Myzornispyrrhoura) (Aethopyga ignicauda) (Aethopyga siparaja) (Cholornis unicolor) Blood Pheasant (Ithaginis cruentus) Kalij Pheasant (Lophura leucomelanos) Satyr Tragopan (Tragopan satyra) Pacific AÙ travpl AivxiâtKOn FOUNDATION Red Panda (Ailurus fulgens) ÿ»« ssmm ill ' I *• • |* - v . \ ' ÿ v ÿLjÿ_ - :> ÿk. -»Çf ... rrr & ' / A . ÿ 1KB . -f- - \ M N wS Red Panda is an Endangered mammal. Red Panda ÿ* 't - subsists on an extremely specialized herbivorous diet of bamboo leaves, while still retaining its morphological features of a carnivore. Red Panda is distributed across Eastern Himalayas in Nepal, India (Sibbim, Darjeeling and Arunachal Pradesh), ÿ \ :R-i> .1 c . w s f*9 Bhutan, extending into Myanmar and China. Red •,-v. * mdtPfl Panda numbers may be as low as 10,000 in its entire distribution range with rapid declines reported. Red ';V$| Panda is threatened due to loss and fragmentation y& of its habitat and direct harvest, and trade. ÿ,. ÿ if rv* JWl ' !;'ir . •• .«ÿ• s . si Xt Singalila National Parb is an important Red Panda habitat PAPA FOUNDATION Destinations 1 To Sibbim J Phalut rkhey arÿanden SIKKIM abarkhum Phalut \ ollay mmam Prom To Distance (Kms.) irikhola Manaybjanjyang Dhotrey 17 Manaybjanjyang Tumling 13 Dhotrey Rimbicb 26 Tumling Sandabphu 19 andakphu Rimbicb Sandabphu 17.1 eekhay Bhanjyang Sandabphu Phalut 19.4 Sandabphu Mollay 15.1 £ <Kalipokhri ; Mollay Rimbicb 16.3 P Kaiyakatta Phalut Gorbhey 11.6 Gorbhey Rimbicb 16.1 A Gairibas Tonglu rriling lyieghma tLamey Dhura itray inaybhanjyang Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment Mountain Peaks from Singalila Singalila National Park is known for its picturesque views of some of the highest Himalayan Mountain peaks. Many spots within the Park such as Tonglu (3,070 m), Sandakphu (3,636 m) and Phalut (3,600 m) offer magnificent views of some of 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, Mount Chomolhari (7,326 m) which is a watershed boundary between Tibet and Bhutan can also be seen from the Park. Mount Everest is 145 kilometres aerial distance from Sandakphu. It is also recorded that the height of Mt. Everest was measured for the first time from Sandakphu. Kanchenjunga Kabru S Pandim Kumbhakarna Rathong KrKabru N I Everest range from Sandakphu Kanchenjunga range from Sandakphu Kumbhakarana Everest range from Sandakphu-Phalut Road uffor Ashoka Trust tor Research in FOUNDATION Ecology and the Environment www.ruffordsmallgrants.org ' Do's and Don'ts Remember * Singalila National Park is protecting the important and remaining Eastern Himalaya Broadleaf and Subalpine Conifer Forests. * These forests are home to many animals species such as the Endangered Red Panda, beautiful birds and diverse plant life. * Singalila supports almost 70 percent of the local community with tourism as their livelihood. Do's Don'ts 1. Do take a local guide - they are now being trained. This will 1. Do not litter - apart from dirtying, litter destroys habitats of help you on your trek and will also be contributing to the some important ground flora. Minimise garbage creation. community livelihood 2. Do not damage flowers and plants. 2. Do eat local cuisines 3. Do not play loud music while inside the National Park. 3. If you are taking vehicles, do tell drivers not to play loud 4. Do not dirty the water and the streams. music 4. The fuel/energy used here is largely firewood, which comes from 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 ! PATA FOUNDATION Acknowledgements Singalila National Park? is one of the most popular tourist destinations in the Eastern Himalaya (approx. 8,000 tourists annually). At the same time it provides significant habitat for iconic species like the Red Panda, Satyr Tragopan, Blood Pheasant, numerous birds, rich diversity of plants while supporting a landscape with people, their livelihoods, culture, history and heritage. These posters came out of the feedback received from visitors to the Park as part of an assessment carried out by ATREE in 2012-2014. We found that there was need for visitors to understand and appreciate the Singalila landscape more holistically. This assessment supported by Rufford Foundation, UK and Pacific 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 Photo Credit!: Many people generously contributed in making these posters: History: Dorjee Lhatoo, Laba Paul, Tenzing Sherpa,