Location : Srinagar District
Spread Over : 141 sq km
Best Season : Upper Dachigam - May to August (Mammal/Bird viewing), Lower Dachigam - September to March (Mammal viewing), Bird viewing - March to May
Attractions : Leopard, Himalayan marmot, Himalayan black bear, Langur, Himalayan brown bear, Musk Deer and a wide variety of birds.
Dachigam is situated in the Srinagar District, approximately 20 km from the Distt Headquarters. Covering almost half of the Dal Lake's catchments area, Dachigam National Park of Kashmir offers a scintillating view of the surroundings. The sanctuary is rich not only in flora and fauna, but is also a bird watcher's paradise and even has a Trout fish farm.
It houses over fifty species of trees, twenty of shrubs and five hundred species of herbs. Running right through the center of the Dachigam wildlife sanctuary of Kashmir, India is a stream, sourcing water from a glacier. The altitude of the sanctuary, ranging from 5500 ft to 14000 ft above the sea level, has a wide variation. Thus, it is clearly marked into an upper and lower region.
Wildlife Attractions
Dachigam is quite rich in fauna, housing approximately twenty species of mammals. The wildlife of the park consists of Leopard, Himalayan marmot, Himalayan black bear, Langur, Himalayan brown bear, Musk Deer, etc. However, the most prided possession of Dachigam National Park is Hangul, endangered deer species in the country. The best place for watching the wildlife inside the park, in the period of March to May, is the lower Dachigam. If you are coming during May to August, upper Dachigam will be your best bet.
Birds at Dachigam National Park
Dachigam also boast of over 150 species of birds. The main ones are starling golden oriole, peregrine falcon, koklas, black bulbul, kestrel, golden eagle, grey heron, paradise flycatcher, bearded vulture, western yellow-billed blue magpie, kestrel, griffon vulture, monal, etc. If you want to enjoy the avian life during the months of September to March, visit the upper Dachigam area. Dachigam is a big natural reserve requiring the permission of the Wildlife authorities for exploration purposes.