"What is the nature of a species that knowingly and without good reason exterminates another?"
- George Small, The Blue Whale, 1971

Namdapha

National Park

For the truly dedicated wilderness and wildlife fan, a visit to the Namdapha Natioanal Park is a challenging goal. An unique feature of the park is that it is the only one park in the world in which four of the great felines are found viz., the tiger, the leopard, the snow leopard and the clouded leopard. It is also an ideal for trekking and hiking.

GENERAL INFORMATION

Location:    150-km From Miao, Arunachal Pradesh

Nearest Access:     Miao

Significance:    Largest National Park Of The Northeast Region And One of The largest Wildlife Protected Areas In India.

Coverage Area:    1,985-sq-kms

Namdapha Tiger reserve in Changlang district of Arunachal Pradesh is spread in an area of 1,850-sq-kms rugged terrain. Perhaps no other national park in the world has a wider altitudinal variation than the Namdapha national park that rises from 200m to 4,500m in the snow-capped mountain. This variation has given rise to the growth of diverse habitats of flora and fauna.

Flora In Namdapha National Park

The beautiful forests possess great biodiversity of Flora and Fauna. A details study of its species and genetic variation has not yet been thoroughly done. Namdapha is Botanist's dream and it may take as long as 50 years to complete a comprehensive survey of its botanical resources. There are more than 150 timber species. The Pinus Merkusi and Abies Delavavi are not found elsewhere in India. One of the rarest and endangered orchids, the Blue Vanda found here. The most famous local medicinal plant Mishimi Teeta, which is used by the local tribal for all kinds of diseases is available here but its export has been banned.

Fauna In Namdapha National Park

The diverse vegetations and habitats of Namdapha grooms diverse species of animals and birds. It is only park in the World to have the four Feline species of big cat namely the Tiger, Leopard Snow Leopard (Panthera Uncia) and Clouded Leopard and numbers of Lesser cats. A number of primate species are seen in the park, such as Assamese Macaque, pig-tailed Macaque, stump-tailed Macaque and number of the distinctive Hoolock Gibbons, highly endangered and only 'Ape' species found in India dwells in this impenetrable virgin forest. Of the many other important animals are the Elephants, Black Bear, Indian Bison, several species of Deer, reptiles and a variety of arboreal animals.

Avi Fauna In Namdapha National Park

Among the bird species, most notable are the White winged Wood Ducks, a rare and endangered species, the great Indian Hornbills, Jungle Fowls and Pheasants flop their noisy way through the jungle, and which harbours other colourful bird and animal species. The inaccessibility of greater part of the park has helped to keep the forests in their pristine and virgin state in its natural form.

Moreover, the park possesses great bio diversity of flora and fauna. The lush green under growths are thick and intertwined like cobwebs of canes, bamboos, wild bananas and variety of vegetations The grandeur of the wet tropical rain forest is breeding ground for varieties of animals and birds which is remarkable and worth seeing.

How To Get There

Air:
The nearest point of entry via air is the airport at Dibrugarh, Assam.

Rail:
The rail station is situated at Tinsukia in Assam.

Road:
From Tinusukia or Dibugarh, the journey to Miao, headquarters of the National Park and the Tiger Reserve, has to be done by road, over a distance of 150-km. Then, a forest road stretching over around 28-km gives access to the protected area up to a place called Deban, which has a lovely forest rest house and some other accommodation for the field staff. Beyond this area there is no road as such and all movement inside the reserve has to be on foot through dense forest and steep hill ranges with streams and rivers flowing in between