Shivapuri
National Park
Established in 1976, Shivapuri National
Park is divided into :
- Protected area of 97.37 km 2
and
- Additional 118.64 km area managed
as buffer zone.
This watershed area
is a true representation of the Middle hills in
the protected area system. It also provides over
40% of the drinking water to the Kathmandu Valley.
It has high diversity of forest types (sal, subtropical
hardwood, lower slopes mixed hardwood, chir pine,
oak and upper slope mixed hardwood) which occupy
39% of the land where 16 endemic plants occur.
A total of 129 species
of mushroom, 150 species of butterflies with many
endemic and rare 9 species of birds which are
considered endangered or vulnerable, and 19 species
of mammals occur. This area is increasingly used
for recreation, hiking and trekking as some 1,500
Kathmandu residents and some 3,000 non-residents
visit every year. Large mammals incur substantial
losses to settlements living in the buffer zone.
As of now, depletion of vegetation through fuelwood,
fodder and livestock grazing is considered a major
threat as some 4,246 households use forest products.
Water Resources
Shivapuri is one of the main sources of drinking
water for Kathmandu Valley. Everyday about 30
million liters of water is tapped from rivers
such as the Bagmati and the Bishnumati as well
as from several other smaller streams.
Flora and
Fauna
Shivapuri lies in a transition zone between subtropical
and temperate zone. The vegetation consists of
a variety of natural forest types including pine,
oak, rhododendron etc, depending on altitude and
aspect. Recorded wildlife in the park includes
mammalian species such as Himalayan Black bear,
leopard, jungle cat, and rhesus monkey. The Park
is also home to 177 species of birds, including
9 threatened species, 102 species of butterflies
with a number of rare and endangered species,
and 129 species of mushroom.
Places of
Interest
The Park is easily accessible from Kathmandu.
Visitors are attracted to the Park for trekking.
Trekking routes to Nagarkot, Gosaikunda, Helambu
and Langtang National Park also pass through this
area. Several religious sites for the Hindus and
the Buddhists lie inside the Park.
On Nepalese new
year's day, which falls in mid-April, pilgrims
from Kathmandu valley and neighboring areas flock
to Baghdwar and Bishnudwar from where the sacred
rivers Bagmati and Bishnumati originate.
Visitors can have
breathtaking views of the high Himalayas from
the northern aspects of the Park. Likewise, the
panoramic views of Kathmandu valley could be seen
from the southern slopes of the Park,
Popular
Trekking Destinations within the Park
- Panimuhan, Park HQ - Shivapuri
peak (12 km)
- Nagigumba - Baghdwar - Chisapani
(18 km)
- Panimuhan, Park HQ - Sikre (12
km)
- Nagigumba - Shivapuri peak (6
km)
- Kakani - Shivapuri
- JhuJe - Chisapani (12 km)
- Sundarijal - chisapani (22km)
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