Kanchenjunga National Park

Earlier known as Kanchenjunga National Park, it is a Biosphere reserve and a National Park.? Khangchendzonga National Park is nestled in the beautiful Indian state of Sikkim. Named after the third-highest peak in the world, this national park is sprawled over an area of around 849.5 sq km. A ?number of glaciers are found in this park. Zemu glacier is one of them. Counted amongst the few high altitude parks, Kanchenjunga National Park enjoys popularity across the globe. The park is counted amongst the rarest parks across the globe.

Tourist Attractions

Flora

Loaded with extreme natural beauty, this one of its kind park is stretched from Temperate to Alpine zone. Glaciers, rhododendron forests, lakes, broad-leaved trees and sub-alpine conifer altogether attract not only wildlife enthusiasts but also the nature admirers. Diverse tropical geography of the park enables it to house a wide variety of vegetation, which includes forests consisting of Oaks and Willow, Birch, Maple and Fir etc. The park also offer rare medicinal plants and herbs.

Fauna

Mammal species of the park include musk deer, Himalayan Tahr, wild dog, snow leopard, sloth bear, red panda, Tibetan wild ass, civet, Himalayan black bear, Himalayan blue sheep, serow, goral and many more. Reptile species of the park comprises of rat snake and the Russell viper.

Avifauna of the park is also noticeable. More than 550 species of birds can be spotted in the park. The popular and easily located birds include blood pheasant, tragopan pheasant, green pigeon, Tibetan snowcock, satyr tragopan, osprey, snow pigeon, impeyan pheasant, Himalayan griffon, lammergeier, Asian emerald cuckoo, sunbird & eagle.

How to Reach Kanchenjunga

Nearest Airport to Kanchenjunga National Park is Bagdogra in Siligury. It is located around 222 km form the park. Bagdogra is well connected to Gangtok, the capital. Regular flights from prime location of the country like? Kolkata, Delhi, Guwahati are available to and from this airport. Daily helicopter service from Bagdogra to Gangtok is also available, which takes around 20 min. For rail travellers ,? Jalpaiguri is the nearest railway station (around 221 kms) but if you wish to explore the region by road, all the nearby cities are well-connected through a perfect network of roads. Tourists can hire private vehicle or can use state transport to reach the park.

Important Travel Information

For trekkers, it is not less than paradise. Several explored and unexplored trekking routes of the park are feasts for trekkers around the world. Exploring such high peak is a challenge for real adventurers. These trek tours are organized by government as well as private operators. Best time to visit Khangchendzonga national park is between the months of April and May. Those who are not able to plan their visit in between this time, they can also visit between the months of August and October.