|
Ladakh is a mysterious land shrouded in myth and legend.
Much of its ancient history is known only through the
mythology of its people, as its written history is of very
recent origin. Known for centuries as the 'land of passes'
(La-pass; Dacha-land), Ladakh was discovered by Fa-hian, who
traveled across its inhospitable terrain in 399 A.D. , as
'The land where snow never melts and only corn ripens'.
Its landscapes are forbidding by any measure. Snow-swathed
mountains rise to several thousand feet above one of the
most elevated plateaus on earth. A treeless wind-swept
country, much of Ladakh can be termed as mountainous, Arctic
desert, where everything is parched by the rarefied dryness
of the atmosphere. Scattered here and there, a few narrow
fertile valleys provide a clear sparkling air. The limpidity
of the atmosphere, in fact, gives the night sky a unique
clarity, so full and bright with stars that one feels
transported to some ethereal setting, far removed from
Earth.
For endless years, before man had even discovered this
remote land, several hardy animals and birds lived together
here in an exquisite equilibrium. Circumstances have now
changed, as they have almost everywhere else on the
subcontinent. Today, Ladakh's flora and fauna are threatened
and protection is vital if the ancient ecosystems are to
survive the trauma of modern man.
This mysterious "land of passes" (La-pass, Dakh-land) stands
at a height 4,600 meters in the outer Himalayas with its
peaks, ranging from 5,800 to 7,600 meters forming the most
striking feature of the area.
The Himalayas, higher than the mightiest mountains anywhere
in the world, are clearly the result of a process of
folding-a moment of the coastal plates by which one drifting
piece of land overrides another. When two such drifting
continental pieces collide and wrap, the resultant wrinkles
form mountains. This Himalayan massif is believed to be the
result of such a collision between the Indian and Asian
plates (geologically a comparatively recent phenomenon).
Consequently, much of the high altitude Himalayan fauna is
typical of both the oriental and Palearctic regions.
Ladakh's most striking feature is nakedness of the country.
Lying as it does to the North of the main Himalayan range,
most of Ladakh falls in the Palearctic rather than the
oriental region. Ladakh possesses virtually no natural
forests, though along riverbanks and valleys some greenery
does exist. The lower mountain slopes are sparse but higher
up, near the snow line, wild rose, willow and herbaceous
plants have successfully colonized the slopes. This is the
alpine zone. While soil, wind, precipitation and exposure
are important determinants in the arrangement of specific
life, the temperature differential due to altitude is by far
the most important factor. Because of the decrease in the
temperature, vegetation becomes more sparse and stunted as
one ascends the slopes.
In this extremely harsh environment the untrained eye would
hardly see any evidence of wildlife at all. Animals, which
have adapted to the rigorous conditions however, thrive on
the minimal vegetation, poor shelter, rocky terrain and
bitter cold. Nevertheless, most creatures, notably the
ungulates, do migrate to lower regions in winter while
others, like the brown bear and marmots, choose to
hibernate. Ironically, at this altitude many animals suffer
from "mountain sickness" because of the lack of oxygen!
Their bodies however, seem to adopt to this condition, as
the number of red blood corpuscles increases along with
blood acidity. Most large mammals have a unique devise for
protection against the cold-- a highly insulated shaggy
coat. They, therefore, have less need for shelter from the
elements. This perhaps why more species of goat and sheep
live here in open country than anywhere else on earth.
HEMIS HIGH ALTITUDE NATIONAL PARK
Location: Near Leh, Ladakh Region, J&K
Coverage Area: 600-sq-kms
Main Attraction: Shapu, Bharal, Snow
Leopard
Best Time To Visit: Mammal Viewing -
September To March
Bird Viewing - March To May & September to
December
The Hemis High Altitude National Park includes the
catchments of two valleys, which drain into the River Indus.
It is named after the famous monastery -- Hemis, and sprawls
over 600-sq-km in the Markha And Rumbak valleys. The
conditions are very bleak and desolate in this park. The
terrain is rocky and the thin soil cover supports a poor
vegetative growth. Dry alpine pastures are present in
sheltered locations. Grass growth is relatively rapid during
the summer season after the melting of the snow
Visiting Season
The best season for mammal viewing is September to May and
for bird viewing March to May and September to December.
Approachable by road from Leh , this national park contains
several camping sites too.
Flora & Fauna
The area is barren and rocky, covered only sparsely with
vegetation. Most of the ten species of mammal here are
extremely rare -- Shapu, Bharal, Great Tibetan Sheep, Ibex
and Snow Leopard. The avifauna too comprises species, which
are not seen at lower altitudes, Himalayan Snow Cock, Snow
Patridge and golden oriole.
The wild yak is to be found only here. Other animals include
the ibex, blue sheep, bharal, docile marmot and mouse hare.
Black necked crane, bar-headed geese, ducks and several
other water birds breed near the lakes in thousands. The
avid bird watcher can spend friutful hours by observing
Bactrian magpies, grey tits, chough, raven, sparrow, kite,
kestrel, Turkoman rock pigeon, chukor, finches, buntings,
larks, desert wheateaters, a many more varieties of birds.
The snow leopard is Ladakh's most rare animal. Another one
that is unique is the kyang or the wild horse, while at
lower altitudes the musk deer too is a rare sight, precious
by virtue of its expensive musk. Visitors are likely to spot
many marmots, mouse hares, stone martens, red foxes, wolves,
ibex, bharal and shapu during the course of their journey
but the habitat of the nyan (big horned sheep), chim
(Tibetan antelope famed for its fleece-Shahtoosh), goa
(Tibetan gazelle), lynx, pallas cat, kyamg (wild horse) and
brong dong (wild yak) are still outside the tourists'
domain.
|
