Broghil Valley National Park
| Broghil Valley National Park | |
|---|---|
 Broghil Valley photographed c. 2016 | |
| Location | Chitral, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan |
| Nearest city | Chitral |
| Coordinates | 36°45′N 73°30′E / 36.750°N 73.500°E |
| Area | 1,348[1] km2 (520 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 3,000 metres (9,800 ft) |
| Established | 2010 |
Broghil Valley National Park (Urdu: بروغل) is located in the extreme northern reaches of the Upper Chitral District of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan, close to the Afghan-Pakistan border.[1][2][3]
Geography
[edit]
Broghil Valley lies 250 kilometres (160 mi) from the main city of Chitral[5] and is the northernmost valley within the Upper Chitral district. Broghil Valley borders the Gilgit Baltistan on the Afghan Wakhan corridor, which stretches between Tajikistan and Pakistan.
The area is mostly mountainous. The elevation of the national park ranges from 3,217 m (10,554 ft) to 5,696 m (18,688 ft) in the northeast.[6] The terrain is undulating with mountains, grassy plains, and valleys. It includes almost 3,400 ha of peatlands and lakes.[7] The valley features around 30 freshwater lakes and is surrounded by glaciers and mountains.
Tourism
[edit]
The Broghil valley’s remote location makes it a hard-to-reach tourist destination. Many communities in Broghil lack access to basic facilities and services. The annual Broghil Festival attracts visitors,[8] however it lacks basic road and hospitality infrastructure. Attendees enjoy attractions and activities such as yak polo and exhibitions of woolen handicrafts, accompanied by traditional food and music.[9] However, a recently constructed 32 km (20 mi) road by Aga Khan Rural Support Programme, connects Kishmanja village of the park to other villages such as Pechus and Vedin Khot and other areas.[10]
Demographics
[edit]People inhabiting the regions of the valley belong to Wakhi and Sarikoli ethnicities.[2]
Flora and Fauna
[edit] |
Spread across the grassy plains are scrubs and common plants include Webb's rose, Artemisia brevifolia, and Artemisia maritima. The forests are mainly dominated by Juniperus species and Betula. 23 mammals, 120 birds, 3 reptiles, and 1 amphibian species have been confirmed.
Mammals
[edit]- Siberian ibex, C.s.sakeen
- Bharal, P.n.nayaur
- Marco Polo sheep, O.a.polii
- Himalayan musk deer, M.leucogaster
- Persian leopard, P.p.saxicolor
- Snow leopard, P.uncia
- Turkestan lynx, L.l.isabellinus
- Leopard cat, P.b.bengalensis
- Himalayan wolf, C.l.chanco
- Golden jackal, C.a.indica
- Red fox, V.v.montana
- Himalayan brown bear, U.t.isabellinus
- Long-tailed marmot, M.c.aurea
- Pale gray shrew, C.pergisea
Himalayan birds
[edit]- Chukar partridge, Alectoris chukar
- Snow partridge, Lerwalerwa
- Himalayan snowcock, Tetrogallus himalayanus
- Golden eagle, Aquila chrysaetos daphanea
- Bearded vulture, Gypaetus barbatus
- Snow pigeon, Columba leuconota
Herpeto-fauna
[edit]- Chitral gecko, Cyrtodactylus walli
- Plump banded gecko, Cyrtodactylus dattanensis
- Caucasian agama, Paralaudakia caucasia
- Baltistan toad, Bufo latastii
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ a b "Broghil National Park" (PDF). www.icimod.org. International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development. Retrieved 4 January 2025.
- ^ a b Aziz, M.A.; Ullah, Z.; Adnan, M.; Sõukand, R.; Pieroni, A. (21 October 2022). "Plant Use Adaptation in Pamir: Sarikoli Foraging in the Wakhan Area, Northern Pakistan". Biology. 11 (10): 1543. doi:10.3390/biology11101543. PMC 9599004. PMID 36290446.
- ^ Yousafzai, Shahabullah (9 September 2019). "The Broghil Valley – heaven unexplored". The Express Tribune. Retrieved 4 January 2025.
- ^ "Prince William calls for climate change action on glacier visit". BBC. 16 October 2019. Retrieved 4 January 2025.
- ^ Eqbal, Vasiq (26 June 2016). "Travel: For the love of nature". Dawn Newspaper. Retrieved 4 January 2025.
- ^ Jaeger, Tilman. "Leveraging the World Heritage Convention for conservation in the Hindu Kush Himalaya" (PDF). iucn.org. IUCN. p. 45. Retrieved 4 January 2025.
- ^ Hydrological assessment of significant lakes in Broghil and Qurumbar Valleys, Northern Alpine Wetlands Complex.
- ^ Ali, Manzoor (8 November 2014). "Yak polo's increasing pool of followers". Al Jazeera. Retrieved 4 January 2025.
- ^ "Broghil Valley Chitral Location, Map & Pictures". Akhbar Nama. 4 October 2019. Retrieved 27 October 2023.
- ^ "New road connects Broghil valley to rest of Chitral". Dawn Newspaper. 4 March 2024. Retrieved 4 January 2025.
Further reading
[edit]- Khan, Ahmad; Said, Ahmad; Ullah, Imran (January 2020). "Landsat based distribution mapping of high-altitude peatlands in Hindu Kush Himalayas — a case study of Broghil Valley, Pakistan". Journal of Mountain Science. 17 (1): 42–49. Bibcode:2020JMouS..17...42K. doi:10.1007/s11629-019-5384-0.
External links
[edit]
Media related to Broghil National Park at Wikimedia Commons
