Binsar Wildlife Sanctuary is an Indian wildlife sanctuary. Binsar was the summer capital of the Chand Kings, who ruled over Kumaon from the 11th to 18th centuries AD. Binsar was established in 1988 for the conservation and protection of the shrinking broad leaf oak (''

Quercus An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus ''Quercus'' (; Latin "oak tree") of the beech family, Fagaceae. There are approximately 500 extant species of oaks. The common name "oak" also appears in the names of species in related genera, notably '' ...

'') forests of the Central Himalayan region, and it has over 200 bird species.

Geography

It sits on top of the Jhandi Dhar hills in the

Himalayas The Himalayas, or Himalaya (; ; ), is a mountain range in Asia, separating the plains of the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau. The range has some of the planet's highest peaks, including the very highest, Mount Everest. Over 100 ...

, about 33 km north of Almora town in

Uttarakhand Uttarakhand ( , or ; , ), also known as Uttaranchal ( ; the official name until 2007), is a state in the northern part of India. It is often referred to as the "Devbhumi" (literally 'Land of the Gods') due to its religious significance and ...

. The sanctuary spreads over 45.59 km². Its altitude varies from 900 to 2500 metres with an average height of 2412 metres. The temperature of this area is about 20 °C. From a place called Zero Point the Himalayan peaks Kedarnath Peak, Shivling,

Trisul Trisul is a group of three Himalayan mountain peaks of western Kumaun, Uttarakhand, with the highest (Trisul I) reaching 7120m. The three peaks resemble a trident - in Sanskrit, Trishula, trident, is the weapon of Shiva. The Trishul grou ...

and Nanda Devi are visible.

Flora and fauna

Binsar has a museum about the

flora Flora is all the plant life present in a particular region or time, generally the naturally occurring (indigenous) native plants. Sometimes bacteria and fungi are also referred to as flora, as in the terms '' gut flora'' or '' skin flora''. E ...

and

fauna Fauna is all of the animal life present in a particular region or time. The corresponding term for plants is ''flora'', and for fungi, it is '' funga''. Flora, fauna, funga and other forms of life are collectively referred to as '' biota''. Zoo ...

of the region. The sanctuary hosts 25 types of trees, 24 types of bushes and 7 varieties of grasses. The higher altitudes are covered with

oak An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus ''Quercus'' (; Latin "oak tree") of the beech family, Fagaceae. There are approximately 500 extant species of oaks. The common name "oak" also appears in the names of species in related genera, notably ''L ...

and rhododendron trees. In March and April, flowers, especially ruby red rhododendron, are in full bloom. Mammals include

leopard The leopard (''Panthera pardus'') is one of the five extant species in the genus '' Panthera'', a member of the cat family, Felidae. It occurs in a wide range in sub-Saharan Africa, in some parts of Western and Central Asia, Southern Russia, a ...

(''Panthera pardus''), Himalayan goral (''Naemorhedus goral''), chital (''Axis axis''),

musk deer Musk deer can refer to any one, or all seven, of the species that make up ''Moschus'', the only extant genus of the family Moschidae. Despite being commonly called deer, they are not true deer belonging to the family Cervidae, but rather their fa ...

(''Moschus'' spp.), Sumatran serow (''Capricornis sumatraensis''), jungle cat (''Felis chaus''),

wild boar The wild boar (''Sus scrofa''), also known as the wild swine, common wild pig, Eurasian wild pig, or simply wild pig, is a suid native to much of Eurasia and North Africa, and has been introduced to the Americas and Oceania. The species is ...

(''Sus scrofa''), pine marten (''Martes martes''),

red fox The red fox (''Vulpes vulpes'') is the largest of the true foxes and one of the most widely distributed members of the Order (biology), order Carnivora, being present across the entire Northern Hemisphere including most of North America, Europe ...

('' Vulpes vulpes''), gray langur (''Presbytis entellus''), rhesus macaque (''Macaca mulatta''),

red giant flying squirrel The red giant flying squirrel or common giant flying squirrel (''Petaurista petaurista'') is a species of rodent in the family Sciuridae (squirrels). It is found in a wide variety of forest–types, plantations and more open habitats with scatter ...

(''Petaurista petaurista''), and Indian muntjac (''Muntiacus muntjak''). In the past black bear (''Ursus thibetanus'') had been recorded. Binsar hosts over 200 species of birds including tits, forktail, nuthatches, blackbirds,

parakeets A parakeet is any one of many small to medium-sized species of parrot, in multiple genera, that generally has long tail feathers. Etymology and naming The name ''parakeet'' is derived from the French wor''perroquet'' which is reflected in ...

laughingthrush The laughingthrushes are a family, Leiothrichidae, of Old World passerine birds. They are diverse in size and coloration. These are birds of tropical areas, with the greatest variety in Southeast Asia and the Indian subcontinent. The entire fam ...

magpies Magpies are birds of the Corvidae family. Like other members of their family, they are widely considered to be intelligent creatures. The Eurasian magpie, for instance, is thought to rank among the world's most intelligent creatures, and is one ...

, kalij pheasant ('' Lophura leucomelana''), monal, koklass pheasant,

eagle Eagle is the common name for many large birds of prey of the family Accipitridae. Eagles belong to several groups of genera, some of which are closely related. Most of the 68 species of eagle are from Eurasia and Africa. Outside this area, just ...

woodpeckers Woodpeckers are part of the bird family Picidae, which also includes the piculets, wrynecks, and sapsuckers. Members of this family are found worldwide, except for Australia, New Guinea, New Zealand, Madagascar, and the extreme polar regions. M ...

, and

Eurasian jay The Eurasian jay (''Garrulus glandarius'') is a species of passerine bird in the crow family Corvidae. It has pinkish brown plumage with a black stripe on each side of a whitish throat, a bright blue panel on the upper wing and a black tail. The ...

s. Binsar is home to many reptiles and butterflies.

History

Grand Oak Manor

The Grand Oak Manor is the erstwhile home of Sir Henry Ramsay who used it as his summer home and administrative centre as Commissioner of Kumaon. The property later became a heritage hotel.

Khali estate

The Khali estate was once owned by

Sir Henry Ramsay General the Hon. Sir Henry Ramsay (1816 – 16 December 1893) was a British general in the Indian Army, who served as Commissioner of the Kumaon division. He is regarded as one of the great soldier-administrators of British India and was dub ...

, who was the commissioner of Kumaun from 1856 to 1884 and called by British authors the King of

Kumaun Kumaon or Kumaun may refer to: * Kumaon division, a region in Uttarakhand, India * Kumaon Kingdom, a former country in Uttarakhand, India * Kumaon, Iran, a village in Isfahan Province, Iran * , a ship of the Royal Indian Navy during WWII See also ...

. He built a bungalow at Binsar. Vijay Laxmi Pandit, the sister of Jawahar Lal Nehru, also lived there. Other prominent people who have been guests/owners of this estate include Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru,

Indira Gandhi Indira Priyadarshini Gandhi (; Given name, ''née'' Nehru; 19 November 1917 – 31 October 1984) was an Indian politician and a central figure of the Indian National Congress. She was elected as third prime minister of India in 1966 ...

and

Mahatma Gandhi Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (; ; 2 October 1869 – 30 January 1948), popularly known as Mahatma Gandhi, was an Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalist Quote: "... marks Gandhi as a hybrid cosmopolitan figure who transformed ... anti- ...

Mary Budden estate

The Mary Budden estate located at 8000 feet is a restored colonial home and a temple to Shiva.

References

External links

Binsar Wildlife Sanctuary
* {{Authority control Almora district Wildlife sanctuaries in Uttarakhand 1988 establishments in Uttar Pradesh Protected areas established in 1988