Kalatop Khajjiar Sanctuary, or simply Kalatop Sanctuary, is a 30.69 km² animal sanctuary at Kalatop and

Khajjiar Khajjiar is a hill station, near town of Chamba in Chamba district, Himachal Pradesh, India, located approximately from Dalhousie. Khajjiar lies on a small plateau with a small stream-fed lake in the middle that has been covered over with we ...

in the Chamba district of

Himachal Pradesh Himachal Pradesh (; ; "Snow-laden Mountain Province") is a state in the northern part of India. Situated in the Western Himalayas, it is one of the thirteen mountain states and is characterized by an extreme landscape featuring several peaks ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

. The sanctuary area is well laid out for trekking trails both at Kalatop and

. There is a dense deodar and

fir Firs (''Abies'') are a genus of 48–56 species of evergreen coniferous trees in the family (biology), family Pinaceae. They are found on mountains throughout much of North America, North and Central America, Europe, Asia, and North Africa. The ...

forest covering 19.63 km² of the sanctuary, which is about 6 km from Dalhousie. Pheasants, serow and black

bear Bears are carnivoran mammals of the family Ursidae. They are classified as caniforms, or doglike carnivorans. Although only eight species of bears are extant, they are widespread, appearing in a wide variety of habitats throughout the Nor ...

are some of the common animals found here. The sanctuary lies in the path of the

Ravi River The Ravi River () is a transboundary river crossing northwestern India and eastern Pakistan. It is one of five rivers associated with the Punjab region. Under the Indus Waters Treaty of 1960, the waters of the Ravi and two other rivers were ...

, and is surrounded by

coniferous Conifers are a group of cone-bearing seed plants, a subset of gymnosperms. Scientifically, they make up the division Pinophyta (), also known as Coniferophyta () or Coniferae. The division contains a single extant class, Pinopsida. All extant ...

and oak forests. *Latitudinal range- 32°02´ to 32°04´ N *Longitudinal range- 76°01´ to 76°06´E *Nearest rail gauge- Pathankot (86 km). *Altitude- 1185 to 2768 m *Temperature- 10 to 35 °C *Mean annual rainfall- 672.3 mm.

Flora and fauna

The vegetation consists of blue

pine A pine is any conifer tree or shrub in the genus ''Pinus'' () of the family Pinaceae. ''Pinus'' is the sole genus in the subfamily Pinoideae. The World Flora Online created by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and Missouri Botanical Garden accep ...

and deodar forest, 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 ...

. Undergrowth in the forest area is well developed. *Mammals-

, Himalayan Black

Marten A marten is a weasel-like mammal in the genus ''Martes'' within the subfamily Guloninae, in the family Mustelidae. They have bushy tails and large paws with partially retractile claws. The fur varies from yellowish to dark brown, depending on t ...

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 ...

deer Deer or true deer are hoofed ruminant mammals forming the family Cervidae. The two main groups of deer are the Cervinae, including the muntjac, the elk (wapiti), the red deer, and the fallow deer; and the Capreolinae, including the reindeer ...

, Barking

Goral The gorals are four species in the genus ''Naemorhedus''. They are small ungulates with a goat-like or antelope-like appearance. Until recently, this genus also contained the serow species (now in genus '' Capricornis''). Etymology The original ...

squirrel Squirrels are members of the family Sciuridae, a family that includes small or medium-size rodents. The squirrel family includes tree squirrels, ground squirrels (including chipmunks and prairie dogs, among others), and flying squirrels. Squ ...

, serow, jackal,

langur The Colobinae or leaf-eating monkeys are a subfamily of the Old World monkey family that includes 61 species in 11 genera, including the black-and-white colobus, the large-nosed proboscis monkey, and the gray langurs. Some classifications spli ...

. *Birds- Blackbirdhpchamba.nic.in
/ref> ''Birds'' in this sanctuary, many Birds are found. some of them are listed below:- 1. Eurasian Jay 2. Whitewinged Black Bird 3. Black Headed Jay 4. Chesnut Billed Rock Thrush 5. Blackheaded Jay. 6. Grey Headed Cannery Flycatcher.

References

External links

himachaltourism.nic.inhptdc.gov.inKalatop Wildlife Sanctuary
{{coord, 32.55, 76.01, display=title Wildlife sanctuaries in Himachal Pradesh Chamba district Geography of Chamba district Protected areas with year of establishment missing

Flora and fauna

See also

References

External links