Khaptad National Park is a protected area in the

Far-Western Region, Nepal The Far-Western Development Region ( Nepali: सुदुर पश्चिमाञ्चल विकास क्षेत्र, ''Sudur Pashchimānchal Bikās Kshetra'') was one of Nepal's five development regions. It was located at the ...

that was established in 1984. Stretching over the four districts of

Bajhang Bajhang District ( , a part of Sudurpashchim Province, is one of the seventy-seven districts of Nepal. The district, with Chainpur, that is part of Jaya Prithvi Municipality, as its district headquarters, covers an area of and has a populatio ...

Bajura Bajura District ( ne, बाजुरा जिल्ला ), a part of Sudurpashchim Province, is one of the seventy-seven districts of Nepal. The district, with Martadi (today part of Badimalika municipality) as its district headquarter ...

Achham Achham ( ne, :ne:अछाम जिल्ला, अछाम जिल्ला ) is a district located in Sudurpashchim province of Nepal. It is one of the nine Districts of Nepal, districts of the Sudurpashchim, province. The district, with M ...

and

Doti Doti ( ne, डोटी), also known as Doti region, Dotigarh (डोटीगढ़) as used in the Jagar (folk tales; जागर), in the Farwestern region of Nepal (Sudurpashchim Province), is a region situated between River Kali bordering ...

it covers an area of and ranges in elevation from to .

History

Khaptad Baba moved to the area in the 1940s to meditate and

worship Worship is an act of religious devotion usually directed towards a deity. It may involve one or more of activities such as veneration, adoration, praise, and praying. For many, worship is not about an emotion, it is more about a recogniti ...

. He spent about 50 years as a

hermit A hermit, also known as an eremite (adjectival form: hermitic or eremitic) or solitary, is a person who lives in seclusion. Eremitism plays a role in a variety of religions. Description In Christianity, the term was originally applied to a Ch ...

and became a renowned spiritual saint.

Vegetation

The landscape consists of moorland, steep slopes, and streams. 567 species of

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

have been recorded in the protected area. Vegetation types include

chir pine ''Pinus roxburghii'', commonly known as chir pine or longleaf Indian pine, is a species of pine tree native to the Himalayas. It was named after William Roxburgh. Description ''Pinus roxburghii'' is a large tree reaching with a trunk diameter ...

- rhododendron forest,

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 ...

forest and Himalayan fir- hemlock-oak forest and

alder Alders are trees comprising the genus ''Alnus'' in the birch family Betulaceae. The genus comprises about 35 species of monoecious trees and shrubs, a few reaching a large size, distributed throughout the north temperate zone with a few sp ...

forest in riverine areas.

Fauna

Current checklists include 23 mammals, 287

bird Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a strong yet lightweig ...

s, and 23 amphibians and reptiles. Mammal species symbolic of the park are leopard,

Himalayan black bear The Himalayan black bear (''Ursus thibetanus laniger'') is a subspecies of the Asian black bear found in the Himalayas of India, Bhutan, Nepal, China, and Pakistan. Description It is distinguished from '' U. t. thibetanus'' by its longer, thicke ...

wild dog A free-ranging dog is a dog that is not confined to a yard or house. Free-ranging dogs include street dogs, village dogs, stray dogs, feral dogs, etc., and may be owned or unowned. The global dog population is estimated to be 900 million, of w ...

, and musk deer. Bird species symbolic of the park include the

impeyan pheasant The Himalayan monal (''Lophophorus impejanus''), also called Impeyan monal and Impeyan pheasant, is a pheasant native to Himalayan forests and shrublands at elevations of . It is part of the family Phasianidae and is listed as Least Concern on th ...

, peregrine falcon, and

white-rumped vulture The white-rumped vulture (''Gyps bengalensis'') is an Old World vulture native to South and Southeast Asia. It has been listed as Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List since 2000, as the population severely declined. White-rumped vultures d ...

Khaptad Baba Ashram

Khaptad Baba Ashram lies inside Khaptad National park. Khaptad Baba lived in Triveni located inside the national park and was known as a philosopher,

physician A physician (American English), medical practitioner (Commonwealth English), medical doctor, or simply doctor, is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through th ...

scientist A scientist is a person who conducts scientific research to advance knowledge in an area of the natural sciences. In classical antiquity, there was no real ancient analog of a modern scientist. Instead, philosophers engaged in the philosoph ...

, and astrologer. File:Khaptad Baba.jpg, An effigy of Khaptad Baba at his Ashram. File:Baba hermitage.jpg, Khaptad Baba Ashram File:Khaptad Baba Ashram 2.jpg File:Khaptad Baba Ashram.jpg

Gallery

File:Khaptad, Khaptad National Park, Nepal.jpg, A stream in Khaptad File:Khaptad Lake - Khaptad National Park, Nepal.jpg, Khaptad Lagoon File:Meadows of Khaptad National Park, Nepal.jpg, Walking in the meadows of Khaptad File:More Meadows in Khaptad.jpg, A view of the meadows File:Meadows in Khaptad.jpg, Sunset view of meadows File:त्रिबेणी मन्दिर.jpg, Triveni Temple after snowfall File:हिउँ परेको.jpg, Snow at the Triveni Temple area in Khaptad File:गंगादशहरामा लागेको मेला.jpg, Ganga Dushera Festival in Khaptad File:खप्तड दह(ताल).jpg, The lagoon at Khaptad File:Bucci Flower.jpg, Wild flowers in Khaptad File:The Triveni Temple at Khaptad.jpg, Triveni Temple File:Triveni Dham.jpg, An older temple near the Triveni Temple

References

External links

*
Department of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation, Nepal : ''Khaptad National Park''
{{authority control National parks of Nepal 1984 establishments in Nepal