Broghil Valley National Park ( ur, بروغل) is located in the upper northern reaches of the

Chitral District Chitral District ( ur, ) was the largest district in the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan, covering an area of 14,850 km², before splitting into Upper Chitral District and Lower Chitral District in 2018. Part of the Malakand Div ...

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (; ps, خېبر پښتونخوا; Urdu, Hindko: خیبر پختونخوا) commonly abbreviated as KP or KPK, is one of the four provinces of Pakistan. Located in the northwestern region of the country, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa ...

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...

, close to the Afghan-Pakistan border.

Geography

Broghil Valley is from the main town of Chitral and is the northernmost valley within the Chitral district. Broghil valley borders on the Afghan

Wakhan corridor The Wakhan Corridor ( ps, واخان دهلېز, translit=wāxān dahléz, fa, دالان واخان, translit=dâlân vâxân) is a narrow strip of territory in Badakhshan Province of Afghanistan, extending to Xinjiang in China and separatin ...

, which stretches between

Tajikistan Tajikistan (, ; tg, Тоҷикистон, Tojikiston; russian: Таджикистан, Tadzhikistan), officially the Republic of Tajikistan ( tg, Ҷумҳурии Тоҷикистон, Jumhurii Tojikiston), is a landlocked country in Centr ...

and

. The area is mostly mountainous. Elevations range from between at the village of Kishmanjah to at Karambar Lake in the northeast. The terrain is undulating with mountains, grassy plains, and valleys. It includes almost 3,400 ha of peatlands and lakes.Hydrological assessment of significant lakes in Broghil and Qurumbar Valleys, Northern Alpine Wetlands Complex. The valley features around 30 freshwater lakes and is surrounded by glaciers and mountains.

Tourism

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, 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. Karambar Lake

Flora and Fauna

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

Siberian ibex The Siberian ibex (''Capra sibirica''), also known as the Altai ibex, Central Asia(n) ibex, Gobi ibex, Himalayan ibex, Mongolian ibex or Tian Shan ibex, is a species of ibex that lives in central Asia. It has traditionally been treated as a subs ...

, ''C.s.sakeen'' *

Bharal The bharal (''Pseudois nayaur''), also called the blue sheep, is a caprine native to the high Himalayas. It is the only member of the genus ''Pseudois.'' It occurs in India, Bhutan, China (in Gansu, Ningxia, Sichuan, Tibet, and Inner Mongolia), ...

, ''P.n.nayaur'' * Marco Polo sheep, ''O.a.polii'' * Himalayan musk deer, ''M.leucogaster'' * Persian leopard, ''P.p.saxicolor'' *

Snow leopard The snow leopard (''Panthera uncia''), also known as the ounce, is a felid in the genus '' Panthera'' native to the mountain ranges of Central and South Asia. It is listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List because the global population is es ...

, ''P.uncia'' *

Turkestan lynx The Turkestan lynx (''Lynx lynx isabellinus'') is a subspecies of Eurasian lynx native to Central Asia. It is also known as Central Asian lynx, Tibetan lynx or Himalayan lynx. It is widespread from Central Asia, continental South Asia to China ...

, ''L.l.isabellinus'' *

Leopard cat The leopard cat (''Prionailurus bengalensis'') is a small wild cat native to continental South, Southeast, and East Asia. Since 2002 it has been listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List as it is widely distributed although threatened by hab ...

, ''P.b.bengalensis'' * Himalayan wolf, ''C.l.chanco'' *

Golden jackal The golden jackal (''Canis aureus''), also called common jackal, is a wolf-like canid that is native to Southeast Europe, Southwest Asia, South Asia, and regions of Southeast Asia. The golden jackal's coat varies in color from a pale creamy ...

, ''C.a.indica'' *

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 ...

, ''V.v.montana'' *

Himalayan brown bear The Himalayan brown bear (''Ursus arctos isabellinus''), also known as the Himalayan red bear, isabelline bear or Dzu-Teh, is a subspecies of the brown bear and is known from northern Afghanistan, northern Pakistan, northern India, west China an ...

, ''U.t.isabellinus'' *

Long-tailed marmot The long-tailed marmot (''Marmota caudata'') or golden marmot is a marmot species in the family Sciuridae. It occurs in mountainous regions in the central parts of Asia where it lives in open or lightly wooded habitats, often among rocks where dw ...

, ''M.c.aurea'' *

Pale gray shrew The pale gray shrew (''Crocidura pergrisea'') is a species of mammal in the family Soricidae. It is endemic to Pakistan and is distributed in the Shigar valley The Shigar Valley ( ur, وادی شگر) is a valley in Gilgit Baltistan in north ...

, ''C.pergisea''

Himalayan birds

Chukar partridge The chukar partridge (''Alectoris chukar''), or simply chukar, is a Palearctic upland gamebird in the pheasant family Phasianidae. It has been considered to form a superspecies complex along with the rock partridge, Philby's partridge and Pr ...

, ''Alectoris chukar'' *

Snow partridge The snow partridge (''Lerwa lerwa'') is a gamebird in the pheasant family Phasianidae found widely distributed across the high-altitude Himalayan regions of India, Pakistan, Nepal and China. It is the only species within its genus, and is thoug ...

, ''Lerwalerwa'' *

Himalayan snowcock The Himalayan snowcock (''Tetraogallus himalayensis'') is a snowcock in the pheasant family Phasianidae found across the Himalayan ranges and parts of the adjoining Pamir range of Asia. It is found on alpine pastures and on steep rocky cliffs ...

, ''Tetrogallus himalayanus'' *

Golden eagle The golden eagle (''Aquila chrysaetos'') is a bird of prey living in the Northern Hemisphere. It is the most widely distributed species of eagle. Like all eagles, it belongs to the family Accipitridae. They are one of the best-known bird ...

, ''Aquila chrysaetos daphanea'' *

Bearded vulture The bearded vulture (''Gypaetus barbatus''), also known as the lammergeier and ossifrage, is a very large bird of prey and the only member of the genus ''Gypaetus''. Traditionally considered an Old World vulture, it actually forms a separate mi ...

, ''Gypaetus barbatus'' * Snow pigeon, ''Columba leuconota''

Herpeto-fauna

* Chitral gecko, ''Cyrtodactylus walli'' * Plump banded gecko, ''Cyrtodactylus dattanensis'' * Caucasian agama, ''Paralaudakia caucasia'' * Baltistan toad, ''Bufo latastii''

References

External links

Broghil Valley
{{Protected areas of Pakistan Chitral District Protected areas of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Valleys of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Parks in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa