Chitral Gol National Park () is one of the

National Parks A national park is a nature park designated for conservation (ethic), conservation purposes because of unparalleled national natural, historic, or cultural significance. It is an area of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that is protecte ...

Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

. It is located in Lower Chitral District in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan beside the Chitral River, at a distance of two hours drive from Chitral town. The park is also known as Chitral National Park.

Legal status

Up until 1983, Chitral Gol was considered to be the private property of the former Mehtar of Chitral. The status of the park has been in dispute since and has become the issue of ongoing litigation between heirs of the former Mehtar and the

Government of Pakistan The Government of Pakistan () (abbreviated as GoP), constitutionally known as the Federal Government, commonly known as the Centre, is the national authority of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, a federal republic located in South Asia, con ...

Parameters

The way leading to the park is quite narrow and dangerous, yet more risky during the rainy days. It is located between 1450

metre The metre (or meter in US spelling; symbol: m) is the base unit of length in the International System of Units (SI). Since 2019, the metre has been defined as the length of the path travelled by light in vacuum during a time interval of of ...

and about 5000

above sea level. It has an area of 7750

hectare The hectare (; SI symbol: ha) is a non-SI metric unit of area equal to a square with 100-metre sides (1 hm2), that is, square metres (), and is primarily used in the measurement of land. There are 100 hectares in one square kilometre. ...

Fauna

This park includes three valleys. Several

glacier A glacier (; or ) is a persistent body of dense ice, a form of rock, that is constantly moving downhill under its own weight. A glacier forms where the accumulation of snow exceeds its ablation over many years, often centuries. It acquires ...

s also lie in the park through which several springs make their way and ultimately form a stream which runs 18

kilometre The kilometre (SI symbol: km; or ), spelt kilometer in American English, American and Philippine English, is a unit of length in the International System of Units (SI), equal to one thousand metres (kilo- being the SI prefix for ). It is the ...

s. The cold water of this stream flows towards the east, into the River Chitral. The park is rich in trees particularly cedar trees. The park also serves to provide shelter to a vast bio-diversity, especially markhor, an endangered wild goat species. Some of the larger mammals found in the park include: * Kashmir Markhor * Siberian ibex * Snow leopard * Ladakh Urial * Himalayan black bear * Himalayan Wolf *

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 Carnivora, being present across the entire Northern Hemisphere including most of North America, Europe and Asia, plus ...

* Eurasian otter * Yellow-throated marten

Weather

The annual rainfall in its region is estimated to be . In September, it rains more on the spectacular peaks surrounding the park. However, in November, the rainfall is more in the valleys and on the lower peaks. There is also snowfall during the winter season. The snow-covered white peaks enhance the beauty till June. The general weather is cold and dry. The temperature ranges from .

Birmoghlasht

The Birmoghlasht part of the park is where the former Mehtar's Summer Fort is located. At the time of existence of the Chitral State, the Mehtar and his family use to move here in the summer and hold court. The fort was constructed in such a way that it overlooked the entire city. It stands at an elevation of over 2800 meters above

sea level Mean sea level (MSL, often shortened to sea level) is an mean, average surface level of one or more among Earth's coastal Body of water, bodies of water from which heights such as elevation may be measured. The global MSL is a type of vertical ...

. Besides the fort Birmoghlasht also houses a wildlife hut and is a great tourist spot in a few kilometres drive from Chitral town.

Notes

External links

Chitral National ParkSarhad Tourism Corporation, Government of NWFP, Pakistan
{{authority control National parks of Pakistan Lower Chitral District Protected areas of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Parks in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa