Kedarkantha is a mountain peak of 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 Earth's highest peaks, including the highest, Mount Everest. More than list of h ...

in Uttarakhand, India. Its elevation is . Kedarkantha is located within Govind Wildlife Sanctuary in Uttarkashi district.

Flora and fauna

The

forest A forest is an ecosystem characterized by a dense ecological community, community of trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, ...

cover around Kedarkantha Peak is predominantly made up of

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. ''World Flora Online'' accepts 134 species-rank taxa (119 species and 15 nothospecies) of pines as cu ...

trees. Between elevations of 2,000 meters to 3,000 meters, one can find forests of deodar,

oak An oak is a hardwood tree or shrub in the genus ''Quercus'' of the beech family. They have spirally arranged leaves, often with lobed edges, and a nut called an acorn, borne within a cup. The genus is widely distributed in the Northern Hemisp ...

, and

rhododendron ''Rhododendron'' (; : ''rhododendra'') is a very large genus of about 1,024 species of woody plants in the Ericaceae, heath family (Ericaceae). They can be either evergreen or deciduous. Most species are native to eastern Asia and the Himalayan ...

. Deodar (from the

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; stem form ; nominal singular , ,) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in northwest South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cultural ...

words "deva" meaning divine and "daru" meaning tree) is traditionally used in the construction of temples. Oak and rhododendron wood is commonly utilized for making agricultural tools, while their leaves serve as fodder for

livestock Livestock are the Domestication, domesticated animals that are raised in an Agriculture, agricultural setting to provide labour and produce diversified products for consumption such as meat, Egg as food, eggs, milk, fur, leather, and wool. The t ...

. These materials are often seen in use by the local villagers in the region. The trail is adorned with a diverse range of floral species, including

Reinwardtia ''Reinwardtia indica'', yellow flax or pyoli, is a species of Linaceae found in the Himalayas. It is the only species in the monotypic genus ''Reinwardtia''. Distribution This flower comes from the Himalayas in both China and northern India. U ...

(Yellow Himalayan Flax), Bauhinia variegata, Primula denticulata (Drumstick Primrose), Rhododendrons, Fragaria nubicola (Himalayan Wild Strawberries), Gentiana kurroo (Himalayan Gentian), Persicaria capitata (Pink Knotweed), White Himalayan Lungwort,

Viburnum grandiflorum ''Viburnum'' is a genus of about 150–175 species of flowering plants in the moschatel family, Adoxaceae. Its current classification is based on molecular phylogeny. It was previously included in the honeysuckle family Caprifoliaceae. The memb ...

(Grand Viburnum), and many more. Typically,

wildflower A wildflower (or wild flower) is a flower that grows in the wild, rather than being intentionally seeded or planted. The term implies that the plant is neither a hybrid nor a selected cultivar that is any different from the native plant, eve ...

s bloom during early spring, from late March to April. The region is known for birds such as the Himalayan snow cock, kala titar, chakor,

magpie Magpies are birds of various species of the family Corvidae. 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 c ...

, thrush,

paradise flycatcher The paradise flycatchers (''Terpsiphone'') are a genus of birds in the family Monarchidae. The genus Range (biology), ranges across Africa and Asia, as well as a number of islands. A few species are bird migration, migratory, but the majority are ...

parakeet 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 word ''perroquet'', which is reflect ...

, and

bulbul The bulbuls are members of a family, Pycnonotidae, of medium-sized passerine songbirds, which also includes greenbuls, brownbuls, leafloves, and bristlebills. The family is distributed across most of Africa and into the Middle East, tropic ...

s. The area is also home to a variety of mammals, including the

Himalayan black bear The Himalayan black bear (''Ursus thibetanus laniger'') is a subspecies of the Asian black bear. It is distinguished from '' U. t. thibetanus'' by its longer, thicker fur and smaller, whiter chest mark. The species is considered an ecological ind ...

. Other animals such as

leopard The leopard (''Panthera pardus'') is one of the five extant cat species in the genus ''Panthera''. It has a pale yellowish to dark golden fur with dark spots grouped in rosettes. Its body is slender and muscular reaching a length of with a ...

tiger The tiger (''Panthera tigris'') is a large Felidae, cat and a member of the genus ''Panthera'' native to Asia. It has a powerful, muscular body with a large head and paws, a long tail and orange fur with black, mostly vertical stripes. It is ...

s, barking deer (kakar), and sambhar are occasionally seen.

Marmot Marmots are large ground squirrels in the genus ''Marmota'', with 15 species living in Asia, Europe, and North America. These herbivores are active during the summer, when they can often be found in groups, but are not seen during the winter, w ...

s along with other rodents, are present.

References

Mountains of Uttarakhand Geography of Uttarkashi district {{Uttarakhand-geo-stub