Ayubia National Park
Encyclopedia
Protected area
Protected areas are locations which receive protection because of their recognised natural, ecological and/or cultural values. There are several kinds of protected areas, which vary by level of protection depending on the enabling laws of each country or the regulations of the international...
of 3312 hectares (8,184 acre) located in Abbottabad District
Abbottabad District
Abbottabad is a district in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan. The district covers an area of 1,969 km with the city of Abbottabad being the principal town...
, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, northern Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
. It was declared a national park in 1984. Ayubia was named after the late Muhammad Ayub Khan (1958–1969), second President of Pakistan
President of Pakistan
The President of Pakistan is the head of state, as well as figurehead, of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. Recently passed an XVIII Amendment , Pakistan has a parliamentary democratic system of government. According to the Constitution, the President is chosen by the Electoral College to serve a...
. The area supports temperate coniferous forest and temperate broadleaf and mixed forest
Temperate broadleaf and mixed forests
Mixed forests are a temperate and humid biome. The typical structure of these forests includes four layers. The uppermost layer is the canopy composed of tall mature trees ranging from 33 to 66 m high. Below the canopy is the three-layered, shade-tolerant understory that is roughly 9 to...
ecoregion habitat
Habitat
* Habitat , a place where a species lives and grows*Human habitat, a place where humans live, work or play** Space habitat, a space station intended as a permanent settlement...
s, with an average elevation of 8000 feet (2,438.4 m) above the sea level.
Ayubia National Park is surrounded by seven major villages and four small towns of Thandiani
Thandiani
Thandiani is a hill station in the Galyat area of Pakistan.-History:Thandiani was established as a Sanatorium during British rule, for the convenience of officers stationed at the neighbouring cantonment of Abbottabad, it contained some European houses and a small bazaar, which were occupied only...
, Nathiagali, Ayubia and Khanspur
Khanspur
Khanspur is one of the tourist mountain resort towns of the Galyat area of Pakistan. Khanspur is a settlement in the Ayubia area and is located in Abbottabad District in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan...
. The park has been developed as a resort complex from a combination of four mini resorts of Khaira Gali
Khaira Gali
Khaira Gali is one of the tourist mountain resort towns of the Galyat area of Pakistan, it has an altitude of 2347m. Khaira Gali is located in Palak which is a Union Council of Abbottabad District in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan...
, Changla Gali
Changla Gali
Changla Gali is one of the tourist mountain resort towns of the Galyat area of Pakistan, it has an altitude of 2559m. During British rule it was the headquarters of the Northern Command School of Musketry.- Location :...
, Khanspur
Khanspur
Khanspur is one of the tourist mountain resort towns of the Galyat area of Pakistan. Khanspur is a settlement in the Ayubia area and is located in Abbottabad District in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan...
and Ghora Dhaka
Ghora Dhaka
Ghora Dhaka, also known as Ghora Dakka, is one of the tourist mountain resort towns of the Galyat area in northeast Pakistan. It is part of the Ayubia area and is located in the Abbottabad District in the province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. It is located at 34°1'49N 73°24'30E and has an altitude of...
in Galyat
Galyat
Galyat region is an area roughly 50–80 km north-east of Islamabad, Pakistan, on both sides of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa-Punjab border.The word Galyat is the plural of the Urdu word gali, which means an alley between two mountains on both sides of which there are valleys and it is not the highest...
. Currently, it is managed by the Wildife and Parks Department of Government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
History
Ayubia National Park was established in 1984 in an east corner of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, province of PakistanPakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
. In 1998 it was expanded form it's original size of 1684 hectares (4,161 acre) or 16.84 km² (6.5 sq mi) to 3312 hectares (8,184 acre). Since then it has been managed by the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Wildlife Department. The purpose of establishing it was to conserve the temperate forests. Originally, the park stood at an area of 857 acres (3.5 km²), but in 1998 it was expanded to cover an area of 1685 acres (6.8 km²).
The total population of Ayubia and surrounding villages as per a 1996 census is 18,097 living in 2,311 households.
Climate
West Winds
West Winds is an historic site at 300 Wakefield Street in West Warwick, Rhode Island.The site was built in 1740 and added to the National Historic Register in 1993....
bring rains, which eventually turn into snow. The park remains snow-capped through the later part of winters.
- Rainfall: 1,244 cm
- Temperature: 3 °C - 11 °C
Wildlife
The park holds 104 species of plants. The main floral species are Cedrus deodara, Blue PineBlue Pine
Pinus wallichiana is a pine native to the Himalaya, Karakoram and Hindu Kush mountains, from eastern Afghanistan east across northern Pakistan and India to Yunnan in southwest China. It grows at high altitudes in mountain valleys at altitudes of 1800–4300 m , and is a tree from 30–50 m in height...
, Yew
Taxus
Taxus is a genus of yews, small coniferous trees or shrubs in the yew family Taxaceae. They are relatively slow-growing and can be very long-lived, and reach heights of 1-40 m, with trunk diameters of up to 4 m...
, Silver Fir
Silver Fir
Abies alba, commonly known as the European silver fir, is a fir native to the mountains of Europe, from the Pyrenees north to Normandy, east to the Alps and the Carpathians, and south to southern Italy and northern Serbia.-Description:...
, Horse Chestnut and Oak
Oak
An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus Quercus , of which about 600 species exist. "Oak" may also appear in the names of species in related genera, notably Lithocarpus...
. Around 21 plants here belonging to 19 families are known for their medicinal properties. Many of these are used in treatment of jaundice
Jaundice
Jaundice is a yellowish pigmentation of the skin, the conjunctival membranes over the sclerae , and other mucous membranes caused by hyperbilirubinemia . This hyperbilirubinemia subsequently causes increased levels of bilirubin in the extracellular fluid...
, stomach ulcers, snake bites, internal infections, diabetes, and more. Some plants are known to have anti-cancerous effect as well. Also, some are used as biological insecticides and pesticides, mostly due to their insect-repellant nature. The World Wide Fund for Nature
World Wide Fund for Nature
The World Wide Fund for Nature is an international non-governmental organization working on issues regarding the conservation, research and restoration of the environment, formerly named the World Wildlife Fund, which remains its official name in Canada and the United States...
has launched an ethno-botanical
Ethnobotany
Ethnobotany is the scientific study of the relationships that exist between people and plants....
initiative here "to demonstrate the sustainable use of plant resources as a means for protecting biodiversity
Biodiversity
Biodiversity is the degree of variation of life forms within a given ecosystem, biome, or an entire planet. Biodiversity is a measure of the health of ecosystems. Biodiversity is in part a function of climate. In terrestrial habitats, tropical regions are typically rich whereas polar regions...
."
The park harbors up to 203 species of birds. Many species of birds, including the Golden Eagle
Golden Eagle
The Golden Eagle is one of the best known birds of prey in the Northern Hemisphere. Like all eagles, it belongs to the family Accipitridae. Once widespread across the Holarctic, it has disappeared from many of the more heavily populated areas...
, the Vulture
Vulture
Vulture is the name given to two groups of convergently evolved scavenging birds, the New World Vultures including the well-known Californian and Andean Condors, and the Old World Vultures including the birds which are seen scavenging on carcasses of dead animals on African plains...
, and the Hill Pigeon
Hill Pigeon
The Hill Pigeon or Eastern Rock Dove or Turkestan Hill Dove is a species of bird in the Columbidae family.- Description :...
among others can be found here. It is also home to some of the rarer Himalayan pheasant species like the Kalij
Kalij Pheasant
The Kalij Pheasant, Lophura leucomelanos, is a pheasant found in forests and thickets, especially in the Himalayan foothills, from the Northern India to western Thailand. Males are rather variable depending on the subspecies involved, but all have an at least partially glossy bluish-black plumage,...
and Koklass Pheasants. Ayubia National Park supports 31 species of mammals. Animals such as the Asiatic Leopard, Asiatic Black Bear
Asiatic Black Bear
The Asian black bear , also known as the moon bear or white-chested bear is a medium-sized species of bear, largely adapted for arboreal life, which occurs through much of southern Asia, Korea, northeastern China, the Russian far east and Honshū and Shikoku islands of Japan...
, Hill Fox and Flying Squirrel
Flying squirrel
Flying squirrels, scientifically known as Pteromyini or Petauristini, are a tribe of 44 species of squirrels .- Description :...
can be found here.
Management
The park has been managed by Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Wildlife Department under the 1975 Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Wildlife Act. The headquarters of the park is at Dunga GaliDunga Gali
Dunga Gali or Doonga Gali is one of the tourist mountain resort towns of the Galyat area of Ayubia National Park, at an altitude of in northern Pakistan Dunga Gali is located in Nathia Gali Union Council of Abbottabad District in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province.During British rule Dunga Gali...
, which is situated at a distance of 34 km from Abbottabad
Abbottabad
Abbottabad is a city located in the Hazara region of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, in Pakistan. The city is situated in the Orash Valley, northeast of the capital Islamabad and east of Peshawar at an altitude of and is the capital of the Abbottabad District...
and 30 km from Murree.National Park started from the behind of Ayubia Chari left. In National Park walk track near about distance 6 km from Ayubia Chari left to Dong Gali. Threre are so many beautiful places. it is also sitting arrange on the way when you start from walk Ayubia to Donga Gali in the National Park.
Tourism
Standing at some 26 kilometers from the tourist hotbed of Murree Hill Station, over 100,000 tourists flock to Ayubia National Park and the places around every year. It is well known for its picnic spots.Since there are 7 villages and 4 major towns around it, and since this area attracts a very large number of tourists annually, there is a large number of hotels and restaurants around the park. In addition to riding trails, hiking places, picnic spots and motels, there is a chairlift
Chairlift
An elevated passenger ropeway, or chairlift, is a type of aerial lift, which consists of a continuously circulating steel cable loop strung between two end terminals and usually over intermediate towers, carrying a series of chairs...
in the central place of Ayubia that takes the tourists to a nearby summit for a view of the forested hills. This chairlift
Chairlift
An elevated passenger ropeway, or chairlift, is a type of aerial lift, which consists of a continuously circulating steel cable loop strung between two end terminals and usually over intermediate towers, carrying a series of chairs...
was the first recreation facility of its kind in Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
and is still a major attraction for domestic tourists. The famous PTDC
PTDC
PTDC or Pakistan Tourism Development Corporation is an organization of Government of Pakistan. The PTDC is governed by the Board of Directors headed by the Minister for Tourism...
motel is located here.