Ankit Jain Appco : Hemis, A high Altitude National Park

The name of the park Hemis is taken from the famous monastery Hemis Gompa, spread out over 600 sq. Km and is located in the Ladakh division of the Indian state of Jammu & Kashmir at a distance of around 40 Kms southeast of Leh. The beauty of the Hemis National Park multiplies when it gives an overview of Indus River and the catchments areas of Markha, Sumdah, and Rumbak streams.

The Climate in the Hemis High Altitude National Park

The climate of area is one of extremes, with considerable daily and seasonal fluctuations. Precipitation is low with only 160.5 mm per year recorded at Leh. During winter theZanskar River and its tributaries become frozen. Temperatures during winter drop typically to -15°C to -20°C at night and rise to near freezing point in daytime. Although summer temperatures can reach upto 30°C at the lower elevations, snowfall can occur at any time of year. Annual precipitation in Leh at 3,500 m in the Indus valley is about 10 cm, but rainfall and snow increase with altitude.

The area of this cold desert is rocky and the thin soil cover supports a poor vegetative growth. Grass growth is relatively rapid during the summer season after the melting of the snow. The Markha and Rumbak valleys are high altitude deserts charecterised by sparse grasslands and herbaceous vegetation on mountain slopes. These areas consists of trees and plants like Junipers, Myricaria, Poplar, Salix, Birch, Astragalus, Taraxacum, Leortopodium, Ephedra and many sparse grasslands.

The National park is famous for its population of the rare Snow Leopards and the Ibex. The other main species recorded in the National park are Palla’s cat, srapu, bharal, red fox, rhesus macaque, Hanuman languor, wolf, marmot, Tibetan argali and Ladakh urial etc. The bharal and urial are seen in large numbers. The park has been earmarked as one of the snow leopard reserves under a central government project to conserve the species.