Khangchendzonga National Park

Khangchendzonga National Park
Photo by Zoe Sheng.

Khangchendzonga National Park is known for its glacial mountains and sacred cultural landscape.

This Himalayan site includes the 8586m high peak of Khangchendzonga, the third highest in the world. The landscape features glaciers and glacial lakes, and is the habitat of species such as the snow leopard and red panda. For the local Sikkimese population, the area has important sacred significance by housing mountain deities. Both shamanic and Tibetan Buddhist traditions are kept alive in this cultural landscape.

Community Perspective: Zoë has described a trek in this remote area.

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Zoë Sheng

Chinese-Canadian - 06-Dec-18 -

Khangchendzonga National Park by Zoe Sheng

Flying over this doesn't do it justice. I actually didn't expect to trek into it either because of the distance involved from the towns but in Darjeeling there are many trekking tours advertised. First off you need to get to Darjeeling which a lot of people do easily. They then often continue to Gangtok but I'm quite sure there is no way to enter the park from the north. Well, yes, there is a road at Lachen monastery so you CAN drive into the park but the real way to enter is only on foot.

Drive 5h switchbacks to Yuksom and stay another night. The next morning you start ascending to Tshoka. There are actually huts to make camping in November slightly easier. You have already entered the core zone by now but the views are not exceptional yet. Day 2 and it's another half day (too cold to hike early or late anyway). Goal is Dzongri La. The group was very small and we all decided to go up on the next day and then descend again rather than stay for 2 nights. The one day saved makes quite a difference if you spend so long to get here already. It's foggy and cold but so happy to have arrived. In fact that is wasn't very tough but one has to be relatively fit. Spending a week trekking Bhutan and Nepal to get ready really helped.

Sure, there are other treks that go much further into the park. Further in you may also be much luckier with spotting animals.

P.s. I did not spot a yeti.

 

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Site Info

Full Name
Khangchendzonga National Park
Unesco ID
1513
Country
India
Inscribed
2016
Type
Mixed
Criteria
3 6 7 10
Categories
Natural landscape - Mountain Religious structure - Buddhist
Link
By ID

Site History

2016 Inscribed

Site Links

Unesco Website
Khangchendzonga National Park
Official Website

Khangchendzonga National Park

In the News

Food drives bear-human conflict in Khangchendzonga Biosphere Reserve (2018.05.31)

Sikkim intends to start 15 days trekking trails to World Heritage 'Kanchendzonga National Park' (2016.10.10)

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Khangchendzonga National Park

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Ecology
Snow leopard
Bears: Asian black bear
Orchids: "Khangchendzonga National Park is home to nearly half of India’s bird diversity, wild trees, orchids and rhododendrons and one third of the country's flowering plants." (OUV)
Geography
Himalaya: "giving rise to an exceptional range of eastern Himalaya landscapes and associated wildlife habitat" (OUV)
Territorial Highest points: The 8586m peak Khangchendzonga is the highest in India
Glaciers: Several, including the 26 km long Zemu Glacier
On National Border: KNP shares approximately 45 kms of international border with Nepal and a shorter one with China
Highest cultural WHS: 8586m
Highest (over 5000m): 8586m high peak of Khangchendzonga, the 3rd highest in the world
World's most prominent mountains: Kangchenjunga 29th most prominent (3922 m)
Religion and Belief
Tibetan Buddhism
Sacred Mountains: sacred geography of the nominated property include: lakes, caves, sacred rocks, and sacred peaks (AB ev)
Living indigenous religions: several Sikkimese ethnic groups and a multilayered syncretic religious tradition (AB ev)
Timeline
Built in the 8th century: The sacred Buddhist importance of the place begins in the 8th century with Guru Rinpoche’s initiation of the Buddhist sanctity of the region (AB ev)
Trivia
Minority communities: Lepcha (probably indigenous) and Bhutias (from Tibet)
Greatest Altitude Variations: elevational range of 1,220m to 8,586m above sea level (asl) within a relatively small area (AB ev)
Viewable from another WHS: Kangchenjunga peak in Kangchendzonga National Park is visible from the Batasia loop on the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway, one of the Mountain Railways of India.
Fatal Accidents or 'disasters': Kangchenjunga has seen over 50 deaths since 1905.
WHS on Other Lists
Biodiversity hotspot: Eastern Himalaya, Nepal
World Biosphere Reserves: Khangchendzonga (2018)
Located in a TCC Territory: Sikkim
Centres of Plant Diversity: IS3 Northern Sikkim and East Nepal - "Khangchendzonga National Park is located within a mountain range of global biodiversity conservation significance and covers 25% of the State of Sikkim, acknowledged as one of the most significant biodiversity concentrations in India. The property has one of the highest levels of plant and mammal diversity recorded within the Central/High Asian Mountains"
World Heritage Process
Cultural landscape not recognized: AB eval states "ICOMOS recommends that Khangchedzonga National Park, India, be inscribed on the World Heritage List as a cultural landscape on the basis of cultural criteria (iii) and (vi)."

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