Hemis National Park is a high-elevation national park located in Hemis, within the Leh district of Ladakh, India. It is about 50 km (31 mi) from Leh, one of the capitals of Ladakh. The park is globally known for its snow leopards and is believed to have the highest number of them in any protected area worldwide. It is the only national park in India located north of the Himalayas. Hemis is the largest officially recognized protected area in India and the second largest connected protected area, following the Nanda Devi Biosphere Reserve and its surrounding areas. The park is home to several endangered mammal species, including the snow leopard. Hemis National Park is India's protected area within the Palearctic realm, located outside the Changthang Wildlife Sanctuary northeast of Hemis and the proposed Tso Lhamo Cold Desert Conservation Area in North Sikkim. It is one of the three largest wildlife sanctuaries in Ladakh, along with Karakoram Wildlife Sanctuary and Changthang Cold Desert Wildlife Sanctuary.

History

The park was created in 1981 to protect the Rumbak and Markha catchments, an area covering about 600 km² (230 sq mi). In 1988, the park expanded to include nearby lands, growing to approximately 3,350 km² (1,290 sq mi). By 1990, the park increased further to 4,400 km² (1,700 sq mi). It is now the largest national park in South Asia.

Geography

The park is surrounded on the north by the Indus River and includes the areas where water flows into Markha and Rumbak rivers, as well as parts of the Zanskar Range. It is located in the Karakoram-West Tibetan Plateau alpine steppe ecoregion, which has pine forests, high mountain shrubs and grasslands, and cold, treeless areas with low-growing plants.

Hemis National Park is completely inside the Zanskar region of India-administered Ladakh. The park’s boundaries, as defined by the Wildlife Institute of India (WII), are:

• Southern boundary: starts at Tetha and ends at Padum;
• Eastern boundary: follows the Nimmu–Padum–Darcha road from Padum to Nimmu (on National Highway 1);
• Northern boundary: runs along National Highway 1 from Nimmu to Karu (on National Highway 3);
• Western boundary: follows National Highway 3 from Karu southward to Tetha.

Ecology

The park has a healthy group of about 200 snow leopards, especially in the Rumbak catchment area. The main prey for these top predators in the Central Asian Highlands includes Argali (Great Tibetan Sheep), Bharal (Blue Sheep), Shapu (Ladakhi Urial), and livestock found in Hemis. A small group of Asiatic ibex also lives in Hemis. Hemis is the only place in India where Shapu can be found.

Other animals in Hemis include the Tibetan wolf, the Eurasian brown bear (a species at risk of extinction in India), and the red fox. Small mammals living here are the Himalayan marmot, mountain weasel, and Himalayan mouse hare.

Birds that hunt other animals in the Himalayas and Trans-Himalayas include the golden eagle, lammergeier vulture, and Himalayan griffon vulture. The Rumbak Valley is a good place for birdwatching and has several Tibetan bird species not found elsewhere in India. Birds present here include the brown accentor, robin accentor, Tickell's leaf warbler, streaked rosefinch, black-winged snowfinch, chukar, Blyth's swift, red-billed chough, Himalayan snowcock, and fire-fronted serin.

So far, 16 mammal species and 73 bird species have been recorded in the park.

This region lies in the rain shadow of the Himalayas, meaning it receives little rain. As a result, dry forests of juniper, Populus-Salix forests, and subalpine dry birch-fir forests grow at lower elevations. Alpine and steppe trees are common in this area, spreading across valley bottoms. The upper mountain slopes are moist and support alpine vegetation, including plants like Anemone, Gentiana, Thalictrum, Lloydia, Veronica, Delphinum, Carex, and Kobresia. Other parts of the park have steppe vegetation dominated by Caragana, Artemisia, Stachys, and Ephedra, found along lower river courses. A study by CP Kala found 15 rare and endangered medicinal plants in the park, including Acantholimon lycopodioides, Arnebia euchroma, Artemisia maritima, Bergenia stracheyi, Ephedra gerardiana, Ferula jaeschkeana, and Hyoscyamus niger.

Environmental issues

More than 1,600 people live within the park's area. Most of them are farmers who raise poultry, goats, and sheep. This causes problems between humans and animals in the region. Snow leopards hunt livestock, sometimes killing several animals from one group during a single attack. This is because too many animals are grazing on the land. Damage to crops caused by bharal has also been reported.

The Department of Wildlife Protection in Jammu and Kashmir is responsible for managing the park. People are not allowed to do any activities in the park unless they get special permission from the Chief Wildlife Warden of Jammu and Kashmir. The department has started several projects to protect wildlife and improve life for people in Ladakh, including work at Hemis National Park:

• Project Snow Leopard to protect the Himalayan ecosystem. The project began in 2004 and officially started on February 20, 2009.
• Ladakh Eco Tourism Project
• Ladakh Home Stays: A program that lets tourists stay in local homes, giving families extra income.
• Nature Guide Training for young people who are not working and have education.
• Eco Cafe: A program for women’s groups to run a cafe and sell handmade crafts to tourists.
• A no-grazing zone for domestic animals to prevent overgrazing.
• Making livestock pens safe from predators.

Tourism

The park provides several walking paths for trekking from mid-June to mid-October. Some of these paths are among the most popular in Ladakh, including the Markha Valley trek and the path from Spituk to Stok over the Ganda La pass. Hemis National Park is also known for climbing trips. Two mountains, Stok Kangri (6,153 meters) and Kang Yatse (6,496 meters), are the most visited by climbers each year. The park is also a place where people can see snow leopards. The best time to see snow leopards is during late winter. The Hemis Monastery hosts the Hemis Festival (Hemis Tsechu) every summer. Visitors can stay in backcountry camps or homestays started by the Snow Leopard Conservancy India Trust in 2000 and managed by local officials.

• Closest airport: Leh Kushok Bakula Rimpochee Airport, about 5 km (3.1 miles) away in Leh district
• Closest highway: Leh-Manali Highway and National Highway 1D (Srinagar-Kargil-Leh), both near the park’s northern edge
• Closest town: Many villages and monasteries are located within the national park
• Closest city: The city of Leh is 10 km (6.2 miles) north of the park

There are no paved roads in Hemis National Park. However, some rough roads allow local people to reach their villages. A rough road connects Chilling bridge to Skiu village in the Markha Valley, and another connects Spituk to Zingchen and Rumbak village. On the Hemis side, a road links Martselang to Shang Sumdo.

To protect the park and activities like trekking, homestays, and wildlife viewing, local people asked for rules about vehicle use in 2018. Since 2019, ALTOA (All Ladakh Tour Operator Association) and the Department of Wildlife Protection have set up checkpoints at the park’s entrances. These checkpoints are at Skiu village, Zingchen, and Shang Sumdo. Beyond these checkpoints, only motorized vehicles used by villagers inside the park are allowed. Tourists cannot use motorized vehicles inside the park and must walk. Tourists also pay a fee called the “wildlife fee” when entering the park.

Ganda La (also called Kanda La, 34°2′29.62″N 77°21′45.42″E) is a high mountain pass located about 4,980 meters above sea level in Ladakh, 23 km (14 miles) southwest of Leh, in the Himalayas of India. It is inside Hemis National Park and connects Markha Valley villages to Leh. The summer pass is open from June, and the winter pass (half a kilometer northwest of the summer pass) is open from late April.

The Markha Valley trek crosses Ganda La between Rumbak and Skiu villages, usually completed in two days. Another pass on the trek is Gongmaru La (Kongmaru La).

In culture

The park contains many Tibetan gompas and holy chortens. This includes the famous 400-year-old Hemis Monastery. Hemis was a stop along the Silk Road routes in Tibet. More than 1,600 people live in the park today, and many visitors and pilgrims come during the Hemis Tsechu festival.

The 400-year-old Hemis Monastery has been a place of pilgrimage for Tibetan Buddhists for many years. However, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the monastery became famous because of the writings of Nicolas Notovitch, a Russian aristocrat and journalist, who said that Jesus spent the years that are not recorded in the Bible in Tibet and Ladakh, specifically in Hemis.

The national park, monastery, and the Changthang Wildlife Sanctuary were shown in the award-winning documentary Riding Solo to the Top of the World.