Wildlife
National parks of Pakistan
Pakistan has more than 30 national parks, ranging from Hingol in Balochistan at about 6,190 square kilometres, the largest, to Deosai in Gilgit-Baltistan at about 3,000 square kilometres and Ayubia in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa at 33 square kilometres. Central Karakoram National Park protects roughly 10,000 square kilometres of high mountain terrain.
Quick facts
- National parks
- More than 30
- Largest
- Hingol, about 6,190 sq km
- Deosai plateau
- About 4,114 m average elevation
- Khunjerab National Park
- Established 1975
Background
The parks cover almost every habitat in the country: coastal desert, alpine plateau, temperate forest, riverine wetland and cold desert. Management is provincial, and community-based conservation, particularly trophy-hunting programmes with revenue shares for local villages, has been credited with recovering markhor and ibex numbers in Gilgit-Baltistan and Chitral since the 1990s.
Key entries
- Hingol
Balochistan; ibex, urial and the Makran coast.
- Deosai
Gilgit-Baltistan; Himalayan brown bear.
- Khunjerab
Snow leopard and Marco Polo sheep near the border.
- Chitral Gol
One of the strongest markhor populations.
- Lal Suhanra
Punjab; desert, wetland and blackbuck enclosures.
Frequently asked questions
- Which is the largest national park in Pakistan?
- Hingol National Park in Balochistan, at about 6,190 square kilometres.
- Where can snow leopards be found?
- In the high ranges of Gilgit-Baltistan and Chitral, including Khunjerab and Central Karakoram national parks.