Some animals prefer warm weather while others prefer cold.  All are beautiful to witness.

This is a reality that one could prove when visiting the Pin Valley National Park.  Located on the northern part of India, in the state of Himachai Pradesh, the park offers sites of snow leopards and other exotic animals that usually dwell in cold climates.  In order to see them though, one must travel to the park during the warmer months, as the life on the plain is what coaxes these animals out from the mountaintops.

History of Pin Valley National Park

A desert-like area in the Himalayas, the park location was carved out and then made a reality on January of 1987.  Covering a vast amount of land that had varied heights and temperatures, Pin Valley National Park provided the ideal living conditions for the different animals, both rare and common, that were used to the cold.  It remains well maintained up until this day.

Tourism in Pin Valley National Park

One major source of any park's funding would be the tourism that it is able to generate.  Although the land may be considered self sufficient, it could not be left alone.  It even has to be guarded in order to make sure that the animals in the area would not fall prey to poachers.  This makes the funding important, and the caretakers do their share of keeping the place beautiful for the tours that come frequently.

Since the area is more like a desert, the plant life would be sparse.  The majority of the plant life consists of Pine Trees and Himalayan Cedar, but the place is also known to have medicinal herbs.  These herbs are used by the local people, communities of Buddhist Monks, who are permitted to live within the reserve.  There are 17 villages of these monks scattered throughout the park.

The animal life is what calls most people to Pin Valley National Park and the major tourist attraction would be one of the endangered species found in the reserve, the snow leopard.  Found usually at high peaks, these beautiful animals come down from their high homes during the hot summer months in order to hunt and survive.

Tours are not limited to the safaris that are offered.  There are walkways available throughout the area, with rest houses every few kilometers so that the tourists may rest their tired feet.  There are a number of trails available, and the amount of skill needed in order to use the paths may vary greatly.  There are easy tours that allow the not so fit people to have their own amount of fun, while there are also difficult trails that challenge even the most seasoned of hikers.

For those who wish to see more than wildlife, there is the Dhankar Gompa that was built more than ten centuries ago.  This structure is visited because, aside from its age, it provides a good view of the lifestyle of a Buddhist monk.  The structure was not always a monastery though as history would note that the temple was also once used as a prison.

With the number of things that one could see here, from wildlife to plant life, one could not help but feel attracted to this beautiful place in India.  A lot of people have traveled and toured the area, and all have gone home more than satisfied, vowing to come back at the next available vacation that they would get.