About Sanctuary

- Photo Courtesy @Kunal Angrish

Most of you are already familiar with Sangla Valley. Often described as the most beautiful of the Himachal valleys, Rakchham and Chitkul are the two old villages in this picturesque part of Himalayas and after them is named the heavenly Rakchham-Chitkul Wildlife Sanctuary.

Location

- Photo Courtesy @Kunal Angrish

For visiting Sangla (or Rakchham Chitkul Wildlife Sanctuary) you need to take a detour from the National Highway that goes to Kinnaur. At a place called Karchham, an iron bridge crosses over to the Left bank of river Sutlej and takes one along the river Baspa to the valley of Sangla. Sangla, Batseri, Rakchham, Chitkul are some of the villages in the valley. The sanctuary itself is located on upper reaches of the side-mountains.

- Photo Courtesy @Kunal Angrish

Trekking

The sanctuary is connected to Uttarakhand and adjacent region of Dodra Kwar via high passes some of which form the most adventurous and beautiful treks in Himalayas.

Flora and Fauna

Rakchham Chitkul WLS is rich in many a species of mammals and over 150 species of birds. Prominent among the mammals are Snow Leopard, Himalayan Brown Bear, Himalayan Black bear, Himalayan Musk Deer, Himalayan Tahr, Himalayan Weasel, Blue Sheep etc. Among the birds, Western Tragopan, Monal, Koklass Pheasant, Cheer Pheasant, Kaleej Pheasant, Chukar Partridge, Black Francolin etc are prominent. For the experts, many of the bird species that inhabit the Western Himalayas from Uttarakhand onwards can be sighted here as well.