Ayubia National Park

A section of the Ayubia National Park

Ayubia National Park is located in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. It is a small natural park located at 26 km from the Murree hill station established in 1984. It has been developed as a resort complex from a combination of four mini resorts of Khaira Gali, Changla Gali, Khanspur and Ghora Dhaka in Galyat. Ayubia was named after President Ayub Khan.

History

Ayubia National Park was established in 1958 in an east corner of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, province of Pakistan. Since then it has been managed by the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Wildlife Department. The purpose of establishing it was to conserve the temperate forests. Originally, the park stood at an area of 857 acres, but in 1998 it was expanded to cover an area of 1685 acres.

The total population of Ayubia and surrounding villages as per a 1996 census is 18,097 living in 2,311 households.it was establishd by Mr.Ayub Khan late President of Pakistan in 1958. The most important village of ayubia is DARWAZA. darawaza is the most beautiful village having beautiful valley Bantan and beautiful stream DARWAZA KAS. BANTAN is covered by hills from all the sides and the beautiful stream is also flowing from BANTAN. DARWZA cotains the beautiful forest. there are diffrent kind of fruit trees liki apple, peach,etc.

Management

The park has been managed by Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Wildlife Department under the 1975 Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Wildlife Act. The headquarters of the park is at Dunga Gali, which is situated at a distance of 34 km from Abbottabad and 30 km from Murree.National Park started from the behind of Ayubia Chari left. In National Park walk track near about distance 6 KM from Ayubia Chari left to Dong Gali. Threre are so many beautiful places. it is also sitting arrange on the way when you start from walk Ayubia to Donga Gali in the National Park.

Tourist attractions

Standing at some 26 kilometers from the tourist hotbed of Murree Hill Station, over 100,000 tourists flock to Ayubia National Park and the places around every year. It is well known for its picnic spots.

Facilities

Since there are 7 villages and 4 major towns around it, and since this area attracts a very large number of tourists annually, there is a large number of hotels and restaurants around the park.

In addition to riding trails, hiking places, picnic spots and motels, there is a chairlift in the central place of Ayubia that takes the tourists to a nearby summit for a view of the forested hills. This chairlift was the first recreation facility of its kind in Pakistan and is still a major attraction for domestic tourists.

The famous PTDC Motel is located here.

View of Ayubia with Clouds

Climate

The climate of the park is cold in the summers, but harsh in the winters. While it remains only placidly hot in May and June, the cold sets in when the monsoons come to lash in late July and early August. In the winters cold increases in severity gradually until the West Winds bring rains, which eventually turn into snow. The park remains snow-capped through the later part of winters.

Wildlife

Birds

The park harbors up to 203 species of birds. Many species of birds, including the Golden Eagle, the Vulture, Sparrow Hawk  and the Hill Pigeon among others can be found here. It is also home to some of the rarer Himalayan pheasant species like the Kalij Pheasant and Koklass.

Mammals

Ayubia National Park supports 31 species of mammals. Animals such as the Asiatic Leopard, Tiger, Asiatic Black Bear, Hill Fox and Flying Squirrel can be found here.

Plants

File:Ayubia National Park Forest 1.JPG

Aerial view of pine forest

The park holds 104 species of plants. The main floral species are Cedrus deodara, Blue Pine, Yew, Silver Fir, Horse Chestnut, Oak.

Around 21 plants here belonging to 19 families are known for their medicinal properties. Many of these are used in treatment of jaundice, stomach ulcers, snake bites, internal infections, diabetes, chambal  and more. Some plants are known to have anti-cancerous effect as well. Also, some are used as biological insecticides and pesticides, mostly due to their insect-repellant nature.

The World Wide Fund for Nature has launched an ethno-botanical initiative here "to demonstrate the sustainable use of plant resources as a means for protecting biodiversity."

See also

• Patriata
• Murree
• Bhurban
• Circle Bakote
• Mukeshpuri
• Abbottabad
• Changla Gali
• Dunga Gali
• Jhika Gali
• Khaira Gali
• Mohra Sharif
• Nathia Gali
• Thandiani

External links

• Template:Wikitravel
• History, Information and Photos of Murree (Ayubia included)
• Ayubia National Park Pictures and Videos
• WWF Pakistan - Ayubia page
• Pakistan Factbook