Indira Gandhi National Park

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Indira Gandhi National Park Indira Gandhi NP Indira Gandhi NP (India)
IUCN Category II (National Park)
Location:	Coimbatore, India
Nearest city:	Coimbatore, India
Coordinates:	10°22′0″N, 77°2′0″E
Area:	118 km²
Established:	1989
Governing body:	Tamil Nadu Forest Dept.

Indira Gandhi National Park and Wildlife Sanctuary

Indira Gandhi National Park is named after Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, but is often called Topslip, a name derived from the local 19th century practice of sliding Teak timber logs down from the hills. It is located in the Annamalai Hills of Coimbatore District, Tamilnadu state, South India. Altitude ranges between 340m to 2400m above sea level.

The 108 km² park is in the heart of the 958 km² Indira Gandhi Wildlife Sanctuary, formerly called Anaimalai Wildlife Sanctuary. The Park and the Sanctuary are the core of the Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve and is under consideration by UNESCO as as part of The Western Ghats World Heritage site^[1]. . The Sanctuary and the Dindigul District in the Palni Hills form the Anamalai Conservation Area^[2].

The park is home to a wide variety of flora and fauna typical of the South Western Ghats. The Steering Committee of Project Tiger granted approval in principal to inclusion of Indira Gandhi WLS and NP and nine additional protected areas under Project Tiger.^[3]

The Park has a large tourist complex that houses many cottages and rooms for visitors. Visitors can get around the park by trekking and a safari van.^[4] ^[5].

[edit] References

^ UNESCO, World Heritage sites, Tentative lists, Western Ghats sub cluster, Anamalai, 2007. [1]
^ Sajeev T.K. et.al.,Management of Forests in India for Biological Diversity and Forest Productivity- A New Perspective WII-USDA Forest Service Collaborative Project Grant No. FG-In-780 (In-FS-120),Volume III Anaimalai Conservation Area (ACA) pp 169 - 190.[2]
^ PROTECTED AREA UPDATE (Oct. 2005) "New Tiger Reserves" (No. 57)p.17[3]
^ Tamil Nadu Forest Dept., Indira Gandhi National Park[4]
^ National Geographic Channel, OFF THE BEATEN TRACK, Indira Gandhi National Park [5]