Khangchendzonga National Park is situated in the state of Sikkim in India, in the very heart of the Himalayas. It is a mixed World Heritage Site, known both for its unique cultural values as it is worshipped by the indigenous people of Sikkim and the immense biodiversity and scenic Khangchendzonga Massif. It is located within a biodiversity hotspot and covers 25% of the area of Sikkim state. The park has Mt Khangchendzonga (also called Kanchenjunga), the highest peak in India and the third highest peak in the world, which is at a height of 8,586 m asl. There are five more peaks, and these massifs are called ‘the abode of God’ by the ethnic people of the park. The floral and faunal biodiversity is vast in the park. There are almost 1,580 vascular plant species, which includes 106 pteridophyte, 11 gymnosperm and 1,463 angiosperm species. The fauna includes 45 species of mammals, 213 species of birds, ten species of reptiles, five species of amphibians and eight species of fish. The IUCN World Heritage Outlook, 2020, assessment has assigned the property under the category ‘good’. The cultural and natural values of the park are well protected. The park is under the control of the Sikkim Forest, Environment and Wildlife Management Department, and the Wildlife Protection Act 1972 provides the highest protection to the property.
Khangchendzonga National Park is situated in the heart of the Himalayan range in Sikkim state of India. The national park is well known because it has the widest altitudinal ranges among all the national parks of the world. The park is spread over an area of 178,400 ha, the altitude ranges are from 1,220 m to 8,586 m, and they even have an extraordinary vertical sweep of more than 7 km. The landscapes of the park are very diverse, comprising lowlands, valleys, snow-capped mountains, several lakes and glaciers. Mt Khangchendzonga, the world’s third highest peak is part of the park, and 34% of the area is covered by glaciers, ice sheets or perpetual snow. There are more than 150 glaciers and 73 glacial lakes (Centre for Inter-disciplinary Studies of Mountain and Hill Environment 2005).
The property is a part of the immense Himalaya global biodiversity hotspot where the ecosystem ranges from the sub-tropical to the alpine. The Himalayas of this region are the narrowest, which increases the differences among the different eco-zones. Eighty-six percent of the park’s area is the Greater Himalaya and 14% of the area is the Trans-Himalaya (Centre for Inter-disciplinary Studies of Mountain and Hill Environment 2005). The park’s peaks and landscapes are respected in every religion and culture and have sacred significance. This land holds deep cultural meanings and is sacred for both Buddhists (Beyul) and Lepchas, and the Lepchas call it as Mayel Lyang. People of both the communities coexist and exchange their religious traditions and ethnicities.
Due to the varied zones in the park, the zones are clearly visible along the gradient. The peri-glacial and sub-nival vegetation are present up to 5,500 m, below which the alpine meadows are present. Rhododendron scrubs are present above 4,000 m, and the same range is shared by the closed conifer forest depending on the slopes and the exposure levels. The lower elevations of the park are occupied by temperate, deciduous temperate and sub-tropical broadleaf forests (IUCN 2016).
The forests of the national park have been classified into 18 different forest types (Champion and Seth 1968). There are almost 1,580 vascular plant species, which include 106 pteridophytes, 11 gymnosperms and 1,463 angiosperms. Lichen diversity is also very high in the property, consisting of 114 species (IUCN 2016). The faunal diversity is very rich in the park, which consists of 281 vertebrate animal species including 45 species of mammals, 213 species of birds, ten species of reptiles, five species of amphibians and eight species of fish. Camera trapping has shown animals like the Asiatic black bear (Ursus thibetanus), Asiatic wild dog (Cuon alpinus), Tibetan wolf (Canis himalayensis) and snow leopard (Panthera uncia) in the park. The red panda (Ailurus fulgens) is the state animal of Sikkim, and it is found in the lower altitudes of the park (IUCN 2016).
Kanchenjunga is the highest peak in India and is at a height of 8,586 m asl; there are around 20 peaks more than 6,000 m high in the park. The Kanchenjunga Massif consists of five major peaks which are known for five treasures, salt, gold, turquoise, medicines and seeds, and arms. This massif is called ‘the abode of Gods’; its symbolic, cultural, religious and spiritual values hold a special significance for the ethnic people and their religious beliefs (IUCN 2016).
The property – with Mount Khangchendzonga and other sacred mountains – represents the core sacred region of the Sikkimese and syncretistic religious and cultural traditions and thus bears unique witness to the coexistence of multiple layers of both Buddhist and preBuddhist sacred meanings in the same region, with the abode of mountain deity on Mt Khangchendzonga. The property is central to the Buddhist understanding of Sikkim as a beyul, that is, an intact site of religious ritual and cultural practice for Tibetan Buddhists in Sikkim, in neighbouring countries and all over the world. The sacred Buddhist importance of the place begins in the 8th century with Guru Rinpoche’s initiation of the Buddhist sanctity of the region, and later appears in Buddhist scriptures such as the prophetical text known as the Lama Gongdu, revealed by Terton Sangay Lingpa (1340-1396), followed by the opening of the beyul in the 17th century, chiefly by Lhatsun Namkha Jigme.
Khangchedzonga National Park is the heartland of a multi-ethnic culture which has evolved over time, giving rise to a multi-layered syncretic religious tradition, which centres on the natural environment and its notable features. This kinship is expressed by the region surrounding Mount Khangchendzonga being revered as Mayel Lyang by the indigenous peoples of Sikkim and as a beyul (sacred hidden land) in Tibetan Buddhism. It is a specific Sikkimese form of sacred mountain cult which is sustained by regularly-performed rituals, both by Lepcha people and Bhutias, the latter performing two rituals: the Nay-Sol and the Pang Lhabsol. The kinship between the human communities and the mountainous environment has nurtured the elaboration of a profound traditional knowledge of the natural resources and of their properties, particularly within the Lepcha community. Mount Khangchendzonga is the central element of the socio-religious order, of the unity and solidarity of the ethnically very diverse Sikkimese communities.
The scale and grandeur of the Khangchendzonga Massif and the numerous other peaks within Khangchendzonga National Park are extraordinary and contribute to a landscape that is revered across several cultures and religions. The third highest peak on the planet, Mt. Khangchendzonga (8,586 m asl) straddles the western boundary of Khangchendzonga National Park and is one of 20 picturesque peaks measuring over 6,000 m located within the park. The combination of extremely high and rugged mountains covered by intact old-growth forests up to the unusually high timberline and the pronounced altitudinal vegetation zones further adds to the exceptional landscape beauty. These peaks have attracted people from all over the world, mountaineers, photographers and those seeking spiritual fulfilment. The park boasts eighteen glaciers including Zemu Glacier, one of the largest in Asia, occupying an area of around 10,700 ha. Similarly, there are 73 glacial lakes in the property including over eighteen crystal clear and placid high altitude lakes.
Khangchendzonga National Park is located within a mountain range of global biodiversity conservation significance and covers 25% of the State of Sikkim, acknowledged as one of the most significant biodiversity concentrations in India. The property has one of the highest levels of plant and mammal diversity recorded within the Central/High Asian Mountains. Khangchendzonga National Park is home to nearly half of India’s bird diversity, wild trees, orchids and rhododendrons and one third of the country's flowering plants. It contains the widest and most extensive zone of krummholz (stunted forest) in the Himalayan region. It also provides a critical refuge for a range of endemic, rare and threatened species of plants and animals. The national park exhibits an extraordinary altitudinal range of more than 7 kilometres in a relatively small area giving rise to an exceptional range of eastern Himalaya landscapes and associated wildlife habitat. This ecosystem mosaic provides a critical refuge for an impressive range of large mammals, including several apex predators. A remarkable six cat species have been confirmed (Leopard, Clouded Leopard, Snow Leopard, Jungle Cat, Golden Cat, Leopard Cat) within the park. Flagship species include Snow Leopard as the largest Himalayan predator, Jackal, Tibetan Wolf, large Indian Civet, Red Panda, Goral, Blue Sheep, Himalayan Tahr, Mainland Serow, two species of Musk Deer, two primates, four species of pika and several rodent species, including the parti-coloured Flying Squirrel.
The park gets protection from the Wildlife Protection Act 1972. The law protects the flora, fauna and the landscape including the mountains, water bodies, and glaciers. The property is a state-owned land which was declared as a national park in 1977, and its buffer zone was protected as a forest reserve.
Some of the places in the park are regarded as sacred places of worship. As the property is a mixed site, some of the monuments of the property are managed by the Archaeological Survey of India and others are managed by the monastic and local communities through the monastic and wider settings of the monasteries (UNESCO).
The overall protection to the property is given by the Sikkim Forest, Environment and Wildlife Management Department. The department works under the management plan which aims to protect the ecosystem and landscape, and to promote the educational and cultural values. The management department has a partnership with the Ecclesiastical Department of Sikkim, the Department of Cultural Heritage Affairs and the Namgyal Institute of Tibetology to integrate the cultural values of the region into the management (UNESCO).
