Pokhara Tourism Council

Flora and Fauna

Pokhara is not just a place for the mountains, it is rich for its natural vegetation and forest type too. Hills like Sarangkot, Kaudanda etc boast wide variety of forest plants and trees. These dense forest are also a dwelling place for different wild creatures.

There is exclusively great floral and faunal diversity in Pokhara valley due to the prevalence of a wide range of climatic and topographical variations. The valley is dominated by rich pockets of Schima-Castanopsis forest. In the southern part of the valley Shorea robust mixed with Schema wallichii is found. Along the river and streams side, Acacia catechu at lower belt and Almus nepalensis at higher belt occur. Gregarious Bompax ceiba trees spread over flat terraces. At higher elevations, north of Pokhara, floral composition of astonishing diversity comprising several species of blossoming rhododendrons and orchids and a wide range of other species of quercus, Champ, conifers, bamboos and pasture grasses have created dense and diverse vegetation complexes.

MAMMALS

BIRDS

The forests of Pokhara valley can be grouped under five types as follows :

1. Evergreen Coniferous Forest

t occupies roughly 7% of total forested area of the valley. It is mainly found on the higher slopes of the hills, above 1,850 m. in the north-western and north-eastern part of the valley. The main tree species of this forest are:

S.No.	English Name	Scientific Name	Family
1.	Chirpine	Pinus roxburghii	Pinaceae
2.	Spruce	Picea smithiana	Pinaceae
3.	Silver Oak	Gravillea robusta	Protaceae

2. Mixed Forest

Mixed forest occupies nearly 34% of the forested area of the valley. It is found on the lower slopes of the hills between 1,220 m. to 1,850m. It is found on the northern parts and mainly concentrated in the north-western and north-eastern parts of the valley. The main trees species of this forest are:

S.No.	Local Name	Scientific Name	Family
1.	Chilaune	Schima wallichii	Theaceae
2.	Katus	Castanopsis indica	Fagaceae
3.	Uttis	Alnus nepalensis	Betulaceae

3. Monsoon Forest

It occupies 33% of the total forested land. These forests are found in the south and eastern part of the valley at the elevation of 762 to 1,219m. Several tree species of religious importance have been planted in these areas:
The main species are:

S. No.	Local Name	Scientific Name	Family	Habit
1.	Sal	Shorea robusta	Dipterocarpaceae	Tree
2.	Simal	Bombax ceiba	Bombacaceae	Tree
3.	Chilaune	Schima wallichii	Theaceae	Tree
4.	Bar	Ficus bengalensis	Moraceae	Tree
5.	Pipal	Ficus religiosa	Moraceae	Tree
6.	Titepati	Artemesia vulgaris	Compositeae	Herb
7.	Tapre	Cassia tora	Leguminoseae	Herb

4. Grasslands

This type of vegetation occupies 12% of the total forest areas. It is concentrated in the central part of the valley along river sides and deposited areas.
The major grassland species are:

S. No.	Local Name	Scientific Name	Family	Habit
1.	Dudhejhar	Euphorbia hirta	Euphorbiaceae	Herb
2.	Banmara	Lantana camera	Verbenaceae	Shrub
3.	Unyu	Dryopteris species	Polypodiaceae	Herb
4.	Bhui Kaphal	Fragaria insica	Rosaceae	Herb
5.	Kuro	Bidens pilosa	Compositeae	Herb
6.	Dubo	Cynodon dactylon	Graminae	Herb

5. Reverie Forest

It covers 14% of the total forested land of the valley. The forest is found near the rivers and lakes. Swampy forest species are also included in this forest.
Dominant species of this forest are:

S. No.	Local Name	Scientific Name	Family	Habit
1.	Khair	Acacia catechu	Leguminoseae	Tree
2.	Bayar	Zizyphus jujuba	Rhamasceae	Shurb
3.	Simal	Bombax ceiba	Bombaceae	Tree
4.	Kalo Siris	Albizzia lebbeck	Leguminoseae	Tree
5.	Amp	Mangifera indica	Anacardiaceae	Tree

Several species of medicinal plants are also recorded in the Pokhara valley. Some of them are:

S. No.	Local Name	Scientific Name	Family	Habit
1.	Asuro	Adhatoda vasica	Canthaceae	Shrub
2.	Amala	Emblica officinalis	Euphorbiaceae	Tree
3.	Bel	Aegle marmelos	Rutaceae	Tree
4.	Neem	Azidarachta indica	Meliaceae	Tree
5.	Chutro	Berberis aristata	Barberidaceae	Shrub
6.	Palans	Butea monosperma	Fagaceae	Tree
7.	Dhaturo	Datura stramonium	Solanaceae	Shrub

Besides these plants, the valley is equally rice in aquatic plants as it is the home of many lakes. Some of these plants are considered very important as they have become endangered. Following is the list of major aquatic plants:

Common Name	Scientific Name
Mosquito fem	Azolla carliniana
Water hyacinth	Eichornia crassips
Duckweed	Lemma spp.
Corntail	Ceratophyllum spp.
Water lettuce	Pistia stratiotes
Tape grass	Vallisneria spp.
Water weed	Egeria spp.
Pond weed	Potamogaton cenferoides
Water lily	Nymphoides aquatica
Hydrilla	Hydrilla verticillata
Water lotus	Nelumbo spp.

MAMMALS

Early 35 species of mammals are found in Pokhara valley. The mammals are commonly found in the forests around Pokhara but occasionally seen due to lower population and their shy nature as compared to avifauna. Hence patience is required to watch these mammals. The best places to observe these mammals are the forests near Fewa lake, Begnas lake, Rupa lake and Banpale Hill (Forest of Insitute of Forestry, Pokhara Campus).
Some major species are:

S.No.	Name	Zoological Name	Family
1.	Common leopard	Panthera pardus	Felidae
2.	Jungle cat	Felis chaus	Felidae
3.	Crab-eating Mongoose	Herpestus urva	Herpestidae
4.	Masked palm civet	Paguma larvata	Viverridae
5.	Indian crested porcupine	Hystrix indica	Hystricidae
6.	Golden jackal	Canis aureus	Canidae
7.	Barking deer	Muntiacus muntjak	Cervidae
8.	Common otter	Lutra lutra	Mustelidae
9.	Asiatic lack bear	Selenarctos thbetanus	Ursidae
10.	Indian pangolin	Manis crassicaudata	Manidae
11.	Assamese monkey	Macaca assamensis	Cercopithecidae
12.	Bengal fox	Vulpus bengalensis	Canidae
13.	Leopard cat	Felis bengalensis	Felidae
14.	Clouded leopard	Neofelis nebulosa	Felidae
15.	Small Asian mongoose	Herpestus javanicus	Herpestidae
16.	Indian grey mongoose	Herpestus edwardissii	Herpestidae
17.	Indian hare	Lepus nigricollis	Leporidae
18	Bush rat	Golunda ellioti	Muridae
19.	Himalayan yellow throated marten	Martex flavigula	Mustelidae
20.	Greater woolly Horseshoe bat	Rhinoloplus luctus	Rhonilophidae

BIRDS

Diverse floral composition of Pokhara valley has made it one of the most suitable places for birds. Habitat combination of Seti canyon and marshy lakes with dense forests and flat plains provide proper habitat for a diverse range of birds. Several species of birds including kingfishers, barbets, drongos, woodpeckers, babblers, flowerpeckers, flycatchers, egrets and bulbuls are found. The birds are residential as well as migratory.
Following is a list of some very common birds of Pokhara.

S.No.	Common Name	Scientific Name	Family
1.	Cattle egret	Bubulcus ibis	Ardidae
2.	Dark kite	Milvus migrans	Accipitridae
3.	Egyptian vulture	Neophron percnopterus	Accipitridae
4.	Black patridge	Fancolinus francolinus	Phasianidae
5.	Rose-ringed parakeet	Psittacula krameri	Psittacidae
6.	Eurasian cuckoo	Cuculus canorus	Cuculidae
7.	Blue throated barbet	Megalaima asiatica	Captionidae
8.	Blacknaped woodpecker	Picus canus	Picidae
9.	House swift	Apus affinis	Apodidae
10.	House crow	Corvus splendens	Corvidae
11.	Himalayan tree pie	Dendrocitta formosae	Corvidae
12.	Ashy drongo	Dicrurus leucophaeus	Dicruridae
13.	Black headed shrike	Lanius schach	Laniidae
14.	Whistling thrush	Myiophoneus caeruleus	Muscicapidae
15.	Beautiful nitava	Muscicapa sundara	Muscicapidae
16.	Black headed oriole	Oriolus chinensis	Oriolidae
17.	Golden oriole	Oriolus oriolus	Oriolidae
18.	Red vented bulbul	Pycnonotus cafer	Pycnotidae
19.	Grey tit	Parus major	Paridae
20.	Pond heron	Ardeola grayii	Ardidae

CONTENTS

Tourist Activities

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