Namdapha National Park is a 1,985 km2 large protected area in Arunachal Pradesh of Northeast India. The park was established in 1983. With more than 1,000 floral and about 1,400 faunal species, it is a biodiversity hotspot in the Eastern Himalayas. The national park harbours the northernmost lowland evergreen rainforests in the world at 27°N latitude. It also harbours extensive dipterocarp forests, comprising the northwestern parts of the Mizoram-Manipur-Kachin rain forests ecoregion. It is the fourth largest national park in India.
The national park is located in Changlang district of the northeastern state of Arunachal Pradesh, near the international border with Myanmar. It spans an area of 1,985 km2 including a buffer zone of 177 km2 and a core area of 1,808 km2. It is located between the Dapha bum range of the Mishmi Hills and the Patkai range with a wide elevation range between 200 and 4,571 m (656 and 14,997 ft). It is crossed from east to west by the NoaDihing River that originates at the Chaukan Pass, located on the Indo-Myanmar border. The land cover changes with increasing elevation from tropical evergreen forest to temperate broadleaf and mixed forest. Secondary forests cover 345.47 km2 m; seasonal snow occurs at above 2,700 m (8,900 ft) between December and March.Additionally, the park has extensive bamboo forests. The area falls under both the Palearctic and Indo Malayan biogeographic areas resulting in a diverse species assemblage.
The park has about 425 bird species, with many more to be recorded from work in the higher areas. There are five species of hornbills recorded from the area. Several species of rare wren-babblers have been recorded in Namdapha. Other bird groups include laughing thrushes, parrotbills, fulvettas, shrike babblers and scimitar babblers. The snowy throated babbler is a rare species of babbler found only in the Patkai and Mishmi Hills and nearby areas of Northern Myanmar, is found in Namdapha. Other rare, restricted range or globally endangered species include the rufous-necked hornbill, green cochoa, purple cochoa, beautiful nuthatch, Ward's trogon, ruddy kingfisher, blue-eared kingfisher, white-tailed fish eagle, Eurasian hobby, pied falconet, white-winged wood duck, Himalayan wood-owl, rufous-throated hill-partridge, and whitecheeked hill partridge. Several leaf warblers and migrants such as amur falcon and several thrushes can be seen here. The first mid-winter waterfowl census in Namdapha was conducted in 1994 when species such as the white-bellied heron, a critically endangered bird, was recorded for the first time.
Highlight Species:
Snowy Throated Babbler
White Tailed Flycatcher
Hill Prinia
Rufous Necked Hornbill
Rufous Vented Laughing Thrush
Ward’s Trogon
White Cheeked Partridge
Beautiful Nuthatch
White Bellied Heron
Blyth’s Kingfisher
