‘SNOLA’ – Traditional Festival of Flowers from Remote Kargil Region of Ladakh
(With inputs from Astha Chauhan, Hasina Bano & Brijbhushan, Research Scholars from Himalayan Forest Research Institute, Shimla working under the NMPB Funded Project of…
Hemis-Shukpachan – The land of Ladakh’s Sacred Juniper Trees
Hemis-Shukpachan, located around 80 km far from the Leh city, is a village of Leh district of Ladakh, Union Territory of India. Alternative transliterations…
Mughals as Naturalists
The Mughal’s ruled the Indian sub-continent for a span of almost three centuries. They transformed the culture of the region together with their gardening…
Heart-Shaped Lip Cypripedium – A Threatened Terrestrial Orchid in the Himalaya
Some years back I brought to focus the fast vanishing native ‘Lady’s Slipper Orchid’ from the flora of Shimla, Cypripedium cordigerum D. Don; more…
Unique High Altitude Healers – Heun Shelih
People visiting high altitude water bodies for religious yatras and nomadic shepherds can be seen kissing the meadows while collecting this lichen; it finds prized application in the treatment of skin diseases, especially for burn scars.
Padmakh (Pajja) – An amazing native autumn flowering tree from Shimla Hills
Pajja is a deciduous tree from the rose family (Rosaceae) with range extending in the Himalayas from Himachal Pradesh in north-west India to Nepal in Central Himalayas, to Southwest China, Burma and Thailand.
AUTUMN COLOURS AT THE WESTERN HIMALAYAN TEMPERATE ARBORETUM, SHIMLA
Autumn leaf colour is a spectacular natural phenomenon that paints the arboretum like the northern temperate forests in delightful hues. The leaf colour acts…
Chandernahan – The Moon Lake, A Trekking Botanists Paradise
Chandranahan lake which is considered the point of origin of the Pabbar River is located on the south-eastern slopes of the main Himalayas which…
Western Himalayan Temperate Arboretum For Conservation Of Native Flora At Shimla
An arboretum, by definition, is an outdoor collection of trees, shrubs and other woody plants systematically and aesthetically arranged for the purposes of demonstration, research, and education.
In Search of the Fast Vanishing Lady’s Slipper Orchid
A plant once reported to be abundant in the north-western Himalayas, has now become very rare and elusive due the ever shrinking natural habitats.