Singalila National Park
The region had long been used as the trekking route from Manebhanjang to Sandakphu (the highest peak of West Bengal) and Phalut.Through Hodgson he met British East India Company representative Archibald Campbell who negotiated Hooker's admission to Sikkim, which was finally approved in 1849.The two highest peaks of West Bengal, Sandakphu (3630 m) and Phalut (3600 m), are located on the ridge and inside the park.The Singalila Ridge was used as an approach route by the first documented mountaineering team which unsuccessfully attempted to climb Kanchenjunga in 1905.Sandakphu is known as the "mountain of poisonous plants" due to the large concentration of Himalayan cobra lilies (Arisaema) which grow there.Tigers occasionally wander into the area, but do not have a large enough prey base to make residence in these forests feasible.Birds: The park is a birder's delight with over 120 species recorded including many rare and exotic species like the Himalayan Vulture, scarlet minivet, kalij pheasant, blood pheasant, satyr tragopan, brown and fulvous parrotbills, rufous-vented tit, and Old World babblers like the fire-tailed myzornis and the golden-breasted fulvetta.Milli was killed by a leopard, but Sweety adapted to the wild and gave birth to an offspring - the first such successful re-entry for red panda.There are two roomed guest houses and trekkers' huts at Tonglu, Gairibans, Sandakphu, Phalut, Kala Pokhri and several other locations in the park, run by the Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council.
IUCN categorynational parkDarjeelingWest BengalManebhanjanGovernment of IndiaGovernment of West BengalSingalila RidgeDarjeeling districtSandakphuwildlife sanctuaryIndian national parkManebhanjangPhalutSikkimJoseph Dalton HookerBrian Houghton HodgsonArchibald CampbellRangeet RiverTeesta RiverTongluDarjeeling subdivisionHimalayasRammam riverKala PokhriKanchenjungaJules Jacot-GuillarmodoccultistAleister CrowleybiomesecoregionsEastern Himalayan subalpine conifer foreststemperate coniferous forestsEastern Himalayan broadleaf foreststemperate broadleaf and mixed forestsHimalayan subtropical pine forestssubtropical coniferous forestbamboomagnoliarhododendronspringPrimulaGeraniumSaxifragaBistortSenecioCotoneasterorchidsArisaemaorchidarium Lloyd Botanical Gardenred pandaleopard catbarking deeryellow-throated martenwild boarpangolinHimalayan black bearleopardclouded leopardTigersHimalayan Vulturescarlet minivetkalij pheasantblood pheasantsatyr tragopanparrotbillsrufous-vented titOld World babblersfire-tailed myzornisgolden-breasted fulvettaflywaymigratory birdsHimalayan newtJore PokhriSukhiapokhricattleCentral Zoo Authoritycaptive breedingPadmaja Naidu Himalayan Zoological ParkCherub of the MistMontanamonsoonKangchenjungaEverestMeghmaGairibansTumlingDarjeeling Gorkha Hill CouncilBagdogra AirportGangtokEast SikkimNarrow gaugeGhum, West BengalStandard GaugeNew JalpaiguriNH 31ARimbickSiliguriKurseongSonadaSingalila in the HimalayaGeorge ThengummoottilIncredible IndiaNational parks of IndiaProtected areas of IndiaMinistry of Environment, Forest and Climate ChangeAndaman andNicobar IslandsCampbell BayGalatheaMahatma GandhiMiddle Button IslandMt. Harriet IslandNorth Button IslandRani JhansiSaddle PeakSouth Button IslandAndhra PradeshSri VenkateswaraPapikondaArunachal PradeshMoulingNamdaphaDibru-SaikhowaDehing PatkaiKaziranga