|
Index :
About | Surveying
Total Coverage Area: 630-sq-kms
Established In: 1980
Altitude: Between 2,400mt. and 6,817
Description
The centerpiece of the Garhwal region is undoubtedly the
Nanda Devi Sanctuary. Until 1934, the gorge of the
Rishiganga river and the immediate area around Nanda Devi
peak was one of the least known and most inaccessible
parts of the Himalayan region. In the Sanctuary, the
mountains stand in a vast amphitheater, seventy miles in
circumference and about 6,000m high. The Nanda Devi
Sanctuary is drained in part, by the Alaknanda and
Saraswati rivers.
Surveying The Wildlife
The early Indian Surveyors and mountaineers alike were
unable to venture into the Inner Sanctuary. It was in 1934
the Eric Shipton and Bill Tilman eventually managed to
find their way to the Sanctuary. This paved the way for
the Anglo-American mountain expedition of 1936 to
ultimately climb the peak. When Tilman and Odell reached
the top of Nanda Devi on 29th August, 1936, they had
reached the highest point ever climbed by man till then.
And this height record stood till the French stood on top
of Annapurna in Nepal in 1950 - the first 8,000m peak to
be climbed by man.
|
