Famous National Parks in Pakistan

National parks reflect any country’s outstanding scenery and natural landscape, but a visit to Pakistan’s over 21 such parks will reveal that they have been in state of neglect for the past several years.

National park is not like a city park or public garden with fenced boundaries and having play grounds, picnic spots, jogging and walking tracks etc. Rather it is a reserve of land usually declared and owned by a national government meant for the protection and preservation of the outstanding scenery, natural landscape, majestic and awe inspiring places, natural flora and fauna in natural state and protected from hunting, cutting of vegetation, developmental activities and pollution.

Protection of biodiversity is the main purpose for the establishment of a national park, however, being biologically, geologically and culturally important the national parks also serve to cater for education recreation and scientific purposes for the public.

But despite its enormous beauty, Pakistan has many pests which are ruining it by illegal hunting, poaching and unattended wildlife disease impact (i.e. Newcastle disease in wild peacock). Deforestation and lack of biodiversity conservation laws are eradicating Pakistan’s biodiversity at a massive scale.

1. Saiful Malook National

Saiful Malook National Park is one of the most visited National Parks of Pakistan. It attracts large number of tourists every year because of Saif ul Malook lake. It was established in 2003 and it is under Mansehra District of KPK. It covers 12,027 acres.

2. Ayubia National Park

Ayubia National Park is in KPK and located in Abbottabad District. It covers 8,184 acres of land. This park was also named after Pakistan's second President, Ayub Khan. It was established in 1984. This park is surrounded by 7 major villages and 4 of them are Thandiani, Nathiagali, Ayubia and Khanspur.

3. Deosai National Park

The Deosai National Park is in Skardu, Gilgit-Baltistan. It has Deosai Plateau which is the second highest plateau in the world. It was established in 1993 and it covers 885,626 acres of area.

4. Central Karakoram National Park

Central Karakoram National Park was established in 1993. It is situated in Gilgit-Baltistan and it covers 3.4 million acres of land. It also comprises the Baltoro, Panmah, Biafo and Hispar glaciers and their tributary glaciers and is considered to be one of the most beautiful national parks in Pakistan.

5. Chinji National Park

Chinji National Park was established in 1987. It is in Chakwal District of Punjab and it covers an area of 15,061 acres. It is located close to close to Salt Range.

6. Chitral Gol National Park

The word Gol means valley in local language. Chitral Gol National Park is in Chitral District of KPK and is located beside Chitral River. It was established in 1984 and covers 19,151 acres of land.

7. Broghil Valley National Park

Established in 2010, Broghil Valley National Park is in Chitral District of KPK and covers 308,790 acres of land.

8. Hingol National Park

Hingol National Park was established in 1988 and it covers 407,734 acres. It spans over three disricts of Balochistan, Awaran, Gwadarand Lasbela. It has many land marks including mud volcano and princess of hope.

9. Ghamot National Park

Ghamot National Park is another national park of Azad Kashmir. It is located in Neelam District of AJK and it was established in 2004.

10. Gurez National Park

Gurez National Park is also in Neelam District of Azad Kashmir and it was given a status of National Park in 2009. It covers about 130,509 acres.

11. Hazarganji-Chiltan Park

Hazarganji-Chiltan is situated in Quetta District, Balochistan. It was established in 1980 and it covers approx. 38,437 acres of land.

12. Kala Chitta National Park

Kala Chitta was established in 2009 and it covers 91,343 acres of land. It is located in Attock District of Punjab Province.

13. Deva Vatala National Park

Deva Vatala National Park is situated in Bhimber District of Azad Kashmir. It was established in 2009 and it covers 7,396 acres.

14. Khunjerab National Park

Khunjerab is also located in Gilgit-Baltistan. It covers 560,714 acres and is one of the oldest national parks of Pakistan as it was established in 1975.

15. Kirthar National Park

Kirthar National Park is located between Karachi and Jamshoro District in Sindh, Pakistan. It was established in 1974 and it covers. It covers 762,896 acres of land and it used to have a decent number o leopards until 80s.

16.Lal Suhanra National Park

Lal Sohanra National Park is situated in Bahawalpur, Punjab, Pakistan. It is one of the largest national parks of South Asia having diversity in landscapes. Lal Sohanra has deserts, forests and ponds as well.It was founded in 1972, and it spans over 216,034 acres. It is Pakistan's first National Park.

17. Machiara National Park

Machiara National Park was founded in 1996. It is situated in Muzaffarabad, Azad Kashmir and it covers 33,438 acres of land.

18. Margalla Hills National Park

Margalla Hills National Park is in Rawalpindi, Punjab. It was founded in 1980 and it covers 42,962 acres of land. 

19. Panjal Mastan National Park

Panjal Mastan National Park is located in teh Bagh District o Azad Kashmir. It was founded in 2005 and it covers 12,466 acres.

19. Karambar National Park

Also known as Karambar National Park covers 182,858 acres. It is located in Ghizer district of Gilgit-Baltistan region of Pakistan. It was established in 2011.

20. Ayub National Park

Named after the Pakistani president and general Ayub Khan, Ayub National Park is located on Jhelum Road and covers an area of 2,300 acres. It has a play area, lake with boating facility, an aquarium, a garden-restaurant and an open-air theater. This park hosts 'The Jungle Kingdom' which is particularly popular among young residents of the city.

21. Shandur-Hundrup National Park

Shandur-Hundrup National Park was established in 2012. It covers 8,000 acres of land and it is in Ghizer district o Gilgit-Baltistan. It also hosts Shandur Polo Festival.

22. Toli Pir National Park

Toli Pir National Park was founded in 2005. It is in Poonch, Azad Kashmir and it covers 12,466 acres.

23.K2 National Park

K2 is the second-highest mountain in the world afterMount Everest. With a peak elevation of 8611 meters(28,251 feet), K2 is part of the Karakoram Range, issituated on the borderbetween the Taxkorgan TajikAutonomous County of the District, China, and Gilgit,Gilgit-Baltistan in Pakistan.
K2 is known as the Savage Mountain due to thedifficulty of ascent and the second highest death rateamong the "eight thousanders" for those who climb it.For all four having reached the summit, one diedtrying.Unlike Annapurna, the highest mountain in thedeath rate, had never climbed K2 in winter.

24.Lulusar-Dodipat National Park 

Lulusar-Dodipat National Park is located in the Kaghan Valley in Mansehra District of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. The park was created in 2003.