The Hemis High Altitude National Park

The Hemis High Altitude National Park includes the catchments of two valleys, which drain into the River Indus. It is named after the famous monastery -- Hemis, and sprawls over 600-sq-km in the Markha And Rumbak valleys. The conditions are very bleak and desolate in this park. The terrain is rocky and the thin soil cover supports a poor vegetative growth. Dry alpine pastures are present in sheltered locations. Grass growth is relatively rapid during the summer season after the melting of the snow.