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Margalla Hills
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Key Information
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The Margalla Hills[a] is a hill range of subtropical moist broadleaf forest within the Margalla Hills National Park in the northwestern Punjab region in Pakistan, forming the northern edge of the Islamabad Capital Territory, just south of Haripur District, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. They are part of the Himalayan foothills on the Himalayan biodiversity hotspot. The Margalla range has an area of 12,605 hectares.[1] It is a range with many valleys and rainforests as well as high mountains.
Climate
[edit]This region falls in the Humid subtropical climate zone.[2] The average annual rainfall in the Islamabad area is 1,457 millimetres (57.4 in).[3]
Paleontology and archeology
[edit]According to the research carried out by scientists and archaeologists of the project "Post-Earthquake Explorations of Human Remains in Margalla Hills", the formation of the Margalla Hills dates to the Miocene epoch. The dominant limestone of the Margalla is mixed with sandstone and occasional minor beds of shale. The archaeologists of the project have also found two human footprints over one million years old here, preserved in sands.
The Shah Allah Ditta Caves are also part of its ancient history. This cave is about 2500 years old and is believed that Alexander The Great as well as several other emperors used this route to either pass by or pass into this area. The cave also have Buddhist-era murals dating to at least 2400 before present. The cave has seven alcoves of different sizes for lamps which are still conserved today. Furthermore, one of the paintings found within the cave is of the Hindu god Shiva.[4]
Flora
[edit]
There are around 250 to 300 species of plants on the Margalla Hills. As many as two-thirds of them are used by the people for their medicinal effects to treat or cure various diseases.[5]
There are several species of trees in these hills like bombax ceiba, ficus benghalensis, ficus lacor, ficus racemosa, ficus religiosa, cassia fistula, pinus roxburghii, Alstonia scholaris, bauhinia variegata, butea monosperma, syzygium cumini, erythrina suberosa, woodfordia fruticosa, and many others.[2][6]
There is high diversity of the other plants as well including cannabis, adhatoda vasica and fabaceae[2] as well as bamboo.[7]
Fauna
[edit]Some of the bird species include Psilopogon asiaticus, Psilopogon haemacephalus, Psittacula cyanocephala, Psittacula krameri, pitta brachyura, Terpsiphone paradisi, Gracupica contra, Erythrogenys erythrogenys, niltava sundara, Eumyias thalassinus, Cyornis rubeculoides, aethopyga siparaja, Lophura leucomelanos, Eudynamys scolopaceus and others.[8]
There are around 30 or more mammal species here, some of the notable ones include the rhesus macaque, Indian boar, Northern red muntjac, Indian leopard, Indian flying fox, jungle cat and grey goral[9] as well as the leopard cat.[10]
There are many butterfly species in and around these hills like the papilio protenor, papilio polyctor, vagrans egista, graphium sarpedon, hypolimnas bolina, pseudergolis wedah, symbrenthia lilaea, arhopala rama, catopsilia pomona, charaxes agrarius[11] as well as the Tajuria cippus.[12]
Bird watching
[edit]The Margallas are an excellent place for bird watchers. The area is home to a large number of birds, including robins, sparrows, kites, crows, larks, paradise flycatchers, black partridge, shrikes, pheasants, spotted doves, Egyptian vultures, falcons, hawks, eagles, Himalayan griffon vulture, laggar falcon, peregrine falcon, kestrel, Indian sparrow hawk, white cheeked bulbul, yellow vented bulbul, cheer pheasant, khalij pheasant, golden oriole, collared dove, wheatears and buntings.[13]
The cheer pheasant, indigenous to the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, was being reared in Margalla Hills as a part of conservation campaign by the World Pheasant Association and Capital Development Authority.[14]
Environmental conservation
[edit]
The ecology of Margallas faces threats from quarrying by stone-crushing plants,[15] deforestation,[16] illegal encroachments,[17] and buildings, and poachers.[18] Crush plants situated around the hills near Taxila are busy eroding the hills for extracting building material.[19] Deforestation is resulting from fires and illegal felling of trees.[20]
Margalla Hills Society
[edit]The Margalla Hills Society[21][22] was established in 1989.[23][24]
World Wildlife Fund (WWF) Pakistan
[edit]The WWF-Pakistan's 'Green School Programme', in collaboration with the Capital Development Authority (CDA), carries out 'Eco-Adventure Activities' on the Margalla hills to raise awareness in the school children regarding the conservation of natural environment and about the importance of being environmentally responsible.[25]
Events
[edit]- On 28 July 2010, Airblue Flight 202, an Airbus A321 operating a domestic flight from Jinnah International Airport in Karachi to Benazir Bhutto International Airport in Islamabad, crashed into the Margalla Hills, killing all 152 people on board.[26]
- On 6 January 2012, snowfall over Margalla Hills.[27]
- On 11 February 2016, snowfall over Margalla Hills.[28]
Places in Margalla Hills
[edit]See also
[edit]Notes
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ "Another fire breaks out on Margalla Hills". Dawn. 2021-05-27. Retrieved 2022-02-26.
- ^ a b c "Full article: Vegetation classification of the Margalla foothills, Islamabad under the influence of edaphic factors and anthropogenic activities using modern ecological tools". ResearchGate.
- ^ "Mean FOR THE PERIOD 1961 - 2009". Archived from the original (TXT) on 2010-06-13.
- ^ "1m-years-old footprints found at Margalla Hills". Dawn. 2007-07-28. Retrieved 2022-02-26.
- ^ "64 per cent plants on Margalla Hills used for treatment of diseases - thenews.com.pk". The News International. 2012-12-17. Archived from the original on 17 December 2012. Retrieved 2022-02-26.
- ^ "D7BL1MHP Ecological Baseline Margalla Hills National Park | PDF | Grazing | Habitat".
- ^ researcherslinks.com/current-issues/prospects-of-bamboo-cultivation-in-n-w-f-p/41/5/9511
- ^ avibase.bsc-eoc.org/checklist.jsp?region=PKis01
- ^ "Museu de Ciències Naturals de Barcelona: Scientific journals".
- ^ "Seasonal indices in prey species of the leopard cat in Margalla Hills... | Download Scientific Diagram".
- ^ "Observations".
- ^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2025-05-14.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ^ "Margalla Hills National Park". Wildlife of Pakistan. Retrieved 2017-05-23.
- ^ "Cheer pheasant reintroduced successfully into the wild". The Express Tribune. 2021-11-06. Retrieved 2022-02-23.
- ^ Anwar, Shahzad (2014-12-28). "Environmental hazard: Stone-crushing plants nibbling away Margallas". The Express Tribune. Retrieved 2022-02-23.
- ^ Anjum, Shakeel (11 September 2018). "Encroachers causing deforestation on Margalla Hills". The News International. Retrieved 2022-02-23.
- ^ Iqbal, Nasir (2021-11-10). "IHC orders survey of damage caused to Margalla Hills National Park". Dawn. Retrieved 2022-02-23.
- ^ "Experts call for halt to poaching of pangolin". The Express Tribune. 2022-01-30. Retrieved 2022-02-23.
- ^ "Stone crushers pose threat to Margallas: World Earth Day observed". Dawn. 2009-04-23. Retrieved 2022-09-22.
- ^ "CDA fails to control Margalla Hills fire". Daily Times. 2013-12-03. Archived from the original on 3 December 2013. Retrieved 2022-02-26.
- ^ "Roedad Khan - Margalla Hills Society". Roedad.com. Retrieved 2017-05-23.
- ^ Khan, Aurangzaib (2015-02-25). "Herald Exclusive: The whole Roedad". Dawn. Retrieved 2022-02-23.
- ^ Salam, Afia (2013-10-07). "A tunnel without vision". Dawn. Retrieved 2022-02-23.
- ^ "PM's intervention sought to halt work on Margalla Road". Dawn. 2021-12-20. Retrieved 2022-02-23.
- ^ "Eco-adventure activity launched on Margalla Hills - thenews.com.pk". The News International. 2012-12-26. Archived from the original on 26 December 2012. Retrieved 2022-02-26.
- ^ Crilly, Rob (28 July 2010). "Passenger plane crashes outside Islamabad". The Daily Telegraph. London. Retrieved 28 July 2010.
- ^ "Margalla Hills receive snowfall after 6 years". 2013-12-02. Archived from the original on 2 December 2013. Retrieved 2022-02-26.
- ^ "Margalla Hills turn snowy after a decade". Dawn. 2016-02-11. Retrieved 2022-09-22.
