Broghil Valley National Park (Urdu: بروغل) is located in the extreme northern reaches of the Upper Chitral District in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan, close to the Pak–Afghan border. It lies around the Mountains of Central Asia biodiversity hotspot.

Geography
Broghil Valley National Park abbreviated as BVNP, lies 250 kilometres (160 mi) from the main city of Chitral and is the northernmost valley within the Upper Chitral district. Broghil Valley borders the Gilgit-Baltistan to west and the Wakhan corridor in Afghanistan to north, which stretches between Tajikistan and Pakistan. It is adjacent to the Qurumbar National Park in Gilgit-Baltistan.

The area is mostly mountainous. The elevation of the national park ranges from 3,217 m (10,554 ft) to 5,696 m (18,688 ft) above the sea level. The terrain is undulating with mountains, grassy plains, and valleys. It includes almost 3,400 ha of peatlands and lakes. The valley features around 30 freshwater lakes and is surrounded by glaciers and mountains.

Tourism
The remote location of the Broghil Valley makes it a hard-to-reach the tourist destination. Many communities in Broghil lack access to basic facilities and services. The annual Broghil Festival attracts visitors, however it lacks basic road and hospitality infrastructure. Attendees enjoy attractions and activities such as yak polo and exhibitions of woolen handicrafts, accompanied by traditional food and music. However, a recently constructed 32 km (20 mi) road by Aga Khan Rural Support Programme, connects Kishmanja village of the park to other villages such as Pechus and Vedin Khot and other areas. During their five-day tour to Pakistan in the mid-October 2019, the British royals, Prince William and his wife Catherine, Princess of Wales visited the park.

Demographics
People inhabiting the regions of the valley belong to Wakhi, Kyrgyz and Sarikoli ethnicities, whom have been settled here over hundreds of years.

Flora and Fauna

Spread across the grassy plains are scrubs and common plants include Webb's rose, Artemisia brevifolia, and Artemisia maritima. The forests are mainly dominated by Juniperus species and Betula. 23 mammals, 120 birds, 3 reptiles, and 1 amphibian species have been confirmed.

Mammals
Siberian ibex, C.s.sakeen
Bharal, P.n.nayaur
Marco Polo sheep, O.a.polii
Himalayan musk deer, M.leucogaster
Persian leopard, P.p.saxicolor
Snow leopard, P.uncia
Turkestan lynx, L.l.isabellinus
Leopard cat, P.b.bengalensis
Himalayan wolf, C.l.chanco
Golden jackal, C.a.indica
Red fox, V.v.montana
Himalayan brown bear, U.t.isabellinus
Long-tailed marmot, M.c.aurea
Pale gray shrew, C.pergisea

Himalayan birds
Chukar partridge, Alectoris chukar
Snow partridge, Lerwalerwa
Himalayan snowcock, Tetrogallus himalayanus
Golden eagle, Aquila chrysaetos daphanea
Bearded vulture, Gypaetus barbatus
Snow pigeon, Columba leuconota

Herpeto-fauna
Chitral gecko, Cyrtodactylus walli
Plump banded gecko, Cyrtodactylus dattanensis
Caucasian agama, Paralaudakia caucasia
Baltistan toad, Bufo latastii

See also
Broghil Pass
Darkot Pass
List of valleys in Pakistan

References

Further reading
Khan, Ahmad; Said, Ahmad; Ullah, Imran (January 2020). "Landsat based distribution mapping of high-altitude peatlands in Hindu Kush Himalayas — a case study of Broghil Valley, Pakistan". Journal of Mountain Science. 17 (1): 42–49. Bibcode:2020JMouS..17...42K. doi:10.1007/s11629-019-5384-0.

External links
Broghil Valley
World Database on Protected Areas – Broghil Valley National Park
Media related to Broghil National Park at Wikimedia Commons