PESHAWAR, Feb 16: Situated in the scenic hilly areas between Murree and Abbotabad, the Ayubia National Park is serving both as a tourist resort and a sanctuary for flora and fauna. Spread over an area of 8,000 acres, the park provides beautiful scenes of natural beauty and rare species of wild animals, birds and trees.

It was declared national park in 1984 by the wildlife department with the objective of preserving scenic beauty of the area, promoting research in natural environment and creating awareness among people about wildlife and plants, said Dr Mumtaz Malik, the chief conservator, wildlife.

The park provides sanctuary to 45 different types of animals, birds and plants. The animals taking shelter in the park include large flying squirrel, palm civet, leopard cat, hill fox, rhesus monkey.

The names of different species of birds available at Ayubia Park are bearded vulture, great himalayan barbet, longtailed minivet, oriental turtle dove, red-headed tit, black bulbul, black and yellow grosbeak, kashmir nuthatch, scaly-bellied green woodpecker, blue whistling thrush, yellow-billed blue magpie, fire-capped tit, koklass pheasant, alpine swift, slaty-headed parakeet and tree creeper.

The flora of the park include maple tree, wild pea, himalayan spruce, polygonum, deodar, arum lilly or cobra plant, viburnum, holly plant, jasmine, daphne, oak, blue pine, wild rose, and peony.

From tourists' point of view, the park provides chair-lift facility through which aerial view of beautiful natural scenes could be had. Similarly, two highest hills of Galliyat - Muskpori and Miranjani - are also located in the park and provide trekking facility.

A special track has also been established. For the protection of the park, the wildlife department has declared it a national park and put restriction on cutting of trees, bushes and other plants. Similarly, tourists are fined on throwing garbage in the park, writing on trees and rocks, hunting birds and animal. -APP