Overa-Aru Wildlife Sanctuary

Overa-Aru Wildlife Sanctuary covers 511 sq km around the villages of Overa and Aru in the Aru Valley near Pahalgam, Anantnag district, 46 km from Anantnag and 76 km east of Srinagar. It was set aside as a game reserve under Dogra rule in 1945 and became a sanctuary in 1981. Bordered by the Sind Valley to the north and Dachigam National Park to the west, it forms a catchment of the Lidder River and takes in lakes, glaciers and peaks, among them Tarsar Lake and Kolahoi, at 5,425 metres its highest point.

Forest changes with height, from horse chestnut and walnut below 2,600 metres through blue pine and silver fir to birch and, higher still, juniper scrub. The sanctuary lies within the range of the critically endangered Kashmir stag, or hangul, and other mammals include musk deer, ibex, serow, leopard, and black and brown bears. Of 117 bird species recorded, 89 breed here, and the list includes the Kashmir flycatcher and Tytler's leaf warbler.