Sri Venkateswara National Park | |
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IUCN category II (national park)
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Sri Venkateswara National Park on Tirumala Hills
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Location | Chittoor and Cuddapah districts, Andhra Pradesh, India |
Nearest city | Tirupati |
Coordinates | 13°45′4″N 79°20′16″E / 13.75111°N 79.33778°ECoordinates: 13°45′4″N 79°20′16″E / 13.75111°N 79.33778°E |
Area | 353 km2 (136 sq mi) |
Established | September 1989 |
Sri Venkateshwara National Park is a national park and biosphere reserve in Andhra Pradesh, India. The total area of the park is 353 km2.
The park is known for its many waterfalls including the Talakona, Gundalakona and Gunjana. As the government of India declared the Seshachalam Hills as one of the biosphere reserves of India in 2010, this national park becomes the part of it.
The National Park is located in Eastern Ghats spread over the Seshachalam hills of Cuddapah district and Tirumala hills of Chittoor district. The elevation varies from 150 to 1,130 m. The terrain is undulating with forest covered valleys. Most of the rainfall is received from the northeast monsoon and a little from the southwest monsoon. The vegetation here is a mix of dry deciduous and moist deciduous types.
Average rainfall in the region is 900 mm.
The average temperature of the region varies from 12 °C to 44 °C.
Flora
The vegetation in the national park consists of dry deciduous mixed forest with patches of moist deciduous forests in the valleys. The area has about 1,500 vascular plant species belonging to 174 families, of which many are endemic. Some of the rare and endemic plant species like red sanders, Shorea talura, Shorea thumburggaia, Terminalia pallida, sandalwood, Cycas beddomei, Syzygium alternifolium, Psilotum nudum occur in this region.