The World's only floating National Park!

The Keibul Lamjao National Park where Kei stands for Tiger, Bul stands for vast and Lamjao stands for Land. This is a national park in the Bishnupur district of the state of Manipur in India. 

It is 40 km2 (15.4 sq mi) in area, the only floating park in the world. This national park is an integral part of the Loktak Lake.The Keibul Lamjao National Park where Kei stands for Tiger, Bul stands for vast and Lamjao stands for Land. 

This is a national park in the Bishnupur district of the state of Manipur in India. It is 40 km2 (15.4 sq mi) in area, the only floating park in the world. This national park is an integral part of the Loktak Lake.

From above, the 240-sq-km lake appears riddled with islands. However, they’re not the islands, but the phumdis. The phumdis are the floating masses of vegetation, soil and decomposing organic matter. Verdant green on top, most of the phumdis’ mass is below the lake surface which allows the roots to reach the lakebed during the subsequent monsoon season. This phumdis were formed naturally when vegetation floating in the shallow water formed mats over the course of several years. They can reach a thickness of up to 2m.

Phumdis are a crucial to like on Loktak Lake. As many, 4000 fishermen and their families, live on phumdis fashioned out of metal plates and rods, bamboo, wood and rocks. The huts have the straw beds, basic cooking equipments, a box of spare light bulbs and little else. Families send their children to the only floating elementary school and this school also offers higher education.

This national park is home to the last of the brow-antlered deer, one of the most endangered deer in the world. The brow-antlered deer or sangai is the state animal. The temperatures here may vary from a maximum of 34.4 °C (93.9 °F) in summer to a minimum of 1.7 °C (35.1 °F) in winter. The night here brings a glimpse of modernity with twinkling celestial and hundreds of miniature light bulbs strung over which attract the insects.

The park, primarily composed of moist semi–evergreen forests, has a rich amalgam of aquatic, wetland and terrestrial ecosystem. Thus to experience this beauty, add one more to your bucket list!

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