Lesser-known national parks in India that deserve our attention

When we talk about wildlife in India, more often than not, our minds go to the big and famous national parks in India, wildly popular for the jungle stars like the Bengal tiger, rhinoceros, Indian wild elephant, to name a few. It is common for us to immediately go for the big names like Ranthambore, Kanha, Corbett etc.

Also read: Wild photos from India's national parks and reserves

What if we were to tell you to push these big ones aside, and turn our focus on the lesser-known national parks? Who knows what treasures are getting ignored in these offbeat national parks!

Located just an hour away from the temple town of Haridwar, Rajaji National Park often gets sidelined because of its bigger neighbour Jim Corbett National Park. Rajaji National Park is a great place to see the Indian wild elephant. The rivers Ganga and Song flows through Rajaji, making it a very picturesque experience.

The only floating national park in the world, Keibul Lamjao National Park is a big part of the Loktak Lake experience in Manipur. The national park is the only home for the very shy Manipur brown-antlered deer or the Sangai deer.

Ntanki or Intanki National Park in Peren district in Nagaland has one of the most dense forests in India. The forest is home to several bird species including the great Indian hornbill and slaty woodpecker to name a few. Permission is required to go trekking and camping inside the park.

The national park is home to, you guessed it, Mount Kanchenjunga, the third highest mountain in the world. The park supports a unique yet diverse biodiversity. The region is important because it supports several important medicinal plants.

Located in the hills of Tirupati, Sri Venkateswara National Park is one of the least popular national parks. By not visiting this national park, one is missing out on gorgeous waterfalls and endemic species of amphibians (the rare Indian golden gecko).

The erstwhile hunting reserve of the Maharajah of Kashmir, Dachigam was declared a national park back in 1981. It is home to the endangered hangul or the Kashmir stag.

Also known as Phawngpui Blue Mountain National Park, this lesser-known national park is stunning to say the least. Surrounded by dense forest and imposing cliffs, Phawngpui National Park is home to wildlife like the Hume's pheasant, mountain goat, slow loris, Asiatic black bear and stump-tailed macaque to name a few.