National ParkPatrimonio Mundial UNESCOReserva de la Biosfera

Nanda Devi

India · South Asia (Himalaya, Uttarakhand)

South Asia (Himalaya, Uttarakhand)Declared in 1982630 km²

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Closed to tourism since 1983, after radioactive material from a 1960s CIA surveillance device was found

Area

630 km²

Protection category

UICN Ia

Reserva natural estricta — what the IUCN categories mean

Declared in

1982

Region

South Asia (Himalaya, Uttarakhand)

Climate

Tropical, Árido / desértico, Polar / frío, Montañoso

Best time

November to March

World Heritage Biosphere Reserve

Plan your visit

Best time: November to March
Area: 630 km²

Highlight

Closed to tourism since 1983, after radioactive material from a 1960s CIA surveillance device was found

Declared in 1982 and a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1988, Nanda Devi National Park surrounds India's second highest mountain (7,816 m) and was closed entirely to mountaineering and tourism in 1983, after it emerged that a nuclear surveillance device — placed secretly in the 1960s by a joint operation between the American CIA and Indian intelligence to monitor Chinese nuclear tests — had been lost on the mountain during an expedition, raising fears of radioactive contamination that led the authorities to restrict access as a precaution for years.