Shivalik Fossil Park Nahan

Located in Saketi, Sirmaur District of Himachal Pradesh, Shivalik Fossil Park is one of its kinds in Asia and known for its rich collection of 2.5 million years old fossils of vertebrates from Shivalik. Inaugurated in 1974, the park is spread over an area of 1.5 sq km area and claimed to be one of the largest fossil parks in Asia. The park is set over an area of around 1.5 sq km and was built by the Geological Survey of India to check indiscriminate destruction of fossil bones. There are six life size models of extinct mammals which are made of fibreglass and resins. It also has a museum within its boundary where the fossils of Plio-Pleistocene era are exhibited. The things on display are unearthed from the same region of upper Shivalik range. The exhibits on the display include the skulls and limbs of tortoises, hippopotamuses, gharials, crocodiles and above all the tusks of 22 species of elephants.

History The main motive behind developing this unique site was to protect and preserve the fossils obtained from the rocks. However, the park was intended to educate common mass and to provide research scholars with the scientific information of pre-historic period. The park was established in 23rd March, 1974 and currently it is maintained by The Geological Survey of India, in close association with the Government of Himachal Pradesh. It is claimed that the fossils obtained here are of the mammals which resided here around 1 to 2.5 million years ago. The mammalian fossils that are found today in Shivalik are believed to be one of the world's richest antiquities.