Nokrek National Park

Nokrek National Park, in the Garo Hills, protects one of the last significant habitats of the red panda in India outside the eastern Himalaya, alongside a rich diversity of citrus species, including wild relatives of cultivated orange varieties that have made the park internationally significant for agricultural biodiversity research. The park's forested peak, Nokrek itself, is the highest point in the Garo Hills and forms the core of a designated UNESCO Biosphere Reserve.

Nokrek's relative remoteness in the Garo Hills, somewhat distant from Meghalaya's more heavily visited Khasi Hills tourist circuit around Shillong and Cherrapunji, has kept visitor numbers modest, appealing specifically to those with a dedicated interest in the region's less-visited western hills and their distinctive biodiversity.

Declared a national park and later recognised as a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve, Nokrek's significance stems particularly from its wild citrus gene pool, considered globally important for the genetic diversity it preserves relative to modern cultivated orange varieties.

About 3-4 hours by road from Tura, itself roughly 220km from Shillong.