Jharkhand's highest peak, a Jain pilgrimage centre and a wildlife sanctuary around it: Parasnath Hill

Background

The highest point in Jharkhand is Parasnath Hill, which rises in Giridih district and is at the same time a place of pilgrimage of the first importance for Jains, drawing visitors from far beyond the State. Jharkhand's forest department records its altitude as 4431 feet above the mean sea level, and places the hill within Giridih East Forest Division, where Parasnath is one of five forest ranges beside Giridih, Gawan, Khurchutta and Dumri. Around it the forest blocks look mountainous, with slopes that are often precipitous, quite unlike the gentler hills nearer Giridih town. The Madhuban forest, now part of a wildlife sanctuary, keeps the woodland around the hill connected, and the ancient Jain temples of the area include those at Madhuban and the Jharkhand Siddha Kshetra. Giridih district itself belongs to the North Chhotanagpur Division, and its other visitor spots include Usri Falls and Khandoli Dam. The erstwhile State of Bihar set up the Parasnath Wildlife Sanctuary in 1984 under the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972. An Eco Sensitive Zone around the sanctuary came later: the Government of India notified it under the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986, after consulting the State Government of Jharkhand. The Union environment ministry treats the Sammed Shikharji Parvat Kshetra as a sacred Jain religious place and has a monitoring committee for the zone notification.