Conserve 252-million-year-old Kashmir’s Triassic Fossil Park

The declaration of Guryal Ravine at Khanmoh area on Srinagar outskirts as Geological National Geoheritage site by Geological Survey of India has brought cheers to people especially nature lovers in Kashmir.

The Guryal Ravine is not just a mountain but a treasure trove, a repository of Kashmir’s rich history. The ravine which is part of the Permian-Triassic Boundary section possesses sedimentary succession of about 252 million years ago. It is believed that during this period a severe mass extinction wiped out most of life on Earth including 90% of sea creatures and 70% of land life. This transition is known as the “Great Dying” or Late Permian Mass Extinction (LPME). As per geologists, this is recorded in ancient rocks of Guryul ravine with abundant fossils, marking the transition from the Paleozoic to Mesozoic Era, with minimal life in the early Triassic age at the Permian-Triassic Boundary.

As per GSI, the Guryul Ravine Geological section represents one of the only few known complete Permian Triassic Boundary sections in the world. It hosts multiple mega fossil horizons of Bryozoa, Brachiopoda, Bivalve, Gastropoda, Ammonoids and conodonts which are important for understanding the greatest biological revolution and past climate changes of earth, with each rock layer here telling a story worth preserving.

The historical significance of Guryul Ravine dates back nearly two centuries. In 1837–38, it was studied by the British geologist H. Falconer in 1837 and Murchison in 1842 followed by several other renowned European geoscientists. The groundbreaking discovery came in 1866, when British geoscientist Henry Godwin-Austen unearthed crucial fossils that established Guryul as one of the most important Permian-Triassic boundary sites in the world. His findings were later cited in “The Valley of Kashmir” (1895), authored by Walter Lawrence, then Settlement Commissioner of Jammu and Kashmir.

For the last nearly a decade, Kashmir-based Environmental Policy Group (EPG), has been campaigning for the Guryal’s protection and recognition.

On October, 15, 2018, EPG announced that Kashmir’s two million old fossil sites will be developed in collaboration with Penn Dixie’s Natural History Society. PDNHS manages world’s number one fossil park in Hamburg, USA, and holds the Guinness World Record for the World’s Largest Fossil Dig. As per the agreement, the Penn Dixie Natural History Society had released a resolution to collaborate with EPG through its constituent, Centre For Himalayan Geology to assist and develop Kashmir Triassic fossil park.

The Penn Dixie Board of Directors had confirmed Kashmir Triassic Fossil Park as one of the world’s geological treasures. The breakthrough came after the then EPG trustee and noted geo-scientist Abdul Majid Bhat made a presentation to Penn Dixie Board highlighting the importance of the Fossil Park at Guryul Ravine.

EPG has been acting as custodian of the Guryal Ravine and taking measures to ensure its protection including preventing illegal mining of the fossil sites and dumping of garbage in catchments.

EPG Convenor Faiz Bakshi describes the efforts to get international recognition of the Guryal ravine as “dream come true.”

Bakshi recalls that he impressed upon the government to turn the Guryal Ravine into a Geo-Park during the 2005 International Conference of Geoscientists at Jammu. Subsequently in 2008-09, Director Geology & Mining constituted a team to prepare the map of the area to declare the site as a protected heritage site. This led to termination of lease contracts and stopped stone quarrying in the area with the intervention of the Prime Minister’s Office and the then Governor N.N.Vohra..

Bakshi notes the role of faculty of University including then Vice Chancellor Talat Ahmed besides Prof. M.S.Bhat , Dr. Bashir, Dr.Akhter Alam, Dr. Shabir Ahmad, then Deputy Commissioner Farooq Ahmad Lone, then Director of Tourism Mehmood Shah and Abdul Majid Bhat, EPG trustee. Besides experts, geo-scientists from Kanazawa, Shimuzu, Nogami, Tokuoka, Nohda, Maegoya, H.M.Kapoor, Jeremy Williams, Ayman Baud also made immense contributions.

Due to a sustained campaign by EPG, Rs one crore was sanctioned to the Tourism Department for construction of Chain Link fencing to protect the fossil park besides construction of Interpretation Centre which is yet to come up. EPG has been expressing concern over encroachment of portions of the fossil-rich terrain for industrial use.

“GSI declaration is a turning point for geo-conservation in India. October 16, 2025, will be remembered as a golden day for Kashmir’s environmental history,” Bakshi remaks vowing that EPG would continue its efforts to secure UNESCO Global Geopark recognition and develop Guryul Ravine into a world-class fossil park and research centre.

While we have been able to secure recognition for Guryul Ravine, the government and stakeholders need to protect other natural assets with immense historical, geographical and ecological value.

Karewas in Kashmir are also facing vandalisation due to illegal excavation. These Karewas have climatic and tectonic records of the last 1.6 million years preserved in the sediments. Karewas are not just raised mounds of earth but are repositories of geological and archeological treasures. Geologists have found several fossils in the upper reaches of Budgam. Fish scales were found in Karewas of Gogjee Pathri and upper mountain areas of Liddermud and Yusmarg. Elephant species called Elephas hysudricus were found in Karewas of Pulwama and Budgam areas. Moreover fossils of Sivatherium giganteum (extinct species of Giraffe) have been found in Samboora karewas near Pampore.

We have to understand that these mountains or karewas are not just rocks or mounds of earth but our repositories of our. These natural creations carry Earth’s memory in their bosom. If developed fully, these fossil formations can give a major boost to tourism and scientific explorations in Jammu and Kashmir.

We must ensure to safeguard these geological assets for our future generations. Let us resolve to pass on nature in its pristine form to future generations like our ancestors did.

Author is Executive Editor,

Greater Kashmir