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Cairngorms National Park Facts

Cairngorms National Park Facts
Cairngorms National Park is a 1,748 square mile park located in northeast Scotland. The park was the second national park to be established in Scotland. It was created in 2003, and encompasses areas of the regions of Aberdeenshire, Moray, Highland, Perth and Kinross, and Angus. Located within Cairngorm National Park are the Dalwhinnie distillery and Highland Wildlife Park. A portion of the park is designated a category 2 which means no lasting development can take place. In the category 5 section of Cairngorm some development and tourism is permitted. Visitors to Cairngorm National Park will see mountains, rivers, lochs, villages, and paths to explore.
Interesting Cairngorms National Park Facts:
Cairngorms National Park is the largest national park in the United Kingdom, located in the Scottish Highlands.
Cairngorms National Park has a large upland plateau, which is considered protected landscape and limits development.
Cairngorms National Park was established in an effort to preserve the landscape and the cultural heritage of the region, as well as to encourage sustainable use of the natural resource assets in the area.
There are almost 40 miles of off road trails that cyclists can explore. Some of these bike trails include Speyside Way, Cateran Trail, Badenoch Way, and the Glenlivet Mountain Bike Trail.
The Highland Wildlife Park is located within Cairngorms National Park. Visitors to the park can see tigers, polar bears, and muskoxen, as well as wolves in the wolf enclosure.
Visitors to Cairngorm can also visit Aultlarie Farm where they can learn about like on a working farm in 1930s Scotland.
Visitors can visit a 1700s farm at Cairngorms to learn about Scottish life in that time period.
Winter activities at Cairngorms National Park include skiing, karting, mountain biking, or enjoy a sled dog ride.
Five of the highest six mountains in the United Kingdom are located within Cairngorms National Park. It is the most popular skiing destination for those in the UK.
There are 52 summits in Cairngorms National Park that reach at least 900 meters in height.
Summer activities at Cairngorms National Park include rock climbing, mountain biking, pony trekking, orienteering, wildlife watching, site seeing, and taking a ride on a steam train.
The only free-grazing herd of reindeer in the U.K is found at Glen More in Cairngorms National Park.
There is a rare type of pinewood growing in Cairngorms National Park that only exists in Norway and Scotland.
Cairngorms National Park contains the cleanest marshes, loch, and rivers in Scotland.
25% of the threatened plant, animal, and bird species of the United Kingdom can be found in Cairngorms National Park.
Cairngorms' rivers contain endangered freshwater pearl mussels, rare lampreys, and fish such as trout and salmon.
There are small populations of people living within the borders of Cairngorms National Park. It is estimated that 16,000 people are permanent residences of the park.
It is estimated that over 1.4 million people visit Cairngorms National Park every year, and approximately 80% of the economy in Cairngorms is due to tourism activities and local businesses.


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