Salakhan Fosils Park
Salkhan Fossils Park, officially known as Sonbhadra Fossils Park, is a fossil park in Uttar Pradesh, India. It is located 12 km from Robertsganj, near Salkhan village on state highway SH5A in Sonbhadra district. The fossils in the park are estimated to be nearly 1400 million years old.The fossils found in the Sonbhadra Fossils Park are algae and stromatolites types of fossils. The park is spread over an area of about 25 hectares in Kaimur Range, adjacent to Kaimur Wildlife Sanctuary. It comes under jurisdiction of the State forest department.Geologists have been aware of the fossils found in the present-day park area since the 1930s. People who have carried out research in the area include Mr. Auden (1933), Mr. Mathur (1958 and 1965), and Professor S. Kumar (1980–81). On 23 August 2001. Subsequently, it was formally inaugurated as a fossil park by District Magistrate Bhagawan Shankar on 8 August 2002.An international workshop was organised in December 2002, attracting participation from 42 delegates from India and abroad. Canadian geologist H.J. Hoffman was impressed by the fossils, and remarked that he had not seen such beautiful and clear fossils anywhere else in the world.[2] In 2004, research Mukund Sharma further explored the area
How to Reach:
By Air
The nearest airport for Sonbhadra is Babatpur which is in District Varanasi & 110 Kms from Robertsganj (District HQ.). There are direct flights from Varanasi to different major cities i.e. Delhi, Agra, Khajuraho, Kolkata, Mumbai, Lucknow & Bhubhneshwar etc and vice-versa.
By Train
The nearest railway station for District Headquarter is “ROBERTSGANJ” which is on the loop line from Chunar (Delhi-Howrah line). There are so many other stations in District Sonbhadra i.e. Chopan, Renukoot, Shaktinagar etc. The major trains passes through the Sonbhadra. These trains directly connected Sonbhadra to various cities i.e. Delhi, Kanpur, Allahabad, Pathankot, Jalandhar, Amritsar, Ludhiyana, Ranchi, Lucknow, Kolkotta etc.
By Road
The Sonbhadra is well connected to Lucknow, Allahabad, Varanasi, Mirzapur etc by road. Buses are 24 hours available from Varanasi to Sonbhadra & it will take hardly 2 ½ hours to Robertsganj (Distrcit Headquarter) The easiest way to come Sonbhadra is by train/air upto Varanasi/ Mirzapur then take a bus/private taxi to Sonbhadra, which are available 24 hours from varanasi & Mirzapur.