National Parks and Wildlife Reserves

There are eight national parks and four wildlife parks. They cover the jungle area of the Terai to some of the highest mountains in the world. Around 16,650 sq km or 11% of the land in Nepal are wildlife parks. There is also the Annapurna Conservation Area, which covers 2600 sq km.

Visitors have to pay Rs 1000 to enter the

Annapurna Conservation Area.
The address of the Department of National Parks & Conservation (220-912) is PO Box 860, Babar Mahal, Kathmandu.

Much of the wildlife parks are used by humans, because there is such a great demand of land in Nepal. Practically the only areas that are not used are mountain peaks and the royal hunting reserves.
The royal Bengal tiger and rhinoceroses have been successfully been protected in the Royal Chitwan National Park and Royal Bardia National Park.

Royal Chitwan National Park
This is the most visited park in Nepal and is famous for its royal Bengal tigers and one-horned rhinoceroses. It also has gharial crocodile crocodiles and Gangetic dolphins. It has more than 43 species of mammals and 450 species of birds. It is connected to the Parsa Wildlife Reserve and covers 1431 sq km. The park is made up of 70% of Sal forest and the rest of the park is made up of grasslands and forest (describe???).

The park is conveniently located and has many hotels in the area ranging from basic to five-star facilities. Most people stay a day or two. It is convenient to visit the park while going and coming from Kathmandu to India.

Royal Bardia National Park
The 968 sq km park located in the western Terai has tigers, rhinoceroses, wild elephants, a selection of deer and blue bulls. It may also be possible to see a Gangetic dolphin swimming in the river. It is mainly sal forests and grasslands. It is bordered by the Geruwa River, which is a branch of the Karnali River, and has the Chure Hills to the north. It is predominantly flat land.

The park is not very visited because it is inconveniently located 2½ hours northwest of Nepalganj. There is decent selection of places to stay from budget to high-end.

Langtang National Park
This 1710 sq km park begins 32km north of Kathmandu extends to the border of Tibet. Some animals in the park include red pandas, black bear, musk deer, monkeys, muntjac, serows and ghoral. It has several 7000m mountains and two river flow through it — the Sun Kosi and the Trisuli. Over 18,000 people live within the park. The largest amount of people are Tamangs who originate from Tibet.

There is a wide selection of vegetation starting with some subtropical forest, then as the elevation get higher oak, pine, juniper, birch and alpine vegetation, going up to just rock.

There are several possible different length treks that can be done within the park.

Annapurna Conservation Area
This is the most popular trekking area in Nepal. It is one of the best trekking places in the world. It has some of the most beautiful scenery and mountains and it is a good cultural experience.
Annapurna Conservation Area covers an area of 2600 km, extending from north of Pokhara to the border of Tibet. Within it are the Annapurna Sanctuary, the Annapurna mountains, and a good part of the Kali Gandaki Valley.

The Annapurna Conservation Area is managed by the Annapurna Conservation Area Project (ACAP), with is a non-profit group funded by several trusts. Its objectives are to protect the environment, help the local people, and make tourism run more smoothly in relation to the area. The ACAP can be contacted at King Mahendra Trust for Nature Conservation (526-571; fax 526-570), PO Box 3712, Babar Mahal, Kathmandu.

Makalu-Barun National Park
This 2330 sq km park is just east of Mt Everest. To the north of the park is Qomolangma (Mt Everest) Nature Preserve in Tibet. Sagarmatha National Park forms the northeast border of the park and on its eastern border is the Arun River. Within the park is Makalu (8463m), the fifth highest mountain in the world. Some people trek to it base camp.

Most of the 30,000 people surrounding the park are Rai, and there are also Sherpas and Tibetan speaking people.

Elevation in the parks goes from the Arun River at 430m to mountain peaks over 8000m. There are some beautiful areas in the park.

Sagarmatha National Park
Sagarmatha is located northeast of Kathmandu and strength along the Tibetan border. Its 1148 sq km is all above 3000m. Mt Everest is here and there are also the peaks of Lhotse and Ama Dablam. This is a popular place to trek and can only be reached by foot. It is popular because of the beautiful mountains and the Sherpa culture. There are some fascinating valley and gorges. Some of the animals found in the park are black bears, Himalayan tahr, musk deer, wolves and some great birdlife. The plant life includes birch, juniper, fir, pine and there are many species of rhododendron.

There are some important monasteries.

The park is used by 3500 Sherpas for grazing and crops. The roadhead for the park is Jiri and the nearest airport is in Lukla.

A good book about the park is Mt Everest National Park: Sagarmatha, Mother of the Universe by Margaret Jefferies has some great picture and some interesting information.

Shey Phoksundo National Park
The 3555 sq km Shey Phoksundo National Park in western Nepal is the largest park in Nepal. It extends along the Tibetan border. Found in the park are snow leopards, Tibetan hare and Himalayan weasels. The park has forest, mountains and extends up to the Tibetan plateau. Two places worth seeing in the park are Shey Monastery and Lake Phoksundo.

Not many people visit this park because to get here you have to make a tough 14 day trek. Trekking companies can arrange permits for here. For more information about this book you can get Trekking in Hidden Land of Dolpa-Tarap & Shey Poksumdo by Paolo Gondini.

Royal Sukla Phanta Wildlife Reserve
This 305 sq km has around 30 tigers, 50 wild elephants, leopards and is one of the last homes of the endangered swamp deer (around 2000). There is also a good selection of birds. The park is located in extreme south-west Nepal on the border with India. The park is mainly made up of sal forest, but also has some good grassland, which is great for viewing wildlife.
The park is reached by first going to Mahendranagar, on the border of India.

Koshi Tappu Wildlife Reserve
The 175km Koshi Tappu is in south-eastern Nepal along the Sapt Kosi. It is the home of the last group of wild buffalo and several types of deer. Over 280 species of birds are found in the park. The land is mainly grassland and has some forest. The reserve is often flooded during the monsoon. The only places to stay are high-class places.

Rara National Park
This 106 sq km park surrounds the beautiful Rara Lake, which has many water birds. It covers 10.8 sq km and is the biggest lake in Nepal. It is surrounded by snow-covered mountains. To get to the lake you have to make a 10-day trek from the roadhead at Surkhet or make a tough 3-day trek from Jumla, where there is an airstrip.

Dhorpatan Hunting Reserve
The 1325 sq km Dhorpatan Hunting Reserve in Western Nepal has blue sheep, Himalayan tahr, deer, ghoral, black bear, serow and pheasants. It has forest at lower elevations and higher up there is not much vegetation. To get here you have to trek from Jelbang or come here by helicopter.

Copyright ©2001 John Howley and Spiritual Guides