National parks of Nepal

The mountains of Nepal offer to this country some very different places, even though they are not far away one from another.

The different climates zones can make us experience different conditions: from the sub-tropical one (in Terai or Chitwan) to arctic conditions in the high mountains. On a 147.000 km2 territory, we can find 9 national parks, 3 reservations of wild animals, 6 conservation parks and a hunting reservation. These places only cover 20% of all the country.

Thus, Nepal becomes an ideal place for adventure tourism, in order to discover an ecosystem of an incredible wealth.

All the information here is taken from Nepal Tourism Board. You can join them by writing them an email to this address: info@ntb.org.np.

National Park of Bardia

The National park of Bardia is the most important protected zone (having an area of about 1000km2) and the better conserved one from all the Nepalese territory. Few foreigners and tourists (local or international) go to this area of Terai, a privileged place for endangered species as Bengali Tiger or one-horned rhino. The national park of Bardia is situated in the West of the Bardia district, and it’s surrounded in the West by the river Karnali, in the North by the Churia Mountains. The river Babai flows through the middle of the park. The geography of this place, the green fields and many other factors make from this area a favorable habitat for numerous animal species.

The national park of Bardia is the habitat of about 55 mammals, 400 different bird species, but also a few reptiles and aquatic animals. We can also encounter elephants, crocodiles, rhinos.

One of the most appreciated activities is to ride an elephant and to discover the region’s fauna. To get to the park, we have to travel about 95 km (3 hours) from Nepalgunj. Another option is to choose the 1 hour flight from Kahmandou and Nepalgunj (515km)

The best season to visit the Bardia national park is from October to March and from April to June. Otherwise, the temperatures can easily get to 40-42 degrees Celsius.

National Park of Chitwan

The National park of Chitwan is one of the most famous parks from Nepal and mostly appreciated by the visitors. The access facilities and fascinating fauna of this place make it a perfect region for a 2-3 days trip, starting from Katmandou or from Pokhara. It was declared an UNESCO site since 1984.

The National Park of Chitwan includes a part of the Shivalik hills and has some luxuriant forests raising near the marvelous Narayani Rapti fields and the river Reu.

The tigers, elephants and rhinos are the park emblems, but this region also contains about 600 species of different plants, 56 mammals, 540 bird species and almost 50 amphibians or reptiles. In 2011, there were about 415 one-horned rhinos and about 60 Bengali tigers. These two animals live in the Park Forest. During a trip to Chitwan, there are about 10% chances to see a tiger. These exotic animals live along with apes, pitons and different crocodile species.

During the summer, the forest wakes up, with the arrival of many migratory birds that come to cheer up the scene. One of the less known aspects of the Chitwan Park is the meeting of the Tharu culture.

It is not difficult to get to Chitwan as numerous hotels and resorts are present here. The Kasara town (capital of the district) is 20 min far away from Katmandou by plane and 145km by road. The ideal period to get to Chitwan is without any doubt from October to march, when the temperatures are lower (for this region!)

National Park of Khaptad

The National park of Khaptad took its name from a famous scientist.

National Park of Langtang

National Park of Makalu Barun

National Park of Rara

National Park of Sagarmatha (Everest)

National Park of Shivapuri

Wildnerness reservation of Koshitapppu

Wildnerness reservation of Parsa

Wildnerness reservation of Shuklaphanta

Hunting reservation of Dhorpatan

Conservation Zone of Annapurna