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Chitwan National Park
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Royal Chitwan National Park
(‘Chitwan’ means "in the heart of the jungle’) covers 932
sq. km. in the flat lowland region of southern Nepal. It
is one of the most important sub-tropical parks on the
Indian subcontinent with populations of the endangered
Royal Bengal tiger, Greater One-horned rhinoceros,
Gangetic dolphin (Platanista gangetica), Wild Asian
elephant, Gaur, Golden Monitor lizard, Gharial crocodile
and many more.
The Chitwan region has had a long history of conservation.
For many years it was the Royal hunting grounds for the
Kings and dignitaries of Nepal and therefore was not
hunted by the general public. It did however become a
favorite spot for big game safari hunters in the late
nineteenth and early to mid-twentieth centuries. This was
coupled with a surge in local human populations following
the development of anti-malaria medicines in the
mid-twentieth century. The long-term effect was a drastic
decrease in jungle habitat and animal populations in the
Chitwan valley as jungles were converted to farmland and
big game were hunted and poached to dangerously low
numbers. The falling rhino (less than 200) and tiger (less
than 30) populations in the present park region, focused
attention on the Chitwan region and in 1963 the southern
two-thirds of the park were declared rhino sanctuary. With
sanctuary status came the relocation of 22,000 people from
the Chitwan valley and a moratorium on hunting. Since 1963
wildlife populations and ecosystems have been rebounding.
In 1973 Chitwan became Nepal’s first National Park. The
relatively pristine state of the modern park and its
unique ecosystems prompted UNESCO to declare the park a
World Heritage site in 1984.
Park facilities include Display Center, Kasara; Library at
Kasara Saurah; Visitor Center, Sauraha; Machans (View
tower).
Activities include Elephant ride, Canoeing and Terai
culture
Fauna:
There are more than 43 species of mammals in the park. The
park is specially renowned for the protection of the
endangered one-horned rhinoceros, tiger, gharial
crocodile, gaur, wild elephant, four horned antelope,
striped hyena, pangolin, samber, chital, hog deer, barking
deer, sloth bear, common leopard, ratel, palm civet, wild
dog, langur, rhesus monkey, etc.
There are over 450 species of birds in the park. Among the
endangered birds are Bengal florican, giant hornbill,
lesser florican, black stork and white stork, Few of the
common birds seen are peafowl, red jungle fowl, and
different species of egrets, herons, kingfishers,
flycatchers and woodpeckers. The best time for bird
watching is March and December.
More than 45 species of amphibians and reptiles occur in
the park and some of which are marsh mugger crocodile,
cobra, green pit viper and various species of frogs and
tortoises.
Best time to visit:
The park is under the tropical monsoon climate with
relatively high humidity. The winter, spring and monsoon
are the three main seasons. The cool winter season occurs
from October to February. The spring begins in March and
is soon followed by summer that ends in early June. The
summer days are typically hot with 30 C on average day
temperature.
The monsoon time (end of June and to September) is best
avoided.
Flora:
The Chitwan valley is characterized by tropical to
subtropical forest. 70% of park vegetation is
predominantly Sal (Shorea robusta) forest, a moist
deciduous climax vegetation type of the Terai region. The
remaining vegetation types include grassland (20%),
riverine forest (7%) and Sal with Chirpine ( Pinus
roxburghii ) (3%), the latter occurring at the top of the
Churia range. The riverine forests mainly consists of
khair, sissoo and simal. The simal is with spiny bark when
young and develops buttress at the bottom in older stage.
The grasslands form a diverse and complex community with
over 50 species. The Sacchrum species, often called
elephant-grass can reach 8 m in height. The shorter
grasses such as Imperata is useful for thatch roofs.
Go there for:
One-Horned Rhino, Royal Bengal Tiger
How to Reach:
by road :
The park is accessible by car on the
Kathmandu-Mugling-Narayanghat Highway and or through
Mahendra Rajmarg Highway from Hetauda. It is about 6
hour's drive from Kathmandu to Narayanghat. A 6 km walk or
bullockcart ride brings the visitors to Sauraha, the park
entrance.
by air :
Also air services from Kathmandu to Meghauli for US$82
each way and Bharatpur US$65 each way are available. Local
buses are available form Narayanghat to Park HQ. Kasara.
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© 2008, Banjara Camps & Retreats Pvt. Ltd., New Delhi. All rights reserved.
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