The Royal Chitwan National Park, Himalaya

Royal Chitwan National Park is Nepal’s first and most famous national park is situated in the Chitwan Doon or the lowlands of the inner Terai. Covering an area of 932-sq-kms the park includes hilly areas of the Shiwalik range covered by deciduous Sal forest.

A fifth of the park is made up of the floodplains of the Narayani, Rapti and the Reu Rivers and is covered by dense tall Elephant grass interspersed with revenine forests of silk cotton (Kapok), Acacia and Sisam trees.

This ecologically diverse area is the last remaining home in Nepal for more than 300 of the endangered Asian one-horned inoceros and harbours one of the largest populations of the elusive and rare Royal Bengal Tiger. Besides Rhino and Tiger, Chitwan also support a great variety of flora and fauna. There are four species of Deer, including the Spotted Chittal, Leopard, Sloth Bear, Wild Dog, Small Wild Cats, the white stockinged Gaur (world’s largest wild cattle) and many other smaller animals.

The swampy areas and numerous Ox-bow lakes of Chitwan provide a home for Marsh Crocodiles. In a stretch of the Narayani River is found one of the few remaining of the populations of the rare and endangered fish-only eating Gharial. In the summers the park is alive with migrants such as the fabulous paradise flycatcher, the Indian Pitta ans Parakeets.