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Tibet
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Royal Chitwan
National Park |
| Activities in Chitwan |
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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
198.
How to Get there
Air : There are daily flights
from Kathmandu to Bharatpur.
Road : Chitwan is easily accessible
from Kathmandu being well connected by national
highway to Bharatpur and Saurana.
Package tour to Royal
Chitwan National Park
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