Royal Chitwan National Park
Royal Chitwan National Park, the oldest national park in Nepal, is situated in the subtropical inner Terai lowlands of South Central Nepal. The park has an area of 932 square kilometers. The park was designated as a World Heritage Site in 1984. The park is just a short detour off the Prithvi Highway. The name Chitwan means heart of the jungle. In recent years has park has risen meteorically on the lists of the Things to do in Nepal.

The park covers a pristine area with a unique ecosystem of significant value to the world. It contains the Churiya hills, ox-bow lakes and flood plains of Rapti, Reu and Narayani rivers. The Sal forests dominate the vegetation of the park. The grasslands form a diverse and complex community with over 50 species, the Sacchurun species, often called elephant grass, can reach 8m in height. The park boasts of more than 43 species of mammals, 45 species of amphibians and reptiles and 450 species of birds in the park. The park is renowned for endangered animals along with many other common species.

Activities at Chitwan are a major attraction for all tourists. The elephant back safari through the park to see the animals is a special attraction. A canoe ride on the Rapti river with crocodiles passing by is unmistakably the greatest jungle experience. Visits to the elephant breeding farm, the Tharu village and early morning bird watching would leave you with memories to last forever.

Other places to visit around Chitwan are: Ghatgain, Jagatpur, Twenty Thousand Lakes (Bis Hazar Taal) and Meghauli.

Access: Daily tourist buses from Kathmandu and Pokhara are economical and standard way of getting there. There are flights from Kathmandu to Bharatpur, the nearest airport, a short 15km, drive gets you to the park.

ROYAL BARDIA NATIONAL PARK
Royal Bardia National Park is situated in the mid far western Terai, east of the Karnali River. The area of the park is 968 square kilometers. It is the largest undisturbed wilderness area in the Terai. Ecologically, Bardia spans a great range of habitats from thick riverine forest and sal stands to phanta (isolated pockets of savannah) and dry upland slopes. The Geruwa, a branch of Nepal’s biggest river, Karnali, forms the park’s western boundary and major watering hole, and the density of wildlife and birds along this western edge is as great as anywhere in Asia. The park provides excellent habitat for endangered animals. Some of them are Rhinoceros, Wild Elephant, Tiger, Swamp deer, Black Buck, Gharial crocodile, Marsh Mugger crocodile and Gangetic dolphin. Endangered birds include the Bengal florican, lesser florican, silver eared mesia and Sarus crane. More than 30 different mammals, over 200 species of birds, and many snakes, lizards and fish have been recorded in the park’s forest, grassland and river habitats.
Bardia is widely hailed as a conservation success story. Rhinos hunted to extinction here early last century, have been reintroduced since 1986 and now are growing in number. The commonest sight of all around Bardia are termite mounds, looking like sand colored volcanoes, which reach their greatest height – up to 2.5m – here.

Access: Drive through the Tribhuvan and Mahendra Highway to Nepalgunj from Kathmandu or Pokhara.
Travel from Nepalgunj to Thakurdwara (Headquarters of the park).
Some domestic airlines have a daily flight to Nepalgunj you can hire a jeep to drive to Thakurdwara.

KOSHI TAPPU WILDLIFE RESERVE
The Koshi Tappu Wildlife Reserve lies on the flood plains of the Sapta – Koshi in Saptari and Sunsari Districts of Eastern Nepal. The eastern and western embankments of the river define the reserve. The area of the park is 175 square kilometers. It is the bird watching paradise of Asia. This is the most low-key of the Terai’s parks. It one of the most important stopping places for migratory birds: the Arun River, the Sapt Koshis main tributary, forms one of the few breaches in the Himalayan barrier north of here. This tappu hosts nearly all of Nepal’s long list of wildfowl, waders, egrets, storks, ibises, terns, gulls and a number of varieties that you haven’t seen anywhere else. Some other animals you may see are blue bull, wild boar, langur, spotted deer. A small number of gangetic dolphins are reportedly trapped upstream of the barrage.