JUNGLE SAFARI IN NEPAL

Chitwan National Park in the central Terai lowlands and Bardia National Park in the western Terai provide some of the best wildlife and nature viewing places in Asia. Visit a wonderful world of lush subtropical jungles, tall elephant grass, lakes and rivers - home to some of the most endangered animals on earth. The elusive tiger and the prehistoric rhinoceros, and many species of mammals, birds, insects and reptiles. Tour by elephant back,jeep and boat. Savor the forest and its unique sanctuary on a quite nature walk with a local guide. For the more serious bird watcher the Kosi Tapu Wildlife Park, in southeast Nepal, provide a unique venue for watching migratory waterfall, waders and shore birds that congregate along the Kosi River from December to February each year. We have a choice of Jungle Lodges, Tented Camps and Guest Houses from where you can explore the Himalayan parks and its wildlife.

Chitwan National Park:
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 Bengal tiger, Greater One-horned rhinoceros, Gangetic dolphin (Platanista gangetica), Wild Asian elephant, Gaur, Golden Monitor lizard, Gharial crocodile and many more .

Bardia National Park

The largest National Park in lowland Nepal covers an area of 968 sq. Km. situated in Nepal’s western Tarai. It was established to protect representative ecosystems and conserve tiger and its prey species. Initially, a small area was gazette as the ‘ Karnali Wildlife Reserve’ in 1976.

In 1982, the area was renamed ‘Bardia Wildlife Reserve’ and in 1984, it was extended to its current size and 1500 households of the Babai valley were resettled outside the park, allowing the vegetation and wildlife to flourish. The reserve was given the status of a National Park in 1988.

In 1997, an area of  327 sq. Km. of forest and private land surrounding the park, was declared a buffer zone. The National Park and local communities, jointly initiate community development activities and manage natural resources within this zone.

The Park extends from the Churia hills, southward to the gentle slopes of the ‘Bhabhar’. The higher grounds of the Churia have dry, deciduous forest of mostly hardwood sal. In all, Bardia is home to more than a hundred species of forest trees. The porous slopes of the Bhaibhar support large, open grasslands, known locally as ‘Phantas’ There are some of the last remaining grasslands that once covered much of the Gangetic plain. Many of the larger mammals live in and around the Phantas and so they are the best places to view animals, the most conspicuous of which, is the spotted deer.

The western boundary consists of the numerous waterways of the Karnali, which have created many large and small gravel islands. A mosaic of grassland and riverine forest of acacia, sisam and large, buttressed silk cotton trees covers these islands and much to the lower ground area. In spring, the silk cotton blooms and the forest comes alive with scarlet flowers.

The original inhabitants of Bardia were the Tharu people, who possibly migrated from the Thar Desert in Rajasthan, whilst fleeing Muslim persecution, in about the 13th century. They cleared areas of forest in order to plant their crops and supplemented their diet with plentiful game and fish. Much of the Nepalese Terai is still populated by Tharu people.

Bardia is the home to 53 species of mammals, 25 species of reptile, over 400 species of bird and 121 species of fish.
Of course, the most famous inhabitants are the majestic Bengal tiger and the greater one horned rhinoceros. There are also leopards and several species of smaller jungle cats, sloth bear, hyena, wild dog and jackal and two species of monkeys; the langur and the rhesus macaque. It is also famous for its small herds of wild elephants, which are seen occasionally. Bardia also boasts small population of the rare gharial and Marsh mugger crocodiles and the endangered Gangetic dolphin. The island of the Karnali River harbous the sub-continent’s larges antelope spacies, the nilgai or blue bull.

Both the Karnali and Babai rivers attract a large number of wintering waterfowl, along with resident species such as herons, kingfishers and wall creepers. Other birds includes the endangered Giant hornbill(Buceros bicornis), Sarus Crane(Grus antigone), Black stork (Ciconia nigra), Bengal flerican (Eupodtis Bengalensis) and lesser florican (Sypheotides indica)-truly a bird watcher’s paradise.

More than 300 butterfly species, over half of Nepal’s butterfly population, may be found in the National Park as well as many snakes and amphibians, including the Indian Rock python (Python Molurus) and King cobra (Opiophagus Hannah) and more than a dozen species of lizards and frogs.

Adventure Zambuling Treks (P) Ltd. provides you the great support to visit this wonderful wildlife reserve and observe the graceful and endangered animals well preserved in this area.

Koshi Tappu Wildlife Reserve:
The Koshi Tappu Wildlife Reserve lies on the flood plain of the Sapta-Koshi, one of the three main tributaries of the Ganges in eastern Nepal. Roughly the shape of a rectangle 10 km wide and as long, it stretches south of the Sapta Koshi to the Indian border. It mostly consists of tall grassland with patches of khair-sissoo scrub forest and deciduous mixed riverine forest.It is set against the backdrop of the Eastern Himalaya, including Makalu (8475 m), the world's fifth highest mountain.
The reserve offers prime habitat for a variety of wildlife, supporting the last surviving population of wild buffalo or arna. The nilgai (blue bull), chital (spotted deer), hog deer, and wild boar are some other mammals finding sanctuary in the Reserve.
Over 280 different species of birds, have been recorded in the Reserve, including twenty species of ducks, two species of ibises, many storks, egrets, herons and the endangered swamp partridge and Bengal florican. It is an important staging ground and resting place for migratory birds, many of which are not seen elsewhere in Nepal. The endangered Gharial crocodile and Gangetic dolphin have been observed in the Koshi river