Saturday, May 16, 2009

Nepal Jungle Safaris

Nepal has been identified as one of the Asia’s most biologically important countries. The tiny country is the home of nearly 4.5 per cent of the world's mammalian species and over nine per cent of bird species.The country with its wide range of altitude and immense bio-climatic diversity supports more than thirty- five forest types giving rise to 5,833 species of flowering plants, including around 248 species of endemic plant and 700 species of medicinal plants. Nepal's landmass is also home to 185 species of mammals, 847 species of birds, 645 species of butterflies, 170 species of fishes and other animals. At this time, 26 species of mammals, nine species of birds and three species of reptiles are declared endangered.
18% of the total area of Nepal is set aside as national park or wild life conservation areas the largest figure declared for conservation in any country. There are currently 8 national parks, 4 wildlife reserve, 3 conservation areas and one hunting reserve .
Uniqueness of Nepal becomes transparent through the prism of its diverse biogeography, ranging from the warm sub-tropical forests of Chitwan National park to the breathtaking beauty of Sagarmatha (Mt. Everest) National Park which includes the highest peak of the world and a vast unfurling range of summits of the Northern Himalayan region.
The chief aims of the National parks and Reserves are, primarily, to ensure the conservation and management of the natural resources and environment, including the flora and fauna as well as their habitats, and secondly, to develop and promote nature and wild life tourism, where suitable in such areas possessing tourist attractions, so long as these activities are not detrimental to the implementation of conservation programmes. Nepal has so far succeeded in drawing appreciably increasing numbers of foreign and regional tourists every year and it is evident that there is tremendous potential of the national parks and the reserves for future expansion of nature, wild life and jungle adventure holiday tourism.
National parks now a days are gaining increasing importance as one of the most sought after tourist attractions in the world and in recent years have made major contribution in the spectacular growth of tourism in Nepal. Numerous accommodation facilities hotels, wild life camps and cafeterias have mushroomed in the park areas to cater to the increasing volume of visitors.

Chitwan National Park
Chitwan National park, one of the richest and most well known wild life reserve in Asia, is situated 165 km overland or 25 minutes by air to the south-west of Kathmandu in the lowland of inner Terai on the foot hills of great Himalayas of central Nepal. The park covers an area of 932 sq. km and conserves more than 43 species of mammals, 450 out of total estimated 750 specifies of birds in Nepal, many varieties of butterflies and 45 species of amphibians and reptiles. The national park offers a unique ecosystem encompassing hills.......READ MORE

Bardia National Park
Bardiya National Park is considered as one of the most picturesque national parks in Asia, it is full of rich and diverse flora and fauna. It is the largest wildlife reserve in tarai region of Nepal. The park was named as the Karnali Wildlife reserve in 1977 and two years later it was turned into the Bardiya National Park with an increased area of 968 sq km. In 1989 the park was renamed as Bardiya National Park. About 70% of this sub-tropical jungle is thickly forested with sal trees and carpeted with grass, savannah and riverine vegetation....READ MORE

Koshi Tappu Wildlife Reserve
Koshi Tappu Wildlife Reserve was mainly established to protect the rare wild buffaloes (Arnas) in 1976, which was declared as the Ramsar site in 1987. The park is well known as the bird watching paradise. It is one of the finest bird watching sanctuaries in Asia. Espesially in the winter season (October to March) the barrage acts as the most important resting place for migratory birds. A total of 280 different species of birds have been recorded in the reserve. The endangered Gharial crocodile and Gangetic dolphin also have been....READ MORE

Sagarmatha National Park
Situated in the northeast of Kathmandu in the Khumbu region of Nepal. It includes as it does the world's highest mountain, Mt. Everest and several other wellknown peaks. This area is internationally famous, and is becoming increasingly popular with tourists in addition to the increasing mountaineering expeditions every year. Apart from Mt. Everest itself and the splendid mountain scenery, other attractions include the picturesque Thyangboche monastry and the colourful sherpa villages in the lower valleys. There are ............READ MORE

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