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 1984.
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.
