Royal Chitwan National Park

Introduction
Royal Chitwan National Park stands today as a successful testimony of nature conservation in South Asia. The prefix "Royal" is being slowly removed from many names in Nepal such as from the name Royal Nepal Airlines which is now Nepal Airlines. Similarly Royal Chitwan National Park is now just called Chitwan National Park.
Formerly, the Chitwan valley was well known for big game and was exclusively managed as a hunting reserve for the Rana Prime Ministers and their guests until 1950. In 1963, the area south of Rapti was demarcated as a rhinoceros sanctuary. In 1970, His late Majesty King Mahendra had approved in principle the creation of Royal Chitwan National Park.This is the first national park of Nepal established in 1973 to preserve a unique ecosystem significantly valuable to the whole world. The park covering a pristine area of 932 sq. km is situated in the subtropical inner Terai lowlands of southern central part of Nepal. The park has gained much wider recognition in the world when UNESCO included this area on the list of World Heritage Site in 1984.
Chitwan is also a place to learn about the Tharu people.Chitwan's National Park is the main attraction in the region. This park is regarded as the best national park of Nepal, and is also the most developed one. Main activities in Chitwan include Jungle Safari, Bird Watching and Boat Tour. Jungle Safari is the most popular one. You will journey into the deep forest riding on elephant back, you will witness the preserved natural assets of Nepal, birds, flora and fauna. World's one of the most endangered species, Bengal Tigers are found abundant in Nepal, many in Chitwan national park. For animal lovers, Chitwan national park offers them an opportunity of a life time to see Royal Bengal tigers, one-horned rhinos, various species of birds and butterflies.. Most include elephant safaris, jungle walks, canoeing and cultural activities.
One Horned Rhinos and Bengal Tigers are the main two animals that are famous in the park. Spotting them while on a safari will be the joy of a life-time. To spot bengal tiger, you might have to extend your stay in Chitwan a little longer!! Altitude of the park ranges from 492 feet (150m) to 2673 feet (815m) Over a 50 different mammals and 450 species of birds are located in the park .
The park consists of churia hills, ox-bow lakes, flood plains of Rapti, Reu and Narayani rivers. The Churia hill rises gradually towards the east from 150 m to over 800 m. The lower but most rugged Someshwor hills occupy most of the western portion of the park. The flood plains of Chitwan are rich alluvial. The park boundaries have been delineated by the Narayani and Rapti rivers in the north and west, and the Reu river and Someshwor hills in the south and south-west. It shares its eastern border with Parsa Wildlife Reserve.
Vegetation and Animals:
*The Chitwan valley is characterized by tropical to subtropical forest. 70% of park vegetation is predominantly Sal ( Shorea robusta ) forest, a moist deciduous climax vegetation type of the Terai region. The remaining vegetation types include grassland (20%), riverine forest (7%) and Sal with Chirpine ( Pinus roxburghii ) (3%), the latter occurring at the top of the Churia range. The riverine forests mainly consists of khair, sissoo and simal. The simal is with spiny bark when young and develops buttress at the bottom in older stage. The grasslands form a diverse and complex community with over 50 species. The Sacchrum species, often called elephant-grass can reach 8 m in height. The shorter grasses such as Imperata is useful for thatch roofs.
*There are more than 43 species of mammals in the park. The park is specially renowned for the protection of the endangered one-horned rhinoceros, tiger, gharial crocodile along with many other common species of wild animals. The estimated population of endangered species of animals such as gaur, wild elephant, four horned antelope, striped hyena, pangolin, gangetic dolphin, monitor lizard and python, etc.
* Some of the other animals found in the park are samber, chital, hog deer, barking deer, sloth bear, common leopard, ratel, palm civet, wild dog, langur, rhesus monkey, etc.
There are over 450 species of birds in the park. Among the endangered birds found in the park are Bengal florican, giant hornbill, lesser florican, black stork and white stork, Few of the common birds seen are peafowl, red jungle fowl, and different species of egrets, herons, kingfishers, flycatchers and woodpeckers. The best time for bird watching is March and December.
* More than 45 species of amphibians and reptiles occur in the park and some of which are marsh mugger crocodile, cobra, green pit viper and various species of frogs and tortoises.
* The park is actively engaged in the scientific studies of several species of wild flora and fauna.
Environment
To a causal observer the pattern of vegetation in Chitwan probably seems stable. On the low lying flat land near the rivers, including the large islands in the Narayani river, there is a lush growth of short and long grass interspersed with patches of mixed forest. On the hills the forest is more uniform, consisting mainly of stately, straight-trunked sal (Shorea robusta). Everything, it seems, has been like this for some time.
Yet the apparent stability is an illusion. Nature is constantly in a state of flux, particularly in a monsoon area of this kind, and it is a process - a kind of continuous, creeping takeover - whereby some species of plants and trees gradually gain supremacy over others.
Two contrasting elements - water and fire - affect this environment, altering the course of plant succession and creating constant changes in vegetation patterns.
Every summer during the monsoon floods the rivers change their routes to a greater or lesser extent, altering the configuration of the floodplains. The floods destroy whole tracts of vegetation at various stages of growth, and the islands and sandbanks which emerge as the waters recede become sites for primary succession. Thus, every year, water wipes part of the slate clean and allows a new start to be made.
So important is the occasion in the lives of the local Tharus that they hold special festivals to mark the beginning and the end of the grass-cutting season. During this period more than 10,000 entry permits are issued, and thousands more illegal entrants no doubt poured into the park as part of the mass invasion.
By March and April, however, the grass is much drier, and now the fires spread much more quickly, fanned by the afternoon winds to such an extent that some areas are burned two or three times over. The flames spread into the riverine forests, and many young trees are destroyed; but they do not damage the mature trees. The effect of fire is not as devastating to vegetation as might be imagined; and on the plains, where the water-table is high, the grasses produce new shoots within 2 weeks. Although the rate of growth is not high early in the year, it is greatly accelerated by the occasional rains of April and May. By the time the monsoon has set in around mid-June, the new grasses are already 10 feet tall.
Fire appears to be integral to the ecology of Chitwan; if the grasslands were left unburned, the thick, matted stalks would inhibit new growth and create conditions suitable for trees to establish themselves. Burning is a traditional practice used to perpetuate grasslands and discourage trees from moving in. In the perpetuate grasslands and discourage trees from moving in. In the park, the natural plant succession is from grassland to forest, and burning retards this process. It has been established that grassland and riverine forest produce a greater animal biomass than the monotypic sal forest. Without fire to retard woody invasion, large grassland areas would very likely be taken over by forests, except on the low lying floodplains; wildlife populations, especially of ungulates and therefore of predators, would be likely to decline not only in numbers but also in quality.
Seasons:
* The park is under the tropical monsoon climate with relatively high humidity. The winter, spring and monsoon are the three main seasons. The cool winter season occurs from October to February. The spring begins in March and is soon followed by summer that ends in early June. The summer days are typically hot with 30 C on average day temperature. The monsoon usually begins at the end of June and continues until September. The mean annual rainfall is about 2150 mm and during this time of the year rivers are flooded and most of the roads are virtually closed.
How to Get There:
The park is accessible by car or bus on the Kathmandu-Mugling-Narayanghat Highway and or through Mahendra Rajmarg Highway from Hetauda. It is about 6 hour's drive from Kathmandu to Narayanghat. Local buses are available to Tadi Bazar which is about an hour drive form Narayanghat. A 6 km walk or bullockcart ride brings the visitors to Sauraha, the park entrance. Also air services from Kathmandu to Meghauli and Bharatpur are available. Local buses are available form Narayanghat to Park HQ. Kasara.
Park Facilities:
* Display Center, Kasara
* Library at Kasara Sauraha
* Visitor Center, Sauraha
* Machans (View tower)
Activities:
* Elephant ride
* Canoeing
* Guided jungle walk
* Terai culture
* Wildlife breeding projects
* 4WD safaris
And Many more......