NATIONAL PARKS

 Nepal is a land of extreme contrasts in climate and geography. It has a unique topography ranging from lowlands with sub-tropical jungles to arctic conditions in the Himalayan highlands. Within a distance of 150 aeronautic kilometers, the land rises from near sea level in the south to over 8,000 meters in the North. All climate zones found on planet Earth may be experienced in Nepal in one or the other place. As a result, a great diversity of plants, birds, and animals are found in Nepal. Here one can see wildlife such as elephants, wild boar, the swamp deer, musk deer, blackbuck, blue bull, the royal Bengal tiger, gharial and crocodiles, and wild buffalo. This area is also rich in birds like babbles, orioles, royals, peacocks and pheasants, floricans, and a multitude of wildfowl. There are five protected areas or National Parks in Nepal namely Koshi Tappu in the east, Parsa in mid-Nepal,  Sukla Phanta, and Dhorpatan in the west, and Shivapuri in the. mid-mountain region. 

The Churia, also known as the. Siwalik range which is the southernmost range of hills is famous for fossil deposits of lost mammals including 10 species of elephants, 6 rhinoceros, hippopotamus, saber-toothed cats, various antelopes, and primates such as the orangutan. Royal Chitwan National Park in the Inner Terai of central Nepal is the first and best-protected area s in the kingdom. where mammals such as the. one-horned rhinoceros, tiger, leopard, sloth bear, and the gaur (wild bison) as well as more than 400 species of birds are well protected.

The gorgeous multi-colored pheasant known as Lophophorus (Nepal’s national bird) is found here along with other varieties of endangered birds. Protected areas in this zone include Khapted National Park in the Far-West, Dhorpatan Hunting reserve, Northwest of Pokhara, and Shivapuri Wildlife Sanctuary near  Kathmandu. Higher still, nearer the snowline, are the alpine mountain flanks which are the abodes of snow leopard, blue sheep, and rare species of the wolf, black and brown bears, and lynx.  Langtang, Sagarmatha (Everest). Shey-Phoksundo and Rara National Parks are the protected high altitude areas of Nepal.