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Royal Chitwan National Park is perhaps the best park in Nepal for seeing animals in the wild. In the earlier part of the century, when rapid deforestation was devastating Nepal's southern Terai belt, His Majesty's Government of Nepal intervened and proclaimed the Chitwan area a national park.
Royal Bengal tigers roam the region; one-horned rhinos can be seen charging through the underbrush, feeding and even courting. The Rapti River has been dammed to form a man-made lake called Lamital where water birds and marsh mugger peckers and many other birds are found in plenty in these forests. Elephant grass, five to six feet tall, provides excellent camouflage
for animals. This grass serves as food for the gaur (a local bison),
rhino and other herbivores. Once a year, local people are allowed
into the park area to cut grass. The grass is dried, and used
to thatch roofs or stored for food for the domestic animals during
the dry season. |
Surrounding
Royal Chitwan National Park in southern Nepal is one of the best-planned
and most intelligently developed tourist areas in Nepal. Not only
does it offer a wide variety of resorts and lodges, it is also
easy to reach - by road or by air. Regular flights are scheduled
by Royal Nepal Airlines and other airlines to Meghauli, Simara
and Bharatpur. Many resorts provide coach service. Local buses
offer a choice between a night ride and a day ride. 
The
Government of Nepal declared the Chitwan region a national park,
outlawed settlement and deforestation within its boundaries, and
a campaign to save the animals began. Projects carried out with
the help of friendly nations have revived the animals that remained.
Though the Terai is certainly not what it once was, the preserved
portion within the Chitwan National Park is still a treat for
animal lovers. 