Visiting Nepal

Chitwan National Park

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Chitwan was set up in 1973 as Nepal's first national park which is one of the most visited National Park in South Asia. CNP’s unparallel biodiversity richness has earned worldwide reputation and therefore a Wold Heritage.

In 1983 UNESCO affirmed the park a World Heritage Site CNP has more birds than any other sheltered area of the country and so is, perhaps the major widely frequent area for bird watching. Birdlife International (BI) has recognized CNO as an Important Bird Area (IBA) because of its international importance for endangered species and their habitat conservation. Moreover, CNP is not only gifted with rich biodiversity, but also an evenly wealthy cultural inheritance.

A total of 540 bird species has been recorded in Chitwan (Baral and Upadhyay 1998, Giri 1998, Giri et al. 1998, Giri and Choudhary 2000 a, b, c, 2001, 2002, 2003, Tamang 2002). As many as two-thirds of Nepal's globally endangered bird species have been recorded in Chitwan. The site is particularly significant for numerous grassland species, including Bengal Florican, Grey-crowned Prinia Prinia cinereocapilla and Slender-billed Babbler Turdoides longirostris, and also for Lesser Adjutant. It is the only Nepalese area where the Slender-billed Babbler has been recorded and it may hold up a larger population than any other area in the Indian sub-continent. Chitwan is the simply Nepal site where Grey-crowned Prinia is ordinary and it may also hold the major population in the specie's range (Inskipp and Inskipp 1991, Baral 2002c). The globally endangered Indian Spotted Eagle has breed in the park, one of its few known breeding localities in Nepal. The large proportion of 15 out of 22 of Nepal's near-threatened birds has been found in Chitwan. The park has large areas of grasslands as well as dry tropical and subtropical forests. These habitats are known to support considerable populations of species characteristic of the Indo-Gangetic Plain, Indo-Malayan Tropical Dry Zone and Sino-Himalayan Subtropical Forest biomes respectively.

Habitats close to road through the park undergo from disturbance by tourist. Some areas close to tourist lodges, especially grasslands, suffer from disturbances from too recurrent tourist elephant rides and also from traffic on park roads that pass through the grasslands. Bird Conservation Nepal  (BCN) has been frequently creating the status update of the birds of Chitwan. At the western end of CNP’s buffer zone we are working with the community people for long term safe guarding of vulture restaurant providing employment opportunity for the locals as well as supporting vulture conservation. Bird Conservation Nepal  (BCN) have also conducted several education and consciousness package and also have  close partnership with various conservation organizations for the work at Chitwan. These include Participatory Conservation Programme II, Bird Education Society (BES) and national faith for Nature Conservation (NTNC).