Parsa Wildlife Reserve
Parsa Wildlife Reserve
Nepal Travel Destination
Parsa Wildlife Reserve was established in 1984 and covers some parts of Chitwan, Makwanpur, Bara, and the Parsa Districts. It spreads across 499 square miles of Churia hills (750-950 meters), tropical and sub-tropical forests.
Although 90 percent of the vegetation of the tropical and sub-tropical forests are covered with sal trees, there are numerous stream beds (some dry) throughout the park. The Churia hills are the dominant landscape of the reserve consisting of some chir pine, but mainly gravel and soil that is subject to erosion. The foothills of the area provide a place for water to flow underground as well as within 15 kilometers of the base of the hill. On the southern parts of the Churia hills, sabai grass grows which is an important plant for the animals in the area.
The vegetation and topography of the reserve helps to support the wildlife population of tigers, sloth bear, elephants, leopard, gaur, blue bull, and wild dog. Some of the more common animals found in this protected area by travelers, are the jungle cat, striped hyena, chittal, hog and barking deer, and sambar.
More than 300 species of birds live in these grounds, including that of the endangered great hornbill. For the traveler that is dedicated to birdwatching you might have the chance to view some flycatchers, woodpeckers, and red jungle fowl.
If birdwatching is not your cup of tea and you prefer exotic snakes, then travel to the reserve will interest you with its large population of tropical climate dwelling snakes such as the king cobra, python, rat snake, and krait.
If you want a really nice perspective of the park, up on the Kailash religious observation spot, you can find a panoramic view of the park.
You can easily travel to the reserve via 15 minute flight from Kathmandu to Simara and then you are only 7 kilometers away from the park. There are regular day and night buses running on the Mahendra Highway (also know as the East-West highway) from Kathmandu.
To view pre-designed Nepal travel packages, see our programs page or the encyclopedia for more Nepal Travel items.