Kanchenjunga - Nepal Tourism Year 2011

Once mistakenly thought to be the highest mountain in the world, Kanchenjunga is in fact the third largest and

has five prominent peaks which it is named after. Kanchenjunga in Sikkimese means "Five treasures of the Great Snows". Located in far Eastern Nepal, the other side of the mountain lies in Sikkim, India. The five peaks are Kanchenjunga main (8,586), Yalund Kand (8,505), Kanchenjunga west (8,420m) and the Twin Peaks (both 8,476). The mountain lies 128Km east of Everest.
Although plans were afoot to climb Kanchenjunga as early as 1882, it was only in 1905 that the first attempt wa made. Alister Crowley was the first to make his way up the Yalung galcier. A British expedition led by Charlie Evans finally succedded in

Shuklaphanta Wildlife Reserve - Nepal Tourism Year 2011

Shuklaphanta Wildlife Reserve is located in the far-eastern lowland Terai of Nepal. The pristine sub-tropical

jungle makes Shuklaphanta Nepal's second largest wildlife reserve in Terai. The open grasslands and numerous waterholes of the park extend into a vast expanse of plain grasslands and Sal foress, while marsh vegetation is found along rivers and lakes. The reserve that was originally a hunting area was later converted to wildlife reserve to protect swamp deer. There serve now shelters to almost 2,000 swamp deer, around 50 wild elephants and 30 tigers. Other animals found here are spotted deer, blue bulls, barking deer, hog deer, wild boars, leopards, jackals, langurs and rhesus monkeys. Among birds the reserve provides habitat to sarus crane, swamp francolin, grass owl, warblers, flycatchers, and endangered Bengal florican. Reptile species include marsh mugger, crocodile,

Parsa Wildlife Reserve - Nepal Toursim Year 2011

The Parsa Wildlife Reserve spreads over parts of Chitwan, Makawanpur, Parsa and Bara districts. The

vegetation is tropical and sub tropical mostly covered with Sal forests, while the hills are covered with chir pine. Khair, sissoo and silkcotton are found along water areas. The reserve provides good habitat for animals like wild elephant, tiger, leopard, sloth bear, gaur, blue bull and wild dog. Other common animals in the reserve are sambar, chital, hog deer, barking deer, langur monkey, rhesus macaques, striped hyena, rat, palm civet and jungle cat. There are 370 species of birds found in the reserve, one being the endangered great hornbill found in certain parts of the forest. Other bird species include peafowl, red jungle fowl, flycatchers and woodpecker. Apart from birds and animals the reserve is also habitated by snakes like king cobra, common cobra, krait, rat snake and python.

Khaptad National Park

Khaptad National Park in west Nepal is the home of Late Khaptad Swami, the renowned scholar and a hermit. The park with rolling hills of grasslands and forests of subtropical, temperate and sub alpine vegetation, is also a rich natural habitat. The park boasts of 224 species of medicinal herbs and offers excellent bird watching opportunities, with 270 species of birds, the common ones being different varieties of impheyan pheasant, partridges, flycatchers, bulbuls, cuckoos and eagles. Animals in the park are barking deer, wild boar, ghoral, Himalayan black bear, yellow throated marten, rhesus monkey and langur monkey. The park also offers religious sightseeing at Tribeni on the way to its headquarters. There are several historical temples surrounding this area and an annual celebration

National Parks, Wildlife Reserves and Conservation Area of Nepal

The geography of Nepal can be divided into high mountains, mid hills and low lands. A wide range of ecosystem from sub-tropical jungles of the Terai to the arctic conditions of Himalayan highlands are found within an area of 147,181 sq. Km.

There are a total of 9 national parks, 3 wildlife reserves, 6 conservation areas, 1 hunting reserve in including 11 buffer zone areas in an around protected areas, covering a total of 28,998.67 sq Km. (19.07%) of the country's total land. Nepal's rich bio-diversity renders it ideal as an eco-tourism destination.