National Parks, Wildlife Reserve and Conservation Areas of Nepal

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Nepal covers only a tiny part of the earth’s land, yet it is home to a very rich variety of plants and animals, from the grasslands of the Tarai to the snowfields of the Himalaya. To protect this wealth, the government has set aside a network of national parks, reserves and conservation areas. Questions such as “Which was the first national park?” or “Where is the only hunting reserve?” appear again and again in Lok Sewa papers, so this note collects all the key facts in one place.

1. The protected-area system

Nepal’s modern conservation effort began with the National Parks and Wildlife Conservation Act 2029 BS (1973 AD). In the same year the country’s first park, Chitwan National Park, was established in 2030 BS (1973 AD). The Department of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation (DNPWC), set up in 1980 AD, looks after the protected areas.

Protected areas in Nepal are of four main types:

In addition, most parks and reserves are surrounded by a buffer zone, where local communities can use forest resources in a managed way and receive a share of park income. Taken together, protected areas cover a little more than 23 percent of Nepal’s land, nearly one-fourth of the country.

For many years Nepal had 12 national parks. In 2082 BS (2025 AD) the government created Chhayanath National Park in Mugu, raising the number to 13.

2. National parks of the Tarai and Inner Tarai

Some extra facts that are often asked:

• Chitwan National Park (about 952.63 sq km) is the first national park of Nepal. A breeding centre for the fish-eating crocodile, the gharial, works at Kasara inside the park.
• Bardiya (about 968 sq km) was first protected as a wildlife reserve and was upgraded to a national park in 1988 AD. The Karnali river along its edge is home to the Gangetic dolphin.
• Banke (about 550 sq km) was declared in 2067 BS and joins Bardiya to give tigers a larger connected forest.
• Shuklaphanta (about 305 sq km) and Parsa were both wildlife reserves first. They were upgraded to national parks in 2073 BS (2017 AD). After this, Koshi Tappu became the only wildlife reserve left in Nepal.

3. National parks of the mountains and hills

Points to note:

• Sagarmatha National Park (about 1,148 sq km) contains the highest point on earth and was listed as a World Heritage Site in 1979 AD.
• Rara National Park (about 106 sq km) is the smallest national park of Nepal. It protects Rara Lake, the largest lake in the country.
• Shey Phoksundo is the largest national park of Nepal. Its lake, Phoksundo, is the deepest lake of Nepal. In 2082 BS its Mugu portion was separated to form Chhayanath National Park (core area about 843 sq km), but Shey Phoksundo remains the largest park.
• Makalu Barun (about 1,500 sq km) rises from low, warm river valleys to the summit of Makalu, so it holds both tropical forest and snow peaks.
• Shivapuri Nagarjun (about 159 sq km) on the northern rim of Kathmandu valley protects the source of the Bagmati river. It was upgraded from a protected watershed to a national park in 2058 BS.

4. Wildlife reserve and hunting reserve

Koshi Tappu Wildlife Reserve

• Established in 1976 AD, area about 175 sq km.
• Lies on the floodplain of the Sapta Koshi in Sunsari, Saptari and Udayapur districts.
• Set up mainly to save the last wild population of the wild water buffalo (arna) in Nepal.
• Famous for water birds, and it was the first Ramsar site of Nepal (1987 AD).
• Now the only wildlife reserve in Nepal.

Dhorpatan Hunting Reserve

• Established in 1987 AD, area about 1,325 sq km.
• Spreads over Baglung, Rukum (East) and Myagdi districts.
• The only hunting reserve in Nepal, where licensed hunters may hunt selected animals, mainly the blue sheep (naur), under strict rules.

5. Conservation areas

Conservation areas allow people to keep living inside them while nature is protected. Local communities share in decisions and in income from tourism.

• The Annapurna Conservation Area began as a project in 1986 AD and was formally declared a conservation area in 1992 AD. It is managed by the National Trust for Nature Conservation (NTNC), not directly by the government department.
• Krishnasar Conservation Area at Khairapur in Bardiya protects the blackbuck (krishnasar), a graceful antelope of open grassland.

6. World Heritage and Ramsar sites

Natural World Heritage Sites: Nepal has two natural sites on the UNESCO World Heritage List:

• Sagarmatha National Park, listed in 1979 AD
• Chitwan National Park, listed in 1984 AD

Ramsar sites are wetlands of international importance named under the Ramsar Convention on wetlands. Nepal has 10 Ramsar sites:

Koshi Tappu was the first Ramsar site of Nepal, and the Lake Cluster of Pokhara Valley (Phewa, Begnas, Rupa and other lakes) was the most recent, added in 2016. Jagadishpur Reservoir is notable for being a man-made wetland.

7. Endangered and protected wildlife

The National Parks and Wildlife Conservation Act 2029 lists animals that are fully protected. It names 27 mammals, 9 birds and 3 reptiles, a total of 39 species.

Nepal’s tiger numbers have risen sharply because of strict protection. The national survey of 2022 AD counted 355 tigers, almost three times the 2009 figure. Such counts are repeated every few years, so always state the survey year with any figure.