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Perhaps the most famous of game sanctuaries in Asia , Chitwan is just a 5 hour drive from Kathmandu or a 4 hour drive from Pokhara. You may also take a 20 minutes flight from south in the Terai belt of Nepal . If you wish you may raft down part of the way to Chitwan where over 450 species of birds and 50 species of animals have been identified.
A number of jungle lodges and camps operate within the park which offer activities such as elephant back safaris, nature walks and jungle drives to spot animals and canoe rides to see crocodiles and water-birds. In the evenings slide shows on Nepalese wildlife and Tharu folk dances are also held.
This is one of the most popular national parks in Nepal . The park is situated in the sub-tropical lowlands of southern Nepal , lying between two mountain ranges, the Shivalik and the Mahabharat range.
This is the flood plain of three rivers, the Rapti, the Reu and the Narayani. The forest is dominated by Sal trees (shorea robusta) and tall grasses.
This is the natural habitat of endangered animals like Bengal tigers, one-horned rhinoceros, gharial crocodile, gaur (the world's largest wild cattle), four species of deer, leopards, wild dogs, fishing cats, leopard cats, python and Gangetic dolphin. There are over 50 species of mammals and 450 species of birds in the park.
Before 1950, this area used to be the hunting reserve for the ruling class of Nepal . The hereditary prime ministers of the Rana family, who ruled Nepal for 104 years, often used to invite people from England and India as their guests and huge numbers of tigers and rhinos were killed.
Today the tourists can ride elephants and view the wild animals at close range.
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