Location
& History :
Chitwan lies in the lowlands or Inner Terai of southern
central Nepal on the international border with India.
The park's boundaries extend from the Dauney Hills
on the west bank of the Narayani River eastward 78km
to Hasta and Dhoram rivers. The park is bounded to
the north by the Narayani and Rapti rivers and to
the south by the Panchnad and Reu rivers and a forest
road. 27°20-27°40'N, 83°52'-84°45'E
Parsa Wildlife Reserve is contiguous to the eastern
boundary of the park and extends as far eastwards
as the Bheraha and Bagali rivers. 27°15'-27°35'N,
84°45'-84°58'E Its History & establishment
Chitwan was declared a national park in 1973, following
approval by the late King Mahendra in December 1970.
The bye-laws (Royal Chitwan National Park Regulations)
were introduced on 4 March 1974. Substantial additions
were made to the park in 1977 and the adjacent Parsa
Wildlife Reserve was established in 1984. The habitat
had been well protected as a royal hunting reserve
from 1846 to 1951 during the Rana regime. An area
south of the Rapti River was first proposed as a rhinoceros
sanctuary in 1958 (Gee, 1959), demarcated in 1963
(Gee, 1963; Willan, 1965) and later incorporated into
the national park. Chitwan was inscribed on the World
Heritage List in 1984. Area Chitwan was enlarged from
54,400ha to its present size of 93,200ha in 1977.
Parsa Wildlife Reserve covers 49,900ha. There was
a proposal to further enlarge the protected areas
complex by establishing the 25,900ha Bara Hunting
Reserve (Wegge, 1976; Smith and Mishra, 1981), adjacent
to and east of Parsa Wildlife Reserve, but this has
been dropped (B.N. Upreti, pers. comm., 1986). Altitude
ranges from 150m to 815m on the Churia Range.
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Physical
Feature : Chitwan is situated in a river valley
basin or dun, along the flood plains of the Rapti,
Reu and Narayani rivers. The Someswar and the Dauney
hills form thesouthern catchment and both drain into
the Narayani. The Churia Hills bisect the park, their
northern face falling within the catchment of the
Rapti and southern side forming the catchment of the
Reu. The Rapti is bounded by the Mahabharat Range
on the north. Both the Rapti and Reu flow westwards
and drain into the Narayani, which meanders southwards
for about 25km through a narrow gorge between the
Someswar and Dauney hills until it reaches the Nepal-India
border. Here it is dammed near Tribenighat. The Narayani
is also called the Gandaki and is the third largest
river in Nepal. It originates in the high Himalaya
and, after joining the Ganges in India, drains into
the Bay of Bengal. The Churia, Someswar and Dauney
hills constitute part of the Siwaliks which are characterised
by outwash deposits carried from the north. All the
rocks are of Pliocene or Pleistocene, fluviatile origin,
and consist mainly of sandstones, conglomerates, quartzites,
shales and micaceous sandstone. The Siwaliks show
a distinctive fault pattern that has produced steep
cliffs on the south-facing slopes, where vegetation
cover is poorer than the northern slopes. The Mahabharat
Range consists of severely eroded pre-Siwalik quartzites,
phyllites and sandstones. The flood plains comprise
a series of ascending alluvial terraces laid down
by the rivers and subsequently raised by Himalayan
uplift. The terraces are composed of layers of boulders
and gravels set in a fine silty matrix. There is a
rough gradient from the higher-lying boulders and
gravels to sands and silts and then to the low-lying
silt loams and silty clay loams (Bolton, 1975; Laurie,
1978). The wetlands are described by Scott (1989).
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Climate
:
Conditions are subtropical with a summer monsoon from
mid-June to late-September, and a relatively dry winter.
Mean annual rainfall is 2400mm with about 90% falling
in the monsoon from June to September. Monsoon rains
cause dramatic floods and changes in the character
and courses of rivers. Temperatures are highest (maximum
38°C) during this season and drop to a minimum
of 6°C in the post-monsoon period (October to
January), when dry northerly winds from the Himalaya
and Tibetan Plateau are prevalent (Bolton, 1975; Laurie,
1978).
Flora
The climax vegetation of the Inner Terai is sal Shorea
robusta forest, which covers some 70% of the park
(Laurie, 1978). However, floods, fires and revering
erosion combine to make a continually changing mosaic
of grasslands and riverine forests in various stages
of succession. Purest stands of sal occur on better
drained ground such as the lowlands around Kasra in
the centre of the park. Elsewhere, sal is intermingled
with chir pine Pinus roxburghii along the southern
face of the Churia Hills and with tree species such
as Terminalia belerica, Dalbergia latifolia, Anogeissus
latifolius, Dillenia indica and Garuga pinnata on
northern slopes. Creepers, such as Bauhinia vahlii
and Spatholobus parviflorus, are common. The underscore
is scant with the exception of grasses such as Themeda
villosa. Riverine forest and grasslands, which form
a mosaic along the river banks, are maintained by
seasonal flooding. Khair-sissoo Acacia catechu-Dalbergia
sissoo associations predominate on recent alluvium
deposited during floods and in lowland areas that
escape the most serious flooding. Semal-bhellar Bombax
ceiba-Trewia nudiflora, with understorey shrubs Callicarpa
macrophylla, Clerodendrum viscosum and Phyllanthus
emblica, represent a later stage in succession. Two
other types of riverine forest (Eugenia woodland and
tropical evergreen forest) occur in areas outside
the present boundary of the park. Laurie (1978) identified
seven major grassland types, which consitute about
20% of the park's area: Themeda villosa forms a tall
grass cover in clearings in the sal forest; Saccharum-Narenga
associations grow as mixed and pure stands of tall
grass (Saccharum spontaneum is one of the first species
to colonise newly created sandbanks); Arundo-Phragmites
associations form dense tall stands along stream beds
on the flood plain and around lakes; Imperata cylindrica
grows prolificallyin areas within the park which were
occupied by villages prior to their evacuation in
1964; various short grasses and herbs grown on exposed
sandbanks during the dry months and become much more
prolific with the outset of rain in May (e.g. Polygonum
plebeium, Persicaria spp. and sedges such as Cyperus,
Kyllinga and Mariscus spp.); Cynodon dactylon and
Chrysopogon aciculatus and other short grasses grow
in highest areas near riverine forest all the year
round; and low-lying stands of Saccharum spontaneum,
which are destroyed by repeated flooding early in
the monsoon. A list of plant species is given by Laurie
(1978).
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Fauna
Over 40 species of mammals have been recorded. The
park contained the last Nepalese population of the
Indian rhinoceros Rhinoceros unicorns (E). This had
increased from about 300 in 1975 (Laurie, 1978, 1982)
to about 350 in 1986 (Anon., 1986). It is currently
estimated at 375-400 (Diner stein, 1989). Tiger Panther
Tigris (E) is present and has been the subject of
a long-term study begun in 1974. The population increased
from an estimated 25 in 1974 to 70-110 in 1980, of
which 24-30 are resident breeders at any one time
(Smith et al., 1983), but has recently crashed. Half
of the resident tigers in the western portion of the
park disappeared during the 1990 monsoon and two-thirds
of dependent young were also missing (McDougal, 1991).
Leopard Panthera pardus (T) is widespread and other
threatened mammal species include wild dog Cuon alpinus
(V), sloth bear Melursus ursinus (I), Ganges river
dolphin Platanista gangetica (V), and gaur Bos gaurus
(V). Hispid hare Caprolagus hispidus (E) is also present
(Oliver, 1985). The sloth bear population totalled
50-60 in 1979 (Laurie and Seidensticker, 1977). The
river dolphin population may have declined following
the construction of a dam towards the Indian border.
Seven were recorded in 1980 but none in 1990 (T.M.
Maskey, pers. comm.). Wild elephant Elephas maximus
(E) occasionally pass through the Churia Hills. Other
mammals include rhesus macaque Macaca mulatta and
common langur Presbytis entellus, smooth-coated otter
Lutra perspicillata, yellow-throated marten Martes
flavigula, ratel Mellivora capensis, spotted linsang
Prionodon pardicolor, large Indian civet Viverra zibetha,
small Indian civet Viverricula indica, common palm
civet Paradoxurus hermaphroditus, Himalayan palm civet
Paguma larvata, mongoose Herpestes spp., fishing cat
Felis viverrina (K), leopard cat F. bengalensis, jungle
cat F. chaus, jackal Canis aureus, striped hyena Hyaena
hyaena, Indian fox Vulpes bengalensis (I), sambar
Cervus unicolor, hog deer C. porcinus, spotted deer
C. axis, Indian muntjac Muntiacus muntjak, wild boar
Sus scrofa, Chinese pangolin Manis pentadactyla, five-striped
palm squirrel Funambulus pennanti, Indian porcupine
Hystrix indica and Indian hare Lepus nigricollis.
The wild ungulate biomass within riverine/tall grass
habitats has been estimated at 18,590 kg/sq. km. (Seidensticker,
1976), far exceeding that reported anywhere else in
the Indian sub-continent. Most mammals found in the
park also occurs in Parsa Wildlife Reserve with the
exception of hog deer. Four-horned antelope Tetracerus
quadricornis occurs in Parsa, on the southern slopes
of the Churia Hills, and the reserve contains Nepal's
only reproducing herd of about 21 elephants (Smith
et al., 1983). A larger number of bird species has
been recorded in Chitwan (489 in total) than in any
other protected area in Nepal. This is attributed
to the park's wide range of habitat types and location
within the tropical lowlands of Central Nepal where
eastern and western species overlap in their distributions.
There are ten breeding species for which Nepal may
hold internationally significant populations including
Bengal florican Houbaropsis bengalensis (E) and rufous-necked
laughing-thrush Garrulax ruficollis. It is the only
locality in the country for striped buttonquail Turnix
sylvatica, bristled grass warbler Chaetornis striatus
andslender-billed babbler Turdoides longirostris.
In addition, Chitwan is the only protected area where
the following species considered to be at risk in
Nepal have been found: yellow bittern Ixobrychus sinensis,
black baza Aviceda leuphotes, laggar falcon Falco
jugger, blue-breasted quail Coturnix chinensis, thick-billed
green pigeon Treron curvirostra, mountain imperial
pigeon Ducula badia, vernal hanging parrot Loriculus
vernalis, red-winged crested cuckoo Clamator coromandus,
banded bay cuckoo Cacomantis sonneratii, tawny fish
owl Ketupa flavipes, white-vented needletail Hirundapus
cochinchinensis, deep blue kingfisher Alcedo meninting,
white-browed piculet Sasia ochracea, long-tailed broadbill
Psarisomus dalhousiae, hooded pitta Pitta sordida,
white-throated bulbul Criniger flaveolus, lesser necklaced
laughing-thrush Garrulax monileger, greater necklaced
laughing-thrush G. pectoralis, ruby-cheeked sunbird
Anthreptes singalensis and little spiderhunter Arachnothera
longirostra. Chitwan is very important for wintering
birds (about 160 in total), both winter visitors from
outside Nepal and many altitudinal migrants which
descend to the lowlands outside the breeding season,
as well as a valuable staging point for numerous passage
migrant species (Inskipp, 1989). Details of the waterfowl
are given by Scott (1989). Some 19 species of snake
occur in the park including king cobra Ophiophagus
hannah, green pit viper Trimeresurus albolabris, common
krait Bungarus caeruleus and Indian python Python
molurus (V). Other notable reptiles are mugger Crocodylus
palustris (V) (declining from at least 200 in 1978
to 70 in 1986/1988), gharial Gavialis gangeticus (E),
Indian starred tortoise Geochelone elongata and monitor
lizards Varanus spp.
Some 113 species of fish have been recorded, including
Barilius spp., Tor tor, T. putitora and Puntius spp.
(Eds, 1986).
Cultural
Heritage
The indigenous ethnical cast THARUS have lived in
the Chitwan area for centuries, but they are out-numbered
by settlers from the hills who poured into the Inner
Terai following the eradication of malaria in the
1950s.These peoples live around parks, they have their
own language tradition, folklore, every night these
peoples taste their folklore stick dances to the visitors.
There are two Hindu religious sites, Bikram Baba at
Kasara and Balmiki Ashram at Tribeni, which are very
significant to both the local people living around
the park and visitors from India (B.N. Upreti, pers.
comm., 1989).
Visitor & Facilities
: Being a world's renowned national parks, it
is one of the most popular tourist destinations outside
Kathmandu and Pokhara. Now a days every day except
monsoon period from June to mid Sept, about 300 Western
foreigners' visits and annually one hundred thousand
visitors visits in the park. There is wide range of
accommodation offering Luxury Services inside &
outside park.
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