Mustang Conservation Area:-

Mustang Conservation Area:-
In March 1992, the 'forbidden' kingdom of Mustang was opened to the outside world. Now, for the first time in recent history, foreign travelers are able to visit La Manthang, the seat of an ancient kingdom dating back to the 15th century. The Kingdom of La is situated along the north central border of Nepal north of the main range of the Himalaya's in the upper reaches of Mustang District. Lo and the area directly to its south, called Baragaon, which both fall within Upper Mustang, can be claimed as one of the most outstanding areas of the Himalaya.
The people of Upper Mustang are called Bhotias and those from Lo are called Lobas. They speak various dialects of Tibetan. Historically, their art and culture flourished due to contact with traders, monks and religious masters passing between Tibet and India, or between Ladakh and Bhutan.
The climate and geography of Upper Mustang are nearly identical to those of Western Tibet and as such, they are dramatically different from the temperate and tropical areas of the south side of the Himalayas. The dry, wind swept ecology of this Trans-Himalayan region is extremely fragile. Fuel wood is virtually non-existent, water is scare, the agricultural land yields insufficient food grains and the marginal and grasslands support only limited numbers of livestock and wildlife. With the influx of tourists, the already pressured desert environment risks further degradation.
In addition, although the culture has flourished in contact with other religious and cultural centers of the Himalayas, its sudden exposure to other worlds beyond its high plateau may create a negative impact on the society.
In order to keep the destructive environmental and cultural impact of tourism in Upper Mustang to an absolute minimum, the Ministry of Tourism has decided to develop the area as a model eco-tourism area.
The Ministry of Tourism, has proposed that part of the revenue generated from trekking royalties to Upper Mustang, US$700 (per person) for 10 days and US$70 (per person) for each additional day, be earmarked for use in UMCDP to sponsor environmental and cultural preservation efforts and community development works. An Upper Mustang Development Fund has been established with the financial support of the Ministry of Tourism and the American Himalayan Foundation, to raise the living standard of the people living in Upper Mustang area. The main aim is to carry out development activities in the remotest villages. UMDP's areas of operations are centered around agriculture, animal husbandry, health and education.
Royal Chitwan National Park:-
Royal Chitwan National Park stands today as a successful testimony of nature conservation in South Asia. This is the first national park of Nepal established in 1973 to preserve a unique ecosystem significantly valuable to the whole world. The park covering a pristine area of 932 sq. km is situated in the subtropical inner Terai lowlands of southern central part of Nepal. The park has gained much wider recognition in the world when UNESCO included this area on the list of World Heritage Site in 1984.
Formerly, the Chitwan valley was well known for big game and was exclusively managed as a hunting reserve for the Rana Prime Ministers and their guests until 1950. In 1963, the area south of Rapti was demarcated as a rhinoceros sanctuary. In 1970, His late Majesty King Mahendra had approved in principle the creation of Royal Chitwan National Park.
The park consists of churia hills, ox-bow lakes, flood plains of Rapti, Reu and Narayani rivers. The Churia hill rises gradually towards the east from 150 m to over 800 m. The lower but most rugged Someshwor hills occupy most of the western portion of the park. The flood plains of Chitwan are rich alluvial. The park boundaries have been delineated by the Narayani and Rapti rivers in the north and west, and the Reu river and Someshwor hills in the south and south-west. It shares its eastern border with Parsa Wildlife Reserve.
Vegetation and Animals:
>> The Chitwan valley is characterized by tropical to subtropical forest. 70% of park vegetation is predominantly Sal ( Shorea robusta ) forest, a moist deciduous climax vegetation type of the Terai region. The remaining vegetation types include grassland (20%), riverine forest (7%) and Sal with Chirpine ( Pinus roxburghii ) (3%), the latter occurring at the top of the Churia range. The riverine forests mainly consists of khair, sissoo and simal. The simal is with spiny bark when young and develops buttress at the bottom in older stage. The grasslands form a diverse and complex community with over 50 species. The Sacchrum species, often called elephant-grass can reach 8 m in height. The shorter grasses such as Imperata is useful for thatch roofs.
>> There are more than 43 species of mammals in the park. The park is specially renowned for the protection of the endangered one-horned rhinoceros, tiger, gharial crocodile along with many other common species of wild animals. The estimated population of endangered species of animals such as gaur, wild elephant, four horned antelope, striped hyena, pangolin, gangetic dolphin, monitor lizard and python, etc.
>> Some of the other animals found in the park are samber, chital, hog deer, barking deer, sloth bear, common leopard, ratel, palm civet, wild dog, langur, rhesus monkey, etc.
>> There are over 450 species of birds in the park. Among the endangered birds found in the park are Bengal florican, giant hornbill, lesser florican, black stork and white stork, Few of the common birds seen are peafowl, red jungle fowl, and different species of egrets, herons, kingfishers, flycatchers and woodpeckers. The best time for bird watching is March and December.
>> More than 45 species of amphibians and reptiles occur in the park and some of which are marsh mugger crocodile, cobra, green pit viper and various species of frogs and tortoises.
>> The park is actively engaged in the scientific studies of several species of wild flora and fauna.
Seasons:
The park is under the tropical monsoon climate with relatively high humidity. The winter, spring and monsoon are the three main seasons. The cool winter season occurs from October to February. The spring begins in March and is soon followed by summer that ends in early June. The summer days are typically hot with 30 C on average day temperature. The monsoon usually begins at the end of June and continues until September. The mean annual rainfall is about 2150 mm and during this time of the year rivers are flooded and most of the roads are virtually closed.
How to Get There:
The park is accessible by car or bus on the Kathmandu-Mugling-Narayanghat Highway and or through Mahendra Rajmarg Highway from Hetauda. It is about 6 hour's drive from Kathmandu to Narayanghat. Local buses are available to Tadi Bazar which is about an hour drive form Narayanghat. A 6 km walk or bullockcart ride brings the visitors to Sauraha, the park entrance. Also air services from Kathmandu to Meghauli for US$82 each way and Bharatpur US$65 each way are available. Local buses are available form Narayanghat to Park HQ. Kasara.
Park Facilities:
>> Display Center, Kasara
>> Library at Kasara Sauraha
>> Visitor Center, Sauraha
>> Machans (View tower)
Activities:
Elephant ride
Canoeing
Guided jungle walk
Terai culture
Wildlife breeding projects
4WD safaris
Enrty fees into Royal Chitwan National Park:
National Park entry fee per person per day:
For Nepali Nationals Rs 20
For SAARC NAtionals Rs 200
For Foreign Nationals Rs 500
Children under 10 years Free
Elephant ride for about 2 hrs. - Rs 550 - (Nepali's Rs 100)
Fishing permit - Rs 300 - (Nepali's Rs 20)
Camping per night per person - Rs 300 - (Nepali's Rs 20)
Guided jungle walk - Rs 250/400 for half day/full day - (Nepali's Rs 20)
Canoeing - Rs 230 per person
4WD safari - Rs 650 per person
Gharial crocodile breeding centre - included in the park entrance fee
Elephant breeding centre - included in the park entrance fee
Lodges offer all-inclusive packages for 2 to 4 days for those who want everything pre- organised by the lodge guides.