Over 2,300 tourists visit Shuklaphanta National Park in six months
Of the total visitors, 1,160 were female and 1,228 were male.
KATHMANDU: A total of 2,388 tourists visited Shuklaphanta National Park in the first six months of the current fiscal year, according to data released by the park office.
Of the total visitors, 1,160 were female and 1,228 were male.
Domestic tourists made up the vast majority, with 2,181 Nepali nationals visiting the park during the period.
Park Information Officer Purushottam Wagle reported that 90 tourists from SAARC countries (27 female and 63 male) and 117 other international tourists (48 female and 69 male) also explored the park.
The highest number of visitors was recorded in the month of Chaitra (March-April), with 520 tourists.
Monthly visitation figures include 316 in Kartik, 389 in Mangsir, 432 in Poush, 271 in Magh, and 460 in Falgun. Due to monsoon-related disruptions, tourist activity was zero during Shrawan, Bhadra, and Ashoj.
In the previous fiscal year 2080/81 BS, the park welcomed 4,574 visitors—1,770 female and 2,804 male.
Among them, 4,294 were domestic tourists, 137 were from SAARC nations, and 143 were international visitors.
Established in 1974 (2031 BS), Shuklaphanta National Park spans 305 square kilometers and is renowned for having one of the highest tiger densities in a small area. It is home to a wide range of rare wildlife, birds, and plants.
The park is globally recognized for hosting the world’s largest herd of swamp deer (barasingha), attracting both domestic and foreign tourists, particularly to its vast open grasslands—the largest among Nepal’s protected areas.
Shuklaphanta is also home to wild elephants, Bengal tigers, one-horned rhinoceroses, leopards, wild horses (ghodaghoda), blackbucks, wild boars, and more than 53 species of mammals.
The park’s wetlands, including the famous Rani Tal, house mugger crocodiles. Over 449 species of birds, including both resident and migratory ones, have been recorded.
Additionally, there are 12 species of reptiles, 20 species of amphibians, 24 species of fish, and 35 species of butterflies found in the park.
