Photo: Ganesh Paudel · CC BY-SA 3.0National Parks / Terai / Bardiya
Est. 1988 · The largest Terai park
The largest and most undisturbed wilderness in Nepal's Terai — a stronghold of the Bengal tiger, where the Karnali and Babai rivers cut through sal forest and grassland.
Established in 1988 as Royal Bardia National Park, Bardiya is the largest and most undisturbed national park in Nepal's Terai, covering 968 km² in the Bardiya District of the western lowlands.
The park adjoins the eastern bank of the Karnali River — Nepal's longest — and is bisected by the Babai River, with its northern limit marked by the crest of the Siwalik (Churia) Hills. It began as the Karnali Wildlife Reserve in 1976; around 1,500 households were resettled from the Babai Valley, and the freely regenerating vegetation has since made the valley prime wildlife habitat. Together with neighbouring Banke National Park it forms the Bardia–Banke Tiger Conservation Unit, a 2,231 km² block of alluvial grassland and subtropical deciduous forest.
About three-quarters of the park is forest, with the remainder grassland, savanna and riverine forest. A buffer zone of roughly 327 km² is managed jointly with local communities.
Photo: Charles J. Sharp · CC BY-SA 4.0The Big Cats
Bardiya holds Nepal's second-largest population of Bengal tigers, and its quieter trails offer some of the country's best odds of a sighting. The park has seen remarkable conservation success — from 1994 to 2000 no rhinos were lost to poaching, and tiger and rhino numbers have climbed over recent decades.
Wildlife
At least 53 mammal species, alongside 407 birds, 23 reptiles and amphibians and 125 fish.
Photo: Charles J. Sharp · CC BY-SA 4.0125 tigers in 2022 — Nepal's second-largest population after Chitwan; growth from under 20 in 2009 earned Bardia the global TX2 Award.
Endangered
Photo: Lurey Rohit · CC BY-SA 4.038 rhinos in 2021. Translocated from Chitwan since 1986, the herd crashed during the 1996–2006 insurgency and is slowly rebuilding.
Vulnerable
Photo: Kukil Gogoi · CC BY-SA 4.0The Karnali is the last viable dolphin river in Nepal — a 2013/14 census found only 12 here, fewer than 30 nationwide.
Endangered
Photo: श्रेष्ठ भूपेन्द्र · CC BY-SA 4.0Landscape & Rivers
The regenerated Babai Valley is a majestic, little-disturbed wilderness where rhino, tiger and elephant roam. The Karnali — Nepal's longest river — borders the park to the west, offering white-water rafting and dolphin-watching, and over 835 species of plants grow across the park's forests and grasslands.
Visiting
Bardiya offers a quieter, wilder safari experience than the better-known Terai parks, amid Tharu communities.
Guided jungle walks and jeep safaris with high odds of tiger sightings, especially in the dry season.
River trips on the Karnali combine rapids with dolphin and gharial spotting.
A remote inner valley of pristine habitat — the heart of the park's wilderness.
Reference
Administration
Each park is managed on the ground by a chief warden who reports into Nepal's Department of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation (DNPWC).
Wildlife & Ecology
Bardia is bigger, quieter and wilder than Chitwan — a 968 km² stronghold of tigers in the western Terai, the only Nepali river still holding the Ganges dolphin, and the place where Asia's tallest documented elephant once walked. Every population figure here carries the year of its survey.
Bardia is, after Chitwan, Nepal's premier Bengal-tiger landscape — quieter, less visited and with prey densities that have built one of the country's densest tiger populations. Bardia and adjacent Banke together form a single Tiger Conservation Unit, and tigers move between them.
Solitary and mostly nocturnal/crepuscular. Bardia tigers regularly use the Babai Valley and the Karnali floodplain — both restored from former settlement and farmland — and increasingly disperse west into Banke and across into India's Katarniaghat.
Mainly spotted deer (chital), sambar, wild boar and hog deer. A 2024 carrying-capacity study reported prey ungulate density of 69 per km² in Bardia (compared with 26 in Banke) — the abundance that allows the high tiger density.
Sal forest mosaic with grassland and riverine forest along the Karnali, Geruwa and Babai rivers; the Babai Valley (restored after 1,500 residents were resettled in 1982) is now prime tiger habitat.
Nepal's 2022 national tiger survey recorded 125 tigers in Bardia, behind only Chitwan (128). Bardia's growth has been the country's most dramatic: fewer than 20 tigers in 2009, 87 in 2018, 125 in 2022 — a sixfold increase that earned the park the global TX2 Award in January 2022 (jointly with India's Sathyamangalam Tiger Reserve).
Bardia's recovery is built on three things: the Babai Valley restoration (resettled 1982, included in the park 1984), a long anti-poaching record (no rhinos were poached 1994–2000), and active community-buffer-zone work. The TX2 Award recognised the park as one of the first in the world to meet the 'doubling' goal set at the 2010 St Petersburg summit.
Bardia is widely regarded as Nepal's most likely park for a tiger sighting — dawn jeep and walking safaris in the Karnali sector are the classic option; the dry season (March–May), when wildlife concentrates near water, gives the best odds.
Bardia's rhinos are an insurance population: the species had never been resident here in modern memory, and the herd was deliberately translocated from Chitwan from 1986 onwards as a safeguard against catastrophe in the flagship park.
Solitary and water-loving, like Chitwan's rhinos. Bardia's animals tend to use the Karnali floodplain and the Babai Valley; bulls have wide overlapping ranges and the population is now self-sustaining.
Grasses, aquatic plants, leaves, fruit and crops in the buffer zone — the same mega-herbivore diet as in Chitwan.
Karnali alluvial floodplain and the Babai Valley grasslands and riverine forest.
58 rhinos were translocated from Chitwan between 1986 and 2000, reaching a peak of 67 by April 2000. The 1996–2006 insurgency years devastated the herd — only 22 remained by March 2008. Numbers have since rebuilt: 29 in 2015, 38 in the 2021 national count.
Bardia's rhino history is the conservation movement's clearest cautionary tale and recovery story in one. The insurgency hollowed out anti-poaching coverage and the rhino disappeared from the Babai Valley entirely by 2007–08. Re-establishing the herd has meant tighter army patrolling, community-based anti-poaching units and slow natural recruitment from the translocated stock.
Less reliable than Chitwan because the population is small; the Karnali and Babai floodplains in the dry season give the best chance.
Bardia's wild elephants are the source of one of Asia's most extraordinary natural-history stories. Two bull elephants appeared in the park in 1985, named Raja Gaj and Kanchha; Raja Gaj stood about 11 feet 3 inches (3.43 m) at the shoulder — roughly two feet taller than the average Asian elephant — and was so unusual that DNA testing was carried out before confirming he was a 'regular' Asian elephant. He went missing in December 2007 and was never seen again.
Matriarchal family groups; bulls more solitary. Bardia's herd has grown by both natural recruitment and movement across the border from India — animals routinely use the corridor between the Karnali floodplain and Katarniaghat / Dudhwa.
Grasses, bark, leaves, fruit and crops in the buffer zone — the usual mixed mega-herbivore diet.
Sal forest, grassland and the riverine corridors of the Karnali and Babai.
From the two original bulls in 1985, the wild herd grew steadily: five elephants entered the park in 1993, another 16 arrived in 1994, ~41 resident individuals were recorded by summer 1997, and more than 60 were estimated by 2002. Endangered globally; the current Bardia herd is the largest wild population in Nepal's western Terai.
Raja Gaj raised a serious scientific question — were the unusually large, domed-headed Bardia bulls a relict population, perhaps connected to extinct stegodonts? DNA testing settled it (they were Elephas maximus), but the park became internationally famous through the 1990s as a result, drawing the attention of conservationists like Dr Charles McDougal.
Wild herds are encountered irregularly on guided walks and jeep safaris; sightings have become more frequent as the herd has grown.
A near-blind freshwater dolphin (body 2.2–2.6 m) that hunts by echolocation in the murky waters of the Karnali, Geruwa and Mohana rivers along Bardia's western edge. Females are larger than males. India lists it as the national aquatic animal; Nepal classifies it as critically endangered nationally even though the global IUCN status is Endangered.
Usually swims alone or in pairs; shy of boats and difficult to observe. Surfaces briefly to breathe — typically what visitors see is a back curve and a quiet exhalation.
Fish (including carp and mahseer) and crustaceans, located by echolocation.
The Karnali, Geruwa and (in higher water) Babai rivers along the park's western edge — Bardia is essentially the only protected area in Nepal where the dolphin can still be encountered.
Endangered (IUCN). Nepal's national population is critically small: a 2013/14 census found 12 dolphins in the Karnali system and just 2 in the Narayani, with fewer than ~30 across all remaining Nepali river systems. Once present in hundreds across four river systems (Narayani, Karnali, Saptakoshi, Mahakali), the species has collapsed locally.
The Karnali population is the last viable dolphin community in Nepal. Threats are overfishing (depleting prey), gill-net bycatch, sand mining, river fragmentation by barrages, and falling dry-season flows. Bardia communities run an annual Dolphin Festival (Jane Goodall attended in October 2016) to keep the species on the local conservation agenda.
Dawn or dusk boat trips on the Karnali (Geruwa) in the dry season are the realistic chance; even then, sightings are not guaranteed.
A large, marsh-loving deer named 'twelve-tined' for the antlers of mature stags (the antlers actually carry 10–14 points). The western subspecies (R. d. duvaucelii) is what Bardia holds.
Herd-living grazer of wet grassland; far more dependent on grassland habitat than the park's other deer.
Grasses and aquatic plants of the floodplain phantas.
Karnali floodplain grasslands and seasonally wet meadows.
Bardia holds Nepal's second-largest swamp-deer population after Shuklaphanta — recent park figures put it around 100 animals (down from 115 before 2017 and 79 in 2017). The herd has been supplemented by translocations from Shuklaphanta — including the first such transfer of five animals (two males, three females).
The species is grassland-dependent, so loss of phantas is the central threat; the Babai Valley restoration and active grassland management in Bardia have helped, as has the insurance value of split populations between Shuklaphanta and Bardia.
Karnali floodplain grasslands — most reliably in the dry season.
The slender-snouted, fish-eating river crocodilian — globally one of the most evolutionarily distinct living reptiles. Bardia's population is small and at the western end of the species' Nepali range.
Highly aquatic; hauls out onto Karnali sandbanks to bask. Harmless to humans.
Almost exclusively fish as adults.
Karnali River sandbanks and pools; less common in the Babai.
Critically endangered globally. Wikipedia describes the Bardia population as 'small'; precise current figures are not reliably published.
Gharial released from the Chitwan / Kasara breeding programme have been supplemented into the Karnali — Bardia is part of the wider national gharial recovery effort.
Karnali sandbanks on dry-season boat trips — same trip that's used for dolphin spotting.
Around 407 bird species recorded on current checklists — making Bardia one of Nepal's premier birding parks alongside Chitwan and Koshi Tappu. The mix is classic Terai: grassland specialists, forest birds, waterbirds along the Karnali and Babai, and winter migrants on the rivers.
October–March is best for the migrants and for clear visibility. Bird species count varies by source (~407 to ~438).
Around 23 reptile and amphibian species and 125 fish species recorded in the Karnali–Babai system. The fish base sustains the gharial, mugger, dolphin, otters and a long checklist of fish-eating birds.
About 70% of the park is forest, the rest a mosaic of grassland, savanna and riverine forest. The Karnali and Babai rivers cut the park lengthwise; the Babai Valley, returned to wild vegetation after 1982, is now one of the richest restored habitats anywhere in the Terai.
Species pages
Long-form, sourced editorial on the species this park protects — their populations, their recoveries, the policy and the science behind them.
Plan Your Visit
Practical context for visitors arriving from another country — how to get here, how long to stay, what you'll actually see, and whether this park fits the trip you have in mind.
Bardiya is the western Terai's flagship wildlife park — much further from Kathmandu than Chitwan, and noticeably wilder for it. Most international visitors reach it by flying to Nepalgunj (about an hour from Kathmandu) and then driving about three hours south-west to the park gateway at Thakurdwara. The full road journey from Kathmandu is long enough that it isn't typically attempted in a single day.
It holds Nepal's second-largest tiger population (125 in the 2022 census, behind Chitwan's 128), but on roughly half the visitor density. The chances of actually seeing a tiger here are widely considered better than Chitwan, and the experience is quieter and more remote. It's also one of the last viable habitats for the Ganges river dolphin in Nepal.
October to April. Tiger-tracking peaks in the dry hot months of February through April when wildlife concentrates around water sources and grass is short — visibility is best, but daytime temperatures climb. The monsoon (Jun–Sep) makes much of the park inaccessible.
Bardiya is a serious tiger park first, a quieter alternative to Chitwan second. Expect fewer reliable sightings than at Chitwan but better-quality wilderness, and a real (still not guaranteed) chance of a tiger.
Season note. Tiger-tracking is sharply seasonal: February to May is the conventional window when low water and short grass concentrate animals. October and November are also good, with cooler weather.
Bardiya's entry fee is not currently published on the Nepal Tourism Board's website, and we don't quote figures we can't verify against an official source. Confirm the current foreign / SAARC / Nepali fee structure directly with the DNPWC, with the Nepal Tourism Board, or with your operator before booking. Bardiya is in the Terai, where parks are typically priced per day rather than per entry.
Re-confirm before booking — Terai park fees have been adjusted in past years and not always announced widely.
Day-by-day plans for the most common ways to visit. Realistic timings, honest pacing.
Visitor Guide
A practical guide to Nepal's largest and wildest Terai park — tiger country on the Karnali and Babai rivers.
Guided walking safaris and jeep tracks, quieter and wilder than Chitwan. Licensed guides are required for walks.
Around 407 bird species, including the Bengal florican, sarus crane and lesser florican. Gharial and mugger crocodile share the rivers, with 125 fish species in the Karnali–Babai system. (Nepal's blackbuck herd lives in the adjacent Krishnasar Conservation Area in Bardia district, not inside the national park.)
The dry season (Oct–Apr) is best for tiger sightings, as animals gather near water.
More than 835 plant species recorded; the Babai Valley vegetation has regenerated well across this western Terai alluvial floodplain.
Specific lodge names, availability and prices. Fees, hours and operators change — confirm current details with the DNPWC and Nepal Tourism Board before travelling.
Entry fees and opening hours. Fees, hours and operators change — confirm current details with the DNPWC and Nepal Tourism Board before travelling.
Road-transfer times from Nepalgunj and visitor-centre hours. Fees, hours and operators change — confirm current details with the DNPWC and Nepal Tourism Board before travelling.
Home to Tharu communities of the western Terai.
Gazetted as the Karnali Wildlife Reserve in 1976, it became Royal Bardia National Park in 1988. Part of the Bardiya–Banke Tiger Conservation Unit, with a strong anti-poaching record (no rhino poaching 1994–2000).
Specific tour operators. Fees, hours and operators change — confirm current details with the DNPWC and Nepal Tourism Board before travelling.
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