Photo: Carsten.nebel · CC BY-SA 3.0National Parks / Chhayanath
Est. 2025 · Nepal's 13th & newest park
Nepal's newest national park, established in 2025 — a remote trans-Himalayan wilderness in Mugu, near the Tibetan border, and a fresh refuge for the snow leopard.
Established on 29 August 2025, Chhayanath is the 13th and newest national park of Nepal — a high trans-Himalayan landscape in the Mugu district of Karnali Province, near the border with Tibet.
It covers approximately 843.36 km², with a buffer zone of 177.37 km². The park was carved out of what was previously part of Shey Phoksundo National Park, and is named after the Chhayanath temple in Chaingaun, near Gamgadhi. It protects some of the most untouched and remote landscapes in the country.
As a very recently established park, detailed published information is still limited; the summary below draws on the available record and will deepen as the park is documented.
Photo: Carsten.nebel · CC BY-SA 3.0The Landscape
Lying near the Tibetan border in remote Mugu, Chhayanath encompasses rugged, high-altitude trans-Himalayan terrain — a landscape of stark mountains, high valleys and some of Nepal's least-disturbed wilderness, formerly within the Shey Phoksundo protected area.
Wildlife
The park shelters endangered and protected animals adapted to the harsh high country.
Photo: Tambako The Jaguar (edit by Niabot) · CC BY-SA 2.0The iconic predator of the Himalayan heights.
Vulnerable
Photo: stli_ · CC BY 4.0The bharal grazes the high slopes — key snow leopard prey.
Photo: Jagdish Singh Negi · CC BY 4.0Among the high-altitude species recorded in the park.
Visiting
Chhayanath is newly established and remote; visitor infrastructure is nascent.
Untouched trans-Himalayan scenery near the Tibetan border.
The nearest town is Gamgadhi in Mugu; access is remote and limited.
As a brand-new park, rules and access are still being established — verify locally.
Reference
Thirteen parks, one extraordinary country.