Photo: shankar s. (Pune, India) · CC BY 2.0National Parks / Terai / Parsa
Est. 1984 · National park 2017
The largest forest tract in the central Terai — Chitwan's wilder eastern neighbour, and increasingly vital habitat as tigers spread across the landscape.
Parsa National Park protects the largest remaining tract of forest in Nepal's central Terai, immediately east of Chitwan. Originally gazetted as a wildlife reserve in 1984, it was upgraded to national park status in 2017.
Covering 627 km² across the Parsa, Makwanpur, Bara and Chitwan districts, the park is dominated by sal forest on the Churia (Sivalik) hills. Together with Chitwan and India's Valmiki National Park it forms part of the Chitwan–Parsa–Valmiki Tiger Conservation Unit, a 3,549 km² block of grassland and deciduous forest.
Before protection, the area was a hunting ground of the ruling class; today it is an increasingly important refuge as wildlife expands eastward out of Chitwan.
Photo: Bharatadhikarimb · CC BY-SA 4.0The Landscape
Parsa is the most heavily forested of the central Terai parks — sal forest blankets the Churia hills, with riverine forest and patches of grassland along the watercourses. The rugged, dry Sivalik terrain gives the park a different character from Chitwan's lush floodplain next door.
Wildlife
As tiger numbers in Chitwan have grown, Parsa has become vital breeding and dispersal habitat.
Photo: Charles J. Sharp · CC BY-SA 4.0Parsa is increasingly important tiger habitat within the Chitwan landscape.
Endangered
Photo: Sabina Bajracharya · CC BY-SA 4.0Resident herds move between Parsa and the wider landscape.
Endangered
Photo: Giles Laurent · CC BY-SA 4.0Along with leopard, gaur, wild dog and four-horned antelope.
Visiting
A wilder, less-visited alternative to its famous neighbour.
Drives and walks through dense sal forest, with growing tiger numbers.
The largest forest tract in the central Terai, atop the Sivalik hills.
Easily combined with a Chitwan visit — they share a boundary.
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
Parsa is the eastern wing of the Chitwan–Parsa–Valmiki tiger landscape — 627 km² of largely sal forest in the Siwalik Hills, scaled up from wildlife reserve to national park in 2017. The 2022 tiger census recorded 41 tigers here, a population that's grown from camera-trap baselines through dispersal from Chitwan and a maturing prey base.
Parsa's tigers are functionally part of the Chitwan tiger population — the two parks form a single, contiguous protected block, and movement between them is regular. The growth here is mostly the spillover from Chitwan's much larger, denser population.
Solitary and crepuscular; uses the deep sal forest of the Siwalik foothills and the river corridors shared with Chitwan.
Chital, sambar, wild boar, hog deer; gaur where they're present.
Sal forest of the Churia (Siwalik) range, with grassland and riverine forest along the shared Rapti corridor.
Nepal's 2022 national tiger survey recorded 41 tigers in Parsa, behind Chitwan (128) and Bardia (125) but ahead of Shuklaphanta (36) and Banke (25). A 2017 camera-trap study had documented 19 — the growth tracks the wider national doubling story.
Parsa's expansion is the structural reason tigers in central Nepal have room to grow: scaling the reserve to national-park status in 2017 and adding 128 km² in 2015 extended Chitwan's effective tiger habitat by roughly two-thirds. The Chitwan–Parsa–Valmiki Tiger Conservation Unit spans Nepal and India and totals roughly 3,549 km².
Less developed for tourism than Chitwan; guided jeep safaris from the Hetauda side give the best (still modest) odds.
Parsa is one of the most important resident-elephant landscapes in Nepal; the herds move freely across the Chitwan–Parsa–Valmiki unit.
Matriarchal herds; wide-ranging seasonal movement between sal forest and water.
Grasses, bark, leaves and fruit; significant crop-raiding around the buffer zone.
Sal forest and the river corridors connecting Chitwan and Valmiki.
Endangered globally; documented as a resident, transboundary herd. Park-specific population not published.
Encountered irregularly on guided safaris.
Rhinos in Parsa exist as a tiny outpost — a function of the contiguous Chitwan habitat rather than a deliberate translocation programme. Wandering individuals cross the open boundary.
Same as Chitwan's rhinos — wet-grassland mega-herbivores.
Tall grasses, browse and crops.
Riverine and grassland habitat shared with Chitwan.
The 2021 national count recorded 3 rhinos in Parsa — unchanged from 2015 (also 3). The 2021 national total was 752.
Rare; the chance is essentially the same as in adjoining Chitwan.
Shaggy, long-clawed bear with a pale chest patch and a snout adapted for ant-eating. Camera-trap studies in the Chitwan–Parsa landscape have ranked it among the highest-density sloth-bear sites in South Asia.
Mainly nocturnal; one of the more dangerous animals to encounter on foot.
Termites and ants vacuumed up with the lips, plus fruit and honey.
Sal forest and scrub with termite mounds, especially in the Churia foothills.
Vulnerable globally; one of Nepal's most important sloth-bear strongholds.
Uncommon and shy — occasional dawn sightings on forest tracks.
Massive, dark, with a distinctive dorsal ridge; one of the world's largest land herbivores.
Herd-living grazer-browser; shy of people; descends to grassland seasonally.
Grasses, herbs and browse.
Sal forest of the Churia / Siwalik range and adjacent grassland.
Vulnerable globally; present in small numbers in the Churia hills.
Less commonly seen than deer or tiger sign; more likely in the forested southern sectors.
A reddish, whistling pack-hunter the size of a German shepherd — once widespread across Asia, now greatly reduced.
Packs of 5–12; coursing predator that runs prey to exhaustion.
Chital, sambar, hog deer.
Sal forest and grassland; uses tiger prey-rich areas.
Endangered globally; documented in the wider Chitwan–Parsa landscape, with park-specific counts not published.
Rare and unpredictable.
Parsa's checklist is broadly similar to Chitwan's — over 300 bird species are typically cited — though the park's birding tourism is far less developed and its lists less actively maintained. The great hornbill is a signature species.
Around 919 recorded plant species, with sal forest covering about 90% of the park — the largest contiguous sal-forest block in central Nepal's 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.
Parsa adjoins Chitwan's eastern boundary and shares the same Terai ecosystem — sal forest, riverine grassland and seasonal wetlands. It's roughly 5 hours by road from Kathmandu, via the East-West Highway. The park is administratively separate from Chitwan but functionally part of the same Chitwan-Parsa tiger landscape. Visitors arriving by air typically fly to Bharatpur (Chitwan's airport) and drive east, or use the road option from Kathmandu directly.
Parsa is what Chitwan was 20 years ago — quieter, less developed, with similar species at lower densities. Tiger numbers have recovered alongside the wider Chitwan complex, and the park is increasingly recognised as part of Nepal's most important contiguous tiger habitat. The Sauraha-style gateway industry doesn't exist here; visitor experience is closer to a working buffer zone than a polished safari destination.
October to April. February to April is the conventional best window — short grass, concentrated wildlife. Monsoon (Jun–Sep) closes most of the park's interior tracks.
Parsa offers Chitwan's species in a quieter, less developed setting — at the cost of lower sighting densities. Realistic expectations are deer, primates and birdlife reliably; flagship mammals less so.
Season note. Tiger sightings, when they happen, cluster around water points in February to April. October–November brings cooler weather but taller grass.
Charged per day rather than per entry — multi-day stays multiply accordingly.
Buffer-zone fees and jeep/guide charges are separate. Re-confirm before booking — Terai park fees have been adjusted in past years and not always announced widely.
Visitor Guide
The largest forest tract in the central Terai — a quiet, sal-forest neighbour of Chitwan with growing tiger numbers.
Dense sal-forest safari tracks, quieter than Chitwan and explored with guides.
A rich bird community, including the giant hornbill.
The dry season is best.
The largest forest tract in the central Terai, on Sivalik hill sal forest.
Specific lodge names and availability. Fees, hours and operators change — confirm current details with the DNPWC and Nepal Tourism Board before travelling.
Opening hours. Fees, hours and operators change — confirm current details with the DNPWC and Nepal Tourism Board before travelling.
Transport details and visitor-centre hours. Fees, hours and operators change — confirm current details with the DNPWC and Nepal Tourism Board before travelling.
Communities of the central Terai.
Established as a wildlife reserve in 1984 and redesignated a national park in 2017; part of the Chitwan–Parsa–Valmiki Tiger Conservation Unit (~3,549 km² with Chitwan and India's Valmiki). The park adjoins the Chitwan World Heritage Site.
Specific tour operators. Fees, hours and operators change — confirm current details with the DNPWC and Nepal Tourism Board before travelling.
From the Journal
Thirteen parks, one extraordinary country.
