Photo: shankar s. (Pune, India) · CC BY 2.0National Parks / 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
Thirteen parks, one extraordinary country.