Ghaghara River - National Parks in The Karnali Basin

National Parks in The Karnali Basin

The Karnali Basin hosts some of Nepal's famous national parks. The protected area constitutes nearly 14% of the total Basin area, including four national parks, one wildlife reserve, one hunting reserve and two buffer zones. The Basin and its influence area constitute 27% of the total protected area, 63% of national park, 25% of the buffer zone and 31% of wildlife reserve. The significance of some of the protected areas is summarised below:

Shey Phoksundo National Park in Dolpa District, established in 1984, is situated in the trans-Himalayan region of northwestern Nepal and represents the Tibetan Plateau ecosystem. The park covering an area of 3,555 km2 contains luxuriant forests mainly composed of blue pine, spruce, cypress, poplar, fir and birch. It is habitat for the endangered snow leopard, the blue sheep and many species of birds such as Himalayan Monal, Blood Pheasant, Cheer Pheasant and Snow Partridge. It is a religious Buddhist site.

Rara National Park is located in Mugu District with a small area in Jumla District in the mountain region of northwestern Nepal and is the smallest park with a size of 106 km2. It includes Rara Lake, the biggest lake in Nepal of 10.8 km2 in size at an altitude of 2990 m. The lake is oval shaped and has a maximum length of 5 km and a width of 3 km. The vegetation of the park consists of coniferous trees such Blue Pine, Rhododendrons, Black Juniper, West Himalayan Spruce, Oak and Himalayan Cypress. The fauna includes Musk deer, Himalayan Black Bear, Leopard, Goral, Jackal, Himalayan Tahr, Yellow-throated Marten, Dhole, Wild Boar, Gray langur, Rhesus Macaque and Otter. Common bird species include migrant waterfowl, coot, Great-crested and Black-necked grebes, Red-crested Pochard, Mallard, Common Teal, Common Merganser, Himalayan Snowcock and Chukar Partridge.

Dhorpatan Hunting Reserve

Bardia National Park is the largest and most undisturbed protected area in the Terai region of the Nepal Himalayas, covering 968 square kilometres (374 sq mi) on the southern slopes of the Sivalik Hills. It is bordered in the south by the Babai River, and to the west by the Girwa River, a tributary of the Karnali. At Chisapani Gorge, the swift-flowing Karnali River emerges from the Shiwalik Range onto the broad plain and flows purposefully through the semi-tropical jungle. The park is famous for two herds of wild Asian elephants, a great number of deer species, Gaur, Nilgai, Himalayan Tahr, Serow and Goral. The Karnali supports the endangered Mugger crocodile, the fish-eating Gharial, a few remaining specimen of Gangetic Dolphin and the Golden Mahseer; latter weigh up to 90 lb (41 kg).

Katarniaghat Wildlife Sanctuary

As Karnali River crosses Nepal India border it flows throughKatarniaghat Wildlife Sanctuary a part of Dudhwa Tiger Reserve in Uttar Pradesh India.