Parks and Reserves

Nepal has nine National Parks, three Wildlife Reserves, three Conservation Areas and one Hunting Reserve. About 15,000 square kilometers amounting to almost 18 percent of the total area is protected. This is an amazing commitment to conservation.
 
Shey-Phoksundo National Park
Kanchenjunga Conservation Area 
    
Sagarmatha National Park
Annapurna Conservation Area 
    
Makalu Barun National Park
Shukla Phant Wildlife Reserve 
    
Chitwan National Park
Dhorpatan Hunting Reserve
    
Langtang National Park
Koshi-Tappu Wildlife Reserve 
    
Shivapuri National Park
Manaslu Conservation Area 
     
Khaptad National Park
Parsa Wildlife Reserve 
       
Rara National Park
Bardia National Park 

Rara Lake.

Tope view of Rara lake.

Rara Lake (or Rara Tal) lies in the remote Karnali region, in the North West of Nepal. Rara and the area surrounding the lake were declared a National Park in 1976. It is the largest lake in Nepal. The lake is the obvious focal point of the park where some well preserved forest and abundance of wildlife are found in the protected area. The lake is situated at an altitude of around 3000 meters above the sea level but within the park area there is a viewpoint called Chuchemara Peak (4039m) gives a spectacular view over the Himalayas on the horizon.

The trip covers around two weeks to reach the maximum altitude of 4500m and the route goes as follows:

Kathmandu to Nepalgunj: Flight.
Nepalgunj to Jumla: Flight.
Jumla to Danphe Lagna (3130m): Trekking.
Danphe Lagna to Chahutha (3183m): Trek.
Chahutha to Dhotu (2380m): Trekking
Dhotu to Rara Lake (3060m): Trek.
Rara Lake: Excursion and rest day around Rara Lake.
Rara Lake to Gorosingha (3190m): Trekking
Gorosingha to Sinja (2440m): Trek.
Sinja to Jaljala Chaur (3270m): Trek.
Jaljala Chaur to Jumla (2370m): Trek.
Jumla to Nepalgunj and Kathmandu: Flight.

This will be a memorable trip for the rest of your life and will want to visit again the Heaven residing on the earth.

Charikot, Mt. Gaurishanker/ Jiri.

View of Mt. Gaurishanker when top covered with clouds.

View of Jiri Bazzar.

About 133 kilometers from Kathmandu, Charikot provides a spectacular mountain view of Gaurishankar. In the eastern upper part of Dolkha township there is a famous roofless temple of Dolkha Bhimsen. The highway to Jiri is famous for the environment friendly approach adopted during its design, construction and maintenance. Jiri, in fact, is one of the major starting points for mountain trek to Mount Everest region.

The road to Charikot and Jiri breaks off from the Araniko Hiighway at the 78km mark. The road climbs 1800m out of the Sun Koshi Valley reaching an elevation of 2540m. Regular bus services are available. The winter season is the best for the tour to Jiri as the roads in the higher altitude are covered with the snow, and that's the reason why the Jirians have red cheek...lol.

There are at least a dozen lodges jostle on either side of the main street in the main Bazaar, and the food tastes good after some drinks made locally by the people there in the lodges.