About Dudhwa National Park
From
mosaic grasslands and dense sal forests to swampy marshes, the terrain of
Dudhwa National Park is as diverse as the wildlife population it harbors.
While the northern edge of the Park lies along the Indo-Nepal border, the
River Suheli marks the southern boundary.
A Tiger Reserve since 1879, Dudhwa became a National Park in 1977 and
adopted the Project Tiger in 1988. Although the Tigers at the Park are
numerous, sightings are rare due to the thick forest cover of the area.
Besides Tigers, Leopards, Hispid Hares, Swamp Deer (Barasingha) and Rhinos
thrive amidst the vegetation.
Wildlife Attractions in Dudhwa National Park
Apart from the swamp deer, there are at least 37 species of mammals and 16
species of reptiles. Dudhwa Wildlife Sanctuary is said to have 101 tigers
and four leopards. Recently, the hispid hare has also been spotted in the
area.
It was here in 1984 that a major rhinoceros rehabilitation project was
started since these forests had been the habitat of the rhinoceros 150 years
ago. Five rhinos were relocated from Assam but two of the females died due
to the strain of transportation. These were replaced in 1985 by four more
females from Nepal.
Dudhwa's birds, in particular, are a delight for any avid bird watcher. The
marshlands are especially inviting for about 400 species of resident and
migratory birds including the Swamp Partridge, Great Slaty Woodpecker,
Bengal Florican, plenty of painted storks, sarus cranes, owls, barbets,
woodpeckers, minivets and many more. Much of the park’s avian fauna is
aquatic in nature, and is found around Dudhwa’s lakes- especially Banke
Tal.
The major vegetation types in this region are tropical semi-evergreen
forest, tropical moist deciduous forest, riparian and swamp forest and dry
deciduous forest. The dominant tree species are Shorea robusta, Terminalis
tomentosa, Adina cordifolia, Terminalia belerica, Eugenia jambolana,
Dalbergia sissoo, and Bombax malabaricum. The various types of forests
throughout the park are interrupted by wide stretches of mesophyllous
grasslands locally called the phantas.
Safaris
The forest provides no jeep safaris or guides. Jeeps and mini buses can be
hired to move around inside the park. Elephant rides through the Park are
also available and moreover the mahouts or Elephant drivers also double up
as guides.
Other Attractions
The park is conveniently located at an easily approachable distance from
all the major tourist attractions of the state. Travel to the historic city
of Lucknow or pay a visit to the shimmering water of the Ganga at Varanasi.
You can also visit Agra, home of the Taj Mahal.
How to Get there
Air :Lucknow is the most convenient airport. Indian
Airlines operates a number of flights to Lucknow from major cities across
the country. The timings of flights from Delhi are 9:30 (except Tuesday),
10:00 (Tuesday), 16:05 (throughout the week) and 17:30 (Wed, Fri, Sun). Air
Sahara flies from Mumbai to Lucknow at 19:30. Outside India, Nepal at 35 kms
is the nearest airport.
Rail : The nearest railheads are Dudhwa (4 kms), Palia
(10 kms) and Mailani (37 kms), however the most convenient way would be to
travel to Lucknow (conveniently connected to most of the Indian cities) and
hit the road or take a train to any of the nearer stations from there. Some
of the important daily trains from Delhi to Lucknow are Kaifiyat Exp.
(19:25), Lucknow Mail (22:00), Shramjeni N Exp. (13:15), Vaishali Exp.
(19:50), Gorakdam Exp. (20:15), Sapt Kranti Exp. (16:45) and Bihar S Kranti
(14:40). Other daily Mumbai-Lucknow trains are Kushinagar Exp. (22:55) and
Pushpak Exp. (8:20).
Road : The State Roadways buses and private bus services
link Palia to Lakhimpur Kheri, Shahjahanpur, Bareilly and Delhi. Buses are
frequent between Palia and Dudhwa. The most convenient way to travel to the
park, if you are coming in from India, is to make your way to Lucknow,
either by air or by rail and take a bus or train to Dudhwa, which is just 4
km from the entry gate of the park. For foreign tourists looking to start
their journey of India from Dudhwa, it is advisable to travel to the Nepal
airport and take one of the number of transport means available from there.
To travel by road from Delhi, take the NH24 to Shahjahanpur via Ghaziabad,
Moradabad, Rampur and Bareilly. A district road from here will take you to
Dudhwa via Pawayan, Kutar, Mailani, Bhira and Palia.
Distances from Major Cities
Lucknow : 182 km (NW)/ 4 hrs.
Ramnagar : 50 km
Delhi : 410 km (E)
Mumbai : 1277 km
Bangalore : 1697
Travel Tips/Important Information
- The park charges include Entry Fee : Rs. 50, Vehicle Entry Fee : Rs.
150.
- Park timings are from 7 to 10 AM and 3 to 6 PM.
- The best point to start your park trip is at the Dudhwa Forest
Office, where you can get information from the foresters about
everything ranging from accommodation to safaris.The entire park is
administratively divided into nine ranges of which only Sathiana,
Bankati, Sonaripur, Salukhapur, Belrayan and Kila have accommodation
facilities.
- Elephants can be hired from the office near the park gate or from the
Salukhapur Chowki for Rs. 100/head for about 3 hours.
- A library at the Dudhwa office provides information about the park. A
nature shop located near by sells books and other souvenirs.
- All visitors to the park require an entry permit, which can be
obtained from the director of the park, district headquarters,
Lakhimpur-Kheri.
The queues may be long and traveling through India may not be a cake walk.
But you need not worry about all the hassles as long as you travel with us.
Click Here! to book one of our
number of exciting tour packages to the Dudhwa National Park.
Jungle
Resorts in Dudhwa
| Dudhwa
Forest Rest House |
Tharu
Huts |
Situated
near the main range office of the park, Dudhwa Forest Rest House is an
ideal accommodation option at the Dudhwa National Park.
|
Named
the Tharu Huts, the place has 12 well appointed huts that can be booked
at a reasonable price.
|
“Do
not expect an experience of home away from home at Dudhwa. The adrenalin
rush one feels when a predator suddenly emerges is both exciting and
freaking fearsome”.
