Free nature guide for tourists visiting Shuklaphanta

Dodhara Chandani (Kanchanpur), Feb 2 2: Tourists visiting the Shuklaphanta National Park in Kanchanpur have been provided with free nature guide to help them better explore the park.    

This facility is being made by Bhimdatta Municipality starting Friday for the tourists visiting the park during the Shuklaphanta Tourism Festival. The Festival is being held to mark the establishment day of Shuklaphanta National Park from February 21 to 27.    

The festival has been organized to promote Shuklaphanta as an attractive destination for tourists and nature guides have been arranged for tourists visiting the park during the week-long festival, said Rajendra KC, coordinator of Bhimdatta Municipality Tourism Development Committee. Furthermore, as an incentive to tourists, the first 100 vehicles (private and safari) will also not be charged the entrance fee.    

Although there is initiative from the private sector at the local level the government should take the initiative to attract foreign tourists to the park, says Ramchandra Regmi, President of Hotel Entrepreneurs Association, Kanchanpur. He said that the festival is expected to help promote Shuklaphanta, which is home to rare animals in the world, and develop it as a destination for domestic as well as foreign tourists.    

 It is a place famous not only for wildlife but also for rare plants, says Nature Guide at Shuklaphanta National Park Mahananda Joshi. The park is home to 56 species of mammals, 56 species of reptiles, 15 species of amphibians, 88 species of fish, and 111 species of butterflies. Storks, peacock, wild hen, crane, leopard, one-horned rhinoceros, elephant, tiger, wild buffalo, black deer, nilgai, hare, wild boar, etc. are other attractions of the park.    

Despite a good offer for tourists, the number of tourists coming to Shuklaphanta is low due to lack of promotion, adds Joshi.    

Spread over an area of 305 square kilometers, Shuklaphanta National Park is famous for its Reindeers. There are more than 2,200 reindeers in the park. The park also has the world's largest grassland, with 19 percent of the park being grassland.    

Other activities being organised during the week-long festival include cleanliness in the park area, essay competition and interaction with tourism and travel entrepreneurs from Nepal and India. (RSS)