12 attractions in Pashchim Champaran (back)

Valmiki Tiger Reserve
Valmiki National Park, Tiger Reserve and Wildlife Sanctuary is located at the India-Nepal border in the West Champaran district of Bihar, India on the bank of river Gandak. It is the only National park in Bihar. The extensive forest area of Valmikinagar was previously owned by the Bettiah Raj and Ramanagar Raj until the early 1950s. Valmiki Tiger Reserve (VTR) is one of the natural virgin recesses in east India, situated in the north west corner of Bihar. The pristine forest and wilderness of VTR is an excellent example of Himalayan Terai landscape. VTR comprises the Valmiki National Park and Valmiki Wildlife Sanctuary. The VTR forest area covers 899.38 square kilometres (347.25 sq mi), which is 17.4% of the total geographical area of the district West Champaran. As of 2018, there were 40 tigers in the Reserve.The name of the district West Champaran derives from two words, Champa and Aranya, meaning forest of Champa trees. Geographically, it is situated between 83°0 50′ and 84°0 10′ E longitude and between 27°0 10′ and 27°0 03′ N latitude. Total forest area comprises about 900 square kilometres (350 sq mi), out of which the Valmiki Wildlife Sanctuary is 880 square kilometres (340 sq mi) and spread of the National Park is about 335 square kilometres (129 sq mi) area. In the north, the protected areas are bordered by Nepal's Chitwan National Park while the Indian state Uttar Pradesh bounds the sanctuary from western side. Bihar Government is turning 800 hectares of forest in VTR into Grassland making it India's biggest grassland. Recently water resource department has transferred 200 acres of land to various department to build an ecocity. Government of Bihar has also built eco-cottages for tourists which can be book online.