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Rajaji National Park Dehradun is a national park as well as a tiger reserve. It is nestled in the Shivaliks ranges near the foothills of Himalayas. It is known for its rich biodiversity and scenic beauty. The entire area is said to be blessed with a rich floral and faunal life. In the year 1983, three sanctuaries of Uttarakhand, namely Rajaji, Motichur, and Chila, were consolidated together in a large protected area and then named as the Rajaji National Park. It was basically named after the famous freedom fighter Late Sri C. Rajagopalachari, who was popularly known as the “Rajaji”.
Rajaji national park location is considered as a magnificent ecosystem which has an abundant natural bounty. It spreads to an area of 820 sq km. This particular national park spread over the Pauri Garwal, Dehradun, and Saharanpur districts of the Uttarakhand state.
Rajaji Tiger Reserve has even received the honored as the second tiger reserve of Uttarakhand after the Corbett National Park. The hamlet of Chilla range, which is about 13km to Haridwar, serves as the baseline to the visiting place of the reserve.
The floral and faunal richness
This park is known for its floral range, starting from the broadleaved deciduous forest, scrubland, riverine vegetation, pine forest, and grasslands.
Rajaji National Park is formed from the dense, busy jungle, which is a perfect place for many animals. The main reason behind the vivacious wildlife is the varied topography. It is known for a good distribution of both elephants and tigers.
This places records to have around 50 species of mammals, which even includes the name of endangered animals such as Asian elephants and Tiger. Apart from this, it also has a leopard, sloth bear, Civet, Himalayan black bear, Jackal, Marten, Hyena, etc. It has recorded three species of deer named the Sambhar, Spotted Deer, and the Barking Deer. It has a characteristic mammal, even known as Goral or Mountain Goat, which is traced near the Shivalik hills. Many other animals such as Wild Boar, Neel Gai, Langoor, Jungle cat, Black Naped Hare are even found here.
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Now, coming to birds, over 300 bird species are reported in this place, which marks it as an important birding area of the country. The resident birds of this place include the name of Peafowl, Jungle Fowl, Kingfishers, Woodpeckers, Warblers, Thrushes, Barbets and Finches, and many more. At the same time, the migrant bird list includes the names of Pochards, Mallards, Gulls, Teals, and Shelducks.
Amazingly, even the river which flows through the park, harbors some of the fish species such as mahseer and trout.
How to reach Rajaji National Park?
- By flight – Rajaji National Park Dehradun is 21km away from the nearest airport of Jollygrant. This airport is well connected to Delhi airport. Cabs only charge around Rs 600 to take you to the park from the airports. Delhi is even the nearest international airport, which is well connected with the major cities in India and abroad.
- By train – Haridwar is the nearest railway station while Dehradun is the major nearby rail junction. These stations are well connected with every city of India.
- By road – Rajaji National Park is known to be well connected with the different cities by buses. Both private and public bus facilities could be availed from Haridwar, Rishikesh, Dehradun, and Delhi. Haridwar to Rajaji national park distance is 30km while Rishikesh to Rajaji national park distance is just 20km.
Rajaji national park resorts are known to offer luxury in the ambiance of wilderness. All the places come at a reasonable rate with a promise to invigorate an enthusiastic sense for the wildlife and adventurous journey.
Rajaji’s wilderness has been successful in luring all the nature lovers, adventure enthusiasts, and even wildlife photographers to spend some of their glorious days in this refreshing place. It attracts not only the local but even the global tourist in largIncidentse numbers every year.
Jungle Safari
Rajaji national park timings differ from season to season. In the morning, the gate opens around 6 am to 9 am, while in the evening time, the gate opens from 2 pm to 5 pm. In these hours, one gets a good experience of the entire jungle. Rajaji national park safari timings are offered for around 2 to 3 hours limited to two times in a day. The main mode of transportation around the reserve area is the Jeeps safari. No private vehicle is allowed to enter the forest area. There is no doubt in this Rajaji National Park considered to be a perfect place for wildlife safari and bird watching destination place.
Incidents
Rajaji National Park came into news in the month of April 2010 when a forest fire broke out. Though it started on the fringes of the park, it gradually broke into a large area that threatened the holy temple of Chandi Devi.
Again in 2015, some of the field employees engaged with the Forest Department work decided to boycott the wildlife census work of the Rajaji Tiger Reserve. It was basically a mark of protest from their side due to the delay in making salary payments for the month of November.
However, Rajaji National Park is a recommended destination for couples, corporations, groups, and even foreigners. Therefore, visiting this place even for once in a lifetime is a worthy one.
FAQ:
Q1: Rajaji national park is located in which state?
Rajaji national park is situated in the districts of Uttarakhand namely Haridwar, Dehradun and Pauri Garhwal. It is a paradise place for all nature lovers.
Q2: Rajaji national park is famous for which animal?
Rajaji national park is famous for the Asian elephants. Rajaji National Park Dehradun is renowned for the mountain goat, goral, which is considered as one of the noteworthy residents. However, it is mainly confined to the precipitous slope area.
Q3: Does the park remain open for the entire year?
No, Rajaji National Park Dehradun remains closed in the rainy season.
