Dudhwa National Park

Dudhwa National Park lies in Lakhimpur Kheri district in north Uttar Pradesh with its northern edge running along the Indo-Nepal border. About 300 miles of park was brought under the government for conservation in 1861. It was declared as reserve forest in 1937. A 15 km long sanctuary'Sonaripur' was formed in 1958 for the protection of swamp deer (barasingha). It was included to form the Dudhwa sanctuary in 1968. The area was declared a National Park in 1977 and brought under Project Tiger in 1988. The reserve comprises 680 sq km of Dudhwa and 200 sq km of Kishanpur wildlife sanctuary.

Dudhwa park has sal trees and grasslands. There are two major rivers Suheli and Mohana and many small streams and rain fed taals. The number of tigers here is still a mystery. There are five deer species which included swamp deer, spotted deer, hog deer, barking deer and sambar. Dudhwa National Park also has 20 one- horned rhinos which are usually seen roaming in the grassland, swamps and taals of the South Sonaripur range of Dudhwa.

Getting to Dudhwa National Park:

By Air: The nearest airport is at Lucknow which is 201 km from the national park.

By Rail: The nearest station is at Shahjahanpur which is 110 km. Shared or full jeeps are available from the station.

By Road: One can drive from Delhi to Shahjahanpur via Moradabad, Bareilly, Kutar and Palia.

Best time to visit Dudhwa National Park:

The park remains closed during the Monsoons when it remains submerged and kuccha roads are in bad shape. It is open for the tourists from November to June.