Location : India-Nepal border, Uttar Pradesh, India
Area covered : 490 sq. km.
Main Wildlife Found : Swamp Deer, Chital, Hog Deer, Sambar, Rhino
Best time to visit : November to May (The park remains closed from July to October)
Places to Stay : Dudhwa Forest Resthouse, Tharu Huts.

Dudhwa National Park:

Dudhwa National Park comprises of sal forests, marshes and grasslands which harbour a wide variety of wildlife. The Park is famous for the reintroduced one horned rhino and swamp deer (barasingha). Dudhwa has the distinction of having the largest surviving population of this endangered species, their presence rendered more spectacular by the propensity for segregation of the antlered males. Bird life is prolific - being a marshland, it provides a natural habitat for the winter migratory birds. An ideal paradise for birders to see the Lesser Bengal Florican and Swamp Partridge - both these species are on the red alert list.Covering an area of about 500 sq km, Dudhwa National Park, along the Indo-Nepal border in Kheri district of Uttar Pradesh, is best known for the Barasingha or Swamp Deer. The grasslands and woodlands of this park, consist mainly of sal forests. The barasingha is found in the southwest and southeast regions of the park. Among the big cats, tigers abound at Dudhwa. There are also a few leopards. The other animals found in large numbers, are the Indian one-horned rhinoceros and the wild elephant. Other animals found in Dudhwa are jungle cats, leopard cats, fishing cats, jackals, civets, sloth bears, sambar, otters, crocodiles and chital.Among reptiles, pythons and monitor lizards are fairly common. Dudhwa is also a bird-watcher's paradise. Dudhwa, perhaps, houses the greatest number of owls and storks. Also, found in plenty, are the great Indian horned owl, the forest eagle owl, the brown fish owl, the tawny owl, the dusky horned owl, the scops owl, brown wood owl and the jungle owlet. The storks, which abound here, are the black-necked stork, white-necked stork, black stork, painted stork, white stork, open-billed stork and the adjutant stork. A variety of colourful birds like woodpeckers, orioles, pittas, kingfishers, minivets and sunbirds also inhabit this Park.In a bid to save the Indian one-horned rhinoceros, seven rhinos from Assam and Nepal were introduced into Dudhwa in 1984-85. Presently, 13 rhinos can be spotted in Dudhwa.

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.

Access:
The town of Bareilly is the nearest major railhead and has train connections to most major cities in northern India, including Delhi and Lucknow. Dudhwa has its own station too, but connections to it are scarce. Palia, 10 km from Dudhwa, also has a few trains coming in from other parts of Uttar Pradesh.

The nearest airport is at Lucknow, 250 km from Dudhwa.
Both from Lucknow and from Bareilly (besides other cities like Delhi) there are good road connections to Dudhwa via Palia. Private coaches and buses operated by the UP State Road Transport Corporation connect Palia to Bareilly, Delhi, Lakhimpur Kheri, Shahjahanpur and other towns.

Vehicles can be hired in Dudhwa to go on a tour of the park; a more eco-friendly- and much more exciting- option is to take a ride on one of the park elephants. Elephant rides are arranged in the morning and the evening, when there are more chances of spotting animals.

Best time to visit
The best time to visit Dudhwa is between November and May. The park remains open to the public from November to June, but by June it’s usually a little too hot for comfort. Remember to take your woollens along if you’re going between December and February- it can get pretty chilly here, in the foothills of the Terai.

Accommodation:
Accommodation in the park is available at log huts, lodges and forest resthouses at Dudhwa, Sathiana, Bankatti, Kila and Sonaripur. All are pretty minimalist (except the one at Dudhwa, which has a small canteen attached to it), and charge a nominal tariff of a couple of hundred bucks a night. Also in the park, on its southern periphery, is a lodge owned by `Billy’ Arjan Singh, the conservationist who has largely been responsible for the setting up of Dudhwa.

Another option is to stay outside the park; Palia has a handful of hotels, and luxuries that you won’t get in the park- provisions, medical facilities, and telephones included. The hotels in the town, obviously charge more than what you’ll pay in Dudhwa; about Rs 500-700 a night is a fair estimate.