Maruni Sanctuary Lodge is managed by the famous
Kathmandu Guest House, the Asia's leading budget hotel with 35
years of experience in travel trade industry in Nepal.Royal
Chitwan National Park, the oldest National Park in Nepal, is
situated in the sub-tropical inner Terai lowlands of South-Central
Nepal. The Park was designated as a World Heritage Site in 1984.
MARUNI SANCTUARY LODGE is located in one of the least disturbed
areas of Sauraha, Chitwan and offers excellent opportunities to
view rare and endangered species and also, MARUNI is located
between two villages of the Rana Tharu Community, therefore you
will also have the chance to engage culturally to the ethnic
people of the region.
The Park covers a pristine area with a unique ecosystem of
significaant value to the world. It contains the Churiya hills,
Ox-bow lakes and flood plains of Rapti, Reu and Narayani Rivers.
Approximately 70% of the Park vegetation is sal forest. The
remaining vegetation types include grassland (20%) riverine
forest(7%) and sal with chiropine 3% the later occuring at the top
of the Churiya range. The riverine forests consist mainly of khair,
sissoo and simal. The grasslands form a diverse and complex
community with over 50 species. The saccharum species, often
called elephant grass, can reach 8m in height. The shorter grasses
such as Imperate are useful for thatch roofs. There are more than
43 species of mammals in the Park. The Park is especially renowned
for the endangered one-horned rhinoceros, the tiger and the
gharial crocodile along with many other common species of wild
animals. It also harbors endangered species such as gaur, wild
elephant, four-horned antelope, striped hyena, pangolin, Gangetic
dolphin, monitor lizard and python. Other animals found in the
Park include the sambar, chital, hog deer, barking deer, sloth
bear, palm civet, langur and rhesus monkey. There are over 450
species of birds in the Park. Among the endangered birds are the
Bengal jolrican, giant hornbill, lesser florican, black stork and
white stork. Common birds seen in the Park inclde the peafowl, red
jungle fowl, and different species of egrets, herons, kingfishers,
flycatchers and woodpeckers. The best time for bird watching is
March and December. More than 45 species of amphibians and
reptiles occur in the Park, some of which are the marsh corcodile,
cobra, green pit viper and various species of frogs and tortoises.
The Park is actively engaged in the scientific studies of several
species of wild fauna and flora. |