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Rajaji National Park
Rajaji National Park
Area : 820 sq. km
Altitude : 300 TO 1350 MTS
Tourist Season : Nov. 15 to June 15
About Rajaji National Park

Spread over an area of 820 sq. Kms, Rajaji National Park is situated along the hills and foothills of Shiwalik ranges in the Himalayan foothills and represent the Shiwalik eco-system. Combining three sanctuaries, namely Chilla, Motichur and Rajaji - Rajaji National Park is spread over the Pauri Garwal, Dehradun and Saharanpur districts of
Uttaranchal. The Motichur and Rajaji sanctuaries are contiguous, and are separated from the Chilla Sanctuary to the south-east by the Ganges River and the Chilla River.
Motichur and Rajaji wildlife sanctuaries lie to the north and south of the Siwalik Ridge and are dissected by many ravines carrying water which descend from the main ridge,
becoming broad pebble/boulder filled streams in the plains. These streams remain dry for most of the year but become raging torrents during the monsoon. The area is
covered with diverse forest types ranging from semi-evergreen to deciduous and from mixed broad-leaved to terai grassland and has been classified as Indus-Ganges
Monsoon Forest type. Lofty strands of sal dominate in many parts.
Rajaji is home to avian species which are found in forested foothills and in open grassland. It's location in a transition zone between temperate western Himalaya and central
Himalaya enhances the species diversity and consequently the viewing prospects. Rajaji's checklist has 324 species and includes good birds like Greater Scaup,
White-naped Woodpecker, Great Hornbill, Black-bellied Tern, Pallas's Fish Eagle, Northern Goshawk, Black-necked Stork, Yellow-billed Blue Magpie, Scaly Thrush,
Snowy-browed Flycatcher, Rusty-flanked Treecreeper, Pale-footed Bush Warbler, Tytler's Leaf Warbler, Green Avadavat and Reed Bunting.
Birding in Rajaji can be:
i) around the various forest rest houses,
ii) on the 26 Km forest drive at Chilla across grassland and mixed forests,
iii) along the Phanduwala -
Kansrao - Motichur trail. This 40 km trail goes through undisturbed stretches of dense forest.

The Suswa river runs parallel to these three connecting forest ranges and
marks the northern boundary of the park. A jungle road connects these ranges from Asarori to Motichur via Phanduwala and Kansrao. Approaches to this route can be from
the Asarori gate opposite Karvapani gate on the SH-DD highway from where Phanduwala is about 10 km. An alternative route is from Ramgarh gate near Clemet Town. This
road goes through the Mathurawala swamps along Suswa river to reach Phanduwala.
Main Attractions :
Herd of Elephants, Leopard, Jungle Cat, Himalayan Yellow Throated Marten, Sambhar, Cheetal, Barking Deer, Wild Boar, Slothy Bear, Langoor, Goral, Monitori Lizard,
Python, Civet and King Cobra.
Birds :
Pea Fowl, Jungle fowl, Kaleej Phaeasant, Horn-Bill, Wood Pecker, Thrushes , King Fisher, Parakeet, Warbler, Barbet finch, Indian Roller, Oriole, etc.
And several species of migratory birds in winter season.
Accessibility :
Air : Nearest airport is Jolly Grant, dehradun, 24 kms.
Rail : Railheads are, Haridwar and Dehradun.
Road : The Park is 220 kms. from delhi and 510 kms. form Lucknow.