About Rajaji National Park
National Park is located in the foothills of the Indian Himalayas and is attached to the Shivalik range. This park is an excellent destination for birding and Asian elephant sightings. It spreads over 202,630 acres (820 km²), in three districts of Uttarakhand – Dehradun, Haridwar and Pauri Garhwal. After 1983, all the wildlife sanctuaries, namely Chilla, Motichur and Rajaji, were merged into one. It has been named after C. Rajagopalachari (Rajaji), the first recipient of India’s highest civilian award, Bharat Ratna, and a prominent leader of India’s freedom struggle.
Flora and Fauna at Rajaji Park
The dense forests of Rajaji National Park are a home to vivacious wildlife, here. Deciduous forests, scrublands, grasslands, riverine vegetation, and pine forests form this park’s flora range. One can also find the best variety of Sal, Shisham, Amaltas, Semul, Kachnar, Chilla, Bel, Semul and many more.
There are over 500 bird species inside the park. The most prominent avian species include peafowls, pheasants, woodpeckers, kingfishers and barbets, supplemented by a number of migratory species during the winter season. The Park is also home to the Great Pied Hornbill, the Fire-tailed Sunbird, and the Himalayan Pied Kingfisher.
Rajaji National Park has dense green forests, making the environment perfect for wild animals. There are several Asian elephants, Bengal tigers, leopards, jungle cats, gorals, Indian hares, barking deer, rhesus macaques, monitor lizards, sloth bears, jackals, king cobras, Himalayan black bears, and much more to find here.
Best Time for Jeep Safari in Rajaji Park
You are welcome to Wildlife Safari in the Rajaji National Park between 15th November to 15th June. The park opens for safari on 15th November and closes on 15th June, opening only for seven months. The park closes after 15th June for five months due to heavy rainfall.
There are two sessions for Safari, first in the morning and second after lunch. Morning safari starts early in the morning from 6:00 am to 10 am, 4 hours inside the jungle, and the second trip begins from 2:00 pm to 6:00 pm. The visitors enjoy 3-4 hours of Jeep Safari inside the Rajaji National Park. You can find the best species of animals here. The safari provides the opportunity to see the group of Elephant, Sambar, Spotted Deer, numerous Birds, Leopard, King Cobra and at last but not least, the Tiger.
How to reach Rajaji National Park
Rajaji National Park is well connected by roads, Railways, and Air transportation.
By Road- There is a number of bus stations, connected by road to the park, 8 km from Haridwar to Chilla.
Delhi (181 km, 6 hr to 7 hr journey), the way from Delhi to Rajaji National Park is Delhi-Modinagar-Meerut-Muzaffarnagar-Roorkee-Haridwar-Kaudiyala Village-Chilla (Rajaji National Park).
The park is 510 km from Lucknow bus station and Dehradun bus station (35Kms, 1 hr journey If you are coming from the central city).
Train-Train is the best option to reach Rajaji National Park. There are several railway stations which are well connected to the park.
Delhi to Haridwar Railways, Haridwar ( 24 km), Dehradun (56 km) and Rishikesh (18 km).
BY Air- Jolly Grant Airport, Dehradun( 35km) is the nearest airport.
