Kathmandu, June 24

Around 60 per cent of the total foreign tourists used to visit Nepal’s conservation and reserve areas, according to government statistics. National parks and conservation areas have become major tourist destinations in Nepal. According to the Department of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation, a total of 1.097 million domestic and foreign tourists visited conservation areas in fiscal year 2081/82. Director General of the Department, Dr Buddhi Sagar Poudel, shared that out of 1.097 million tourists, 511,762 tourists were from SAARC countries and abroad, while 586,074 were domestic tourists. The country had collected Rs 1 billion and 5.2 million in revenue as entry fees from the tourists.

A total of 346,644 tourists visited Shivapuri Nagarjun National Park, 278,113 tourists toured the Annapurna Conservation Area, and 249,956 tourists visited Chitwan National Park in fiscal year 2081/82. Similarly, the lowest number of tourists, 229, had visited the Api Nampa Conservation Area during the period, according to the data.

There are 13 national parks in Nepal—Chitwan, Bardiya, Langtang, Rara, Banke, Sagarmatha, Shey-Phoksundo, Shivapuri Nagarjun, Makalu Barun, Khaptad, Shuklaphanta, Parsa and Chhayanath. Similarly, Krishnasar, Kanchanjangha, Manaslu, Gaurishankar, Annapurna and Api Nampa are conservation areas, while Dhorpatan Reserve and Koshitappu Wildlife Reserve are reserve areas. Conservation areas have occupied 23.39 per cent of the country’s total area.