Rara National Park

Rara National Park lies in Mugu and Jumla districts in the mid-western Himalaya, about 371 km by air west-north-west of Kathmandu, the capital city. The southern border is about 24 km north of Jumla.It was gazetted in 1976 with an area of 106 sq. km. This is the smallest Park in Nepal, containing the country’s biggest lake (10.8 sq. kms) and scenically the most beautiful lake at an elevation of 2999m. The Park is rich in coniferous forest and was established to protect Rara Lake which is an important staging point for migratory birds, and to conserve representative flora and fauna of the central Himalaya. The Park flora consists of 1074 species, of which, 16 are endemic to Nepal, 51 species of mammals, 214 species of birds. The lake has a rich invertebrate fauna, like Snow trout Schizothorax hodgsoni and Schizothorax progastus, only occur in Nepal.

• Activities: Trekking
• Accommodation: Camping, lodge
• Access: Fly from Kathmandu to Nepalgunj (1 hour); Nepalgunj to Talcha Airport (35 minutes) then 2-hour trek to Rara Lake.
• Wildlife: Endangered red panda and musk deer, Himalayan black bear, leopard, jackal, Himalayan tahr, wild yellow-throated martin, wild dog, wild boar, common langur, rhesus macaque and common otter; three species of snow trout can be seen in the lake.
• Birds: During winter 272 species of birds are seen here including coots, great-crested grebe, black-necked grebe, red crested pochard, mallard, common teal, merganser and gulls; migrant water fowls and gallinaceous birds can also be seen during certain seasons.
• Vegetation: Coniferous forests and blue pine dominate the park and the lake area respectively; rhododendron, juniper, spruce, oak and cypress are found around 3,000 m while at higher altitude, pine, spruce and fir are more common.
• Best Season: February-April and October-November
• Park Headquarters: Hutu
• Entrance Fee: Nepalis - Rs. 25 per person per entry, SAARC nationals - Rs. 1,500 per person per entry, foreigners - Rs. 3,000 per person per entry.