Endemic tourism in Nepal

Bird Watching

Nepal and specially the Koshi Tappu Wildlife Reserve in the eastern tarai is a bird watcher’s paradise. Nepal boasts of more than 850 species of birds, and a surprisingly large number of these birds can be spotted in the Kathmandu valley alone. The hills around the valley especially Nagarjun, Godavari and Phulchowki are popular birding areas and the Tauda lake on the way to Dakshinkali is fabulous for watching migratory water fowl during the winter months. In the higher Himalayan regions are found the raptors and birds of prey of which there are numerous species. The various national parks like Chitwan and Bardia harbor a wide variety of birds. But Koshi Tappu has better sightings of an incredible variety of both resident and migratory birds that come from as far away as Siberia. Nepal’s national bird is the Daphe or the Impeyen Pheasant which is found in the Himalayan region. Bird watching trips are organized by most resorts and are accompanied by experienced naturalists.

Butterfly watching

Butterflies are beautiful colorful creatures and they have been studied in Nepal for over 150 years. In the early days of the Raj, the British residents and their subordinates took considerable interest in butterflies and managed to collect quite a number of species which they meticulously studied and catalogued.  After 1950, it was the Japanese who took particular interest in collecting butterfly species through scientific expeditions. This later resulted in the establishment by Tribhuvan University of the Natural History Museum at Swoyambhu in 1974. According to official records, Nepal has 651 species of butterflies which is 3.72% of the world's butterflies.

Favored by Kathmandu valley’s mild day time temperatures which hovers around 18ºC in mid-winter, there are butterflies all year round. The best seasons for butterfly watching are late March/April, mid May/mid June and late August/September. The forested areas in the valley are still remarkable places for butterflies, and they include open country near Chobar gorge and there is very little activity except for the very common Oriental Species. With the distribution of butterflies in Nepal being quite specific, about 10% of the butterflies are Palaearctic species found at above 3,000 m, and about 90% Oriental species are found around Swoyambhu, the base of the hills and forest streams at Godavari, Nagarjun, Budanilkantha and Sundarijal. The forested hilltops of Phulchowki, Jamachowk and Shivapuri, and the open scrubby bush areas of Nagarkot, Suryavinayak and Chandragiri are good areas for butterfly watching.

Honey Hunting 

Ever since Eric Valli published a book and made a film on Honey Hunting, it has received immense publicity. This is an ancient tradition handed down through generations. Requiring remarkable skills, it is undertaken by experienced villagers who hang from cliffs as tall as 300m with the help of home-made hemp ropes and ladders. The wild bees choose difficult perches high on steep rock faces for their hives. The honey is harvested twice a year, once in April-May and again in October-November. The honey collected in spring has a higher flavor and is favored. This wild honey has medicinal value and fetches a great deal of money in the international market.

 

Nature

Covering an area of 147,181 sq.km, Nepal shares a border with India in the west, south and east and with the Tibetan Autonomous Region of China in the north. Kanchan Kalan in Jhapa district is the lowest point at 70m above sea level and the summit of Mt. Everest at 8,848 m is the highest. From east to west, Nepal is 800 km long and only 230 km. north to south at its widest. Within this narrow stretch of land there is incredible diversity in topography ranging from a sub-tropical climate in the tarai (plains) to Alpine conditions in the Himalayan regions. Mountains, mid hills, valleys, lakes and plains dominate the landscape of this landlocked country. Eight of the fourteen peaks over eight thousand meters lie in Nepal including Everest, the highest in the world.

Nepal also has an abundance of rivers most of which originate in the Himalaya while some flow down from Tibet. They all flow on to India, many of them joining the holy Ganges. High amid the mountains there are glacial lakes and spectacular valleys where few people venture. Recent physiographic data show that around 4.27 million hectares (29 % of total land area) is made up of forests, 1.56 million hectares (10.6%) of scrubland and degraded forest, 1.7 million hectares
(12%) of grassland, 3.0 million hectares (21%) of farmland and 1.0 million hectares (7%) of un-cultivated land.

Climatic conditions within Nepal vary from one place to another in accordance with the geographical features. In the north, summers are cool and winters severe, while in the south summers are sub-tropical and winters mild. The monsoon that brings rain from June through September affects most of the country except those that lie in the rain-shadow areas like Mustang which is within Nepal but a part of the Tibetan plateau. Large tracts of forested land have been preserved as national parks and wildlife reserves where endangered species like the Royal Bengal tiger and the Greater one-horned rhinoceros roam freely along with an amazing variety of mammals and reptiles that include bear, leopards, hyenas, wild boar, wild elephants, monitor lizards, crocodiles, pythons, turtles and various species of insects and birds. Nepal is home to almost 10 percent of the world's bird species among which 500 species are found in the Kathmandu valley alone.

The most abundant natural resource in Nepal is water. Much of the rivers have been harnessed for hydro-power but they also play a crucial role in tourism as most of them are suitable for adventure sports like kayaking and rafting.

The Himalayas are not merely a source of revenue through mountaineering and trekking, they are also mined for quartz, lignite, copper, cobalt and iron ore. The scenic beauty of the countryside attracts hordes of trekkers while there seems to be an ever increasing number of mountaineers attempting to climb the hundreds of peaks that have been opened for climbing.  

 

UNESCO World Heritage Natural Sites 

 

CHITWAN NATIONAL PARK
Nepal's first and most famous national park is situated in the Chitwan Doon or the lowlands of the Inner Terai. Covering an area of 932 sq km. the park includes hilly areas of the Siwalik Range covered by deciduous sal forest. One fifth of the park is made up of the floodplains of the Narayani, Rapti, and the Reu Rivers and is covered by dense tall elephant grass interspersed with riverine forests of silk cotton (kapok), acacia and sisam trees. This ecologically diverse area is the last remaining home in Nepal for more than 300 of the endangered Asian one-horned rhinoceros and harbours one of the largest populations of the elusive and rare Bengal tiger. Besides rhino and tiger, Chitwan also supports a great variety of flora and fauna. There are four species of deer, including the spotted chittal, leopard, sloth bear, wild boar, rhesus monkey, grey langur monkey, wild dog, small wild cats, the white stockinged gaur (the world's largest wild cattle) and many other smaller animals. The swampy areas and numerous oxbow lakes of Chitwan provide a home for marsh crocodiles. In a stretch of the Narayani river is found one of the few remaining populations of the rare and endangered fish-only eating gharial, or Gangetic crocodile. Here also is found one of the world's four species of freshwater dolphins. For the ornithologist and the amateur bird-watcher the park offers excellent possibilities with more than 450 species recorded. Some of the resident specialities are several species of woodpeckers, hornbills, Bengal florican, and red-headed trogons. Winter birds such as waterfowl, Brahminy duck, pintails and bareheaded geese, amongst many other cold weather visitors are drawn by the sanctuary of the park's rivers. In the summer the forest is alive with nesting migrants such as the fabulous paradise flycatcher, the Indian pitta and parakeets. 
 
SAGARMATHA NATIONAL PARK ( Mt. Everest )
Unique among natural heritage sites world-wide is the Sagarmatha National Park, which includes Mt. Everest (8,848 m) and other high peaks such as Lhotse Shar, Cho Oyu, Ama Dablam, Pumori, Kangtega, Gyachung Kang, Thamserku and Kwangde. Located North-east of Kathmandu, Sagarmatha National Park is 1,148 sq km. in area and consists of the upper catchment areas of the Dudh Koshi, Bhote Koshi and the Imja Khola rivers. Much of the park lies above 3,000m. Sagarmatha is rugged, with deep gorges, glaciers and unnegotiable ice and rock faces. Locally known as the 'Khumbu', it is the home of the famous Sherpa people. The Sherpas make a living by farming barley and potatoes and graze their yaks in high altitude pastures. Young Sherpas have also made their name in mountaineering and the trekking industry has of late become the community's economic mainstay. In 1979 the park was declared a World Heritage Site.

Trees such as rhododendron, birch, blue pine, juniper and silver fir are found up to an altitude of 4,000 meters above which they give way to scrub and alpine plants. In late spring and summer, the hillsides around the villages of Namche Bazaar, Khumjung, Thyangboche and Thame are a riot of colours with several species of rhododendon in bloom. Wildlife most likely to be seen in Sagarmatha are the Himalaya tahr, ghoral, musk deer, pikka (mouse hare) weasel and occasionally jackal. Other rarely seen animals are Himalayan black bear, wolf, lynx and snow leopard. Birds commonly seen are Impeyan pheasant, blood pheasant, snow cock, snow pigeon, red billed and yellow billed chough, Himalayan griffin vulture and lammergeier.

Geography

Within a short distance, Nepal’s topography changes from the alluvial Gangetic plains suitable for agriculture to the frozen wastes of the Himalayan mountains. Between the two extremes lie the middle hills and the lesser mountains consisting of the Churia range and the Mahabharat lek as they are known. There are several inner Himalayan valleys with desert conditions such as the upper Kaligandaki and Bheri valleys located at altitudes above 3,600m.

Upper Himalaya
The Upper Himalaya ranges from 4,000m above sea level to 8,848m above sea level. It occupies 15% of the total area of the country and within this region lie eight of the fourteen highest peaks in the world exceeding 8000m. They are: Mount Everest, Kanchenjunga, Lhotse, Makalu, Cho Oyu, Dhaulagiri, Manaslu and Annapurna. The high Himalaya is extremely cold, windy and inhospitable while the region immediately below them are inhabited but the land is far less fertile than the lower Himalayas. Thus, cultivation is minimal in this region. However, it is the mountains that attract the bulk of tourists who arrive in Nepal for trekking and mountaineering.

Middle Hills & Lower Himalaya
The middle hills and Lower Himalaya form the largest part of the country and also has the largest population. Occupying 68% of the country, it enjoys a temperate climate and the land here is far more fertile than in the upper Himalayan region. At the high end, the Mahabharat range reaches an altitude of around 4000m above sea level while the Churia range is lower in comparison. In this region lies the capital, Kathmandu and some of the popular tourist destinations such as Pokhara and Tansen.

Tarai Region
The plains of Nepal are known as the Tarai and they occupy 17% of the land, stretching from the far-west to the far-east covering the entire southern part of the country. The lowest altitude in this region is known to be 70m above sea level. With a sub-tropical climate, the land here is exceedingly fertile and produces the bulk of the food grains for the country’s population. Along this belt lie the Chitwan National Park, Bardia National Park, Shukla Phanta Wildlife Reserve and the Koshi Tappu Wildlife Reserve which harbor an amazing variety of wildlife including endangered species such as the elusive Royal Bengal tiger, the One-horned rhinoceros and Gangetic dolphins along with rare species of birds.

 

Climate

Nepal experiences 4 seasons:

Spring (Mid Feb - April),
Summer (May - Aug),
Autumn (Sep - Nov) and
Winter (Dec – Mid- Feb).

The climate changes rapidly from the sub-tropical Tarai to the cool dry temperate and alpine conditions in the northern Himalayan ranges within a short span of 200 km. In the Tarai, which is the hottest part of the country, summer temperatures rise above 45°C. The climate here is hot and humid. In the middle hills, the summer climate is pleasant with temperatures around 25°C - 27°C.

The winter temperatures range from 7°C to 23°C in the Tarai and sub-zero to 12°C in the mountainous regions, hills and valleys. The northern Himalayan region has an alpine climate with temperatures reaching below -30°C. The valley of Kathmandu has a pleasant climate with an average summer and winter temperatures of 19°C - 27°C and 2°C - 12°C respectively.

Biodiversity

Nepal’s biodiversity is a reflection of its unique geographic position and variations in altitude and climate. The protected areas add up to 28,585.67 sq km (19.42% of total land cover) of land. There are nine national parks, three wildlife reserves, three conservation areas, one hunting reserve and nine buffer zones. Share of Bio-resources is: Amphibians: 1.0%; birds: 9.3%; reptiles: 1.6%; mammals: 4.5%

ANIMALS

Mammals

Nepal has 185 different mammals found in various parts of the country. The Asiatic Elephant was once found in great numbers in the Bardia National Park in western Nepal, but are now fewer. This park falls on a traditional elephant migratory route from the western Tarai to Corbett National Park in India. The Greater one-horned Rhinoceros can be found in the parks along the Tarai. There are very few wild buffalo left near the Koshi Tappu Wildlife Reserve in the eastern Tarai, but recent reports say their numbers are growing.  The Royal Bengal tiger is an elusive animal found in the national parks. The Gangetic dolphins are found in the Narayani and Karnali rivers along with the Royal Bengal and one horned rhino are endangered species. Rarely seen is the leopard and bear. High in the Himalaya are found the even more elusive snow leopard. Other mammals that live in high altitudes are the Yak, blue sheep, tahr and musk deer.  The jungles of the southern tarai have sloth bear, monkeys, langur, chital or spotted deer, barking deer and many other species. In the Sukla Phanta Wildlife Reserve in the south west corner of Nepal there are herds of swamp deer, while the endangered blackbucks are found in the Bardia region. The Nepal Government has made an effort to preserve the blackbuck by declaring an area of 15.95 sq.km. in Bardia as Blackbuck Conservation Area where they are now thriving. Nepal has an amazing variety of mammals such as hyenas, jackals, wild boar, antelope, wild cats, Red panda, otters, wolves and others. Most animals are found in the Chitwan National Park while the Red Panda is encountered in the Langtang National Park and Kanchenjunga Conservation Area. Otters are found in the Rara lake in the Rara National Park. In the Dhorpatan Hunting Reserve are found the blue sheep and tahr.

Reptiles

Nepal has two indigenous species of crocodile: the fish eating gharial with the long narrow snout and the marsh mugger which is omnivorous, eating anything it can catch. A very successful breeding project has brought the gharial back from extinction. Some of the snakes found in Nepal are: cobras, kraits, vipers and the Indian Python. Other reptiles found in the country are turtles and monitor lizards. Some of these reptiles can be seen in the Chitwan National Park and Bardia National Park.

Birds

Nepal has 874 recorded species of birds. Amazingly, half of these birds can be seen in Kathmandu valley alone. However, a keen bird watcher can travel the length and breadth of Nepal doing little else but bird watching. In Nepal, bird watching is possible from the tarai in the south, in the middle hills right up to the Himalayas in the north.

There are four major areas that are rich in bird life within the Kathmandu valley, and one can begin right from the banks of the Bagmati River that flows through this city or the Manohara River that flows down Bhaktapur. Birds sighted along these rivers are: egrets, herons, kingfishers, ibisbill, Wood sandpipers and plovers etc. The Chobar gorge is also a good area for birds as its isolation from human habitation encourages their presence. Phulchowki is a popular site, with a Red-headed Trogan, a very rare bird sighted there in April 2000. Phulchowki is 2,760 m in height and 18km south-east of Kathmandu, and can be reached via Godavari. The hillside is covered with forest featuring outstanding flora as well as a rich variety of birds. About 90 species have been recorded in this area including the endemic Spiny Babbler, which was thought to be extinct until it was spotted in Nepal. Other birds found are: Cutia, Mountain Hawk Eagle, Rufous Bellied pied woodpeckers and the Black-throated parrotbill, to name a few. Migratory water fowl also arrive in the winter, staying in the Tauda lake until spring.

Other birding sites in the valley are the Shivapuri National Park, 12km north of the city, and Nagarjun in the north-west. Shivapuri can be reached two ways, either from Sundarijal or Budhanilkantha. Koshi Barrage together with Koshi Tappu Wildlife Reserve in the eastern Tarai is one of the best habitats for water fowl and waders and harbors an amazing variety of birds. The Koshi has about 26 varieties of ducks alone. Birds can be viewed during walks or by boat, gliding through the waters in the stillness of the early morning and evenings. 485 species have been sighted here, including Black ibis, Honey kites, ospreys, Black headed orioles, Peregrine falcon, partridges, ruddy shelduck, storks, vultures, eagles, etc.

Chitwan is in the lowlands of Nepal, known as the Tarai. Chitwan National Park is one of the best known sites in Nepal for bird-watching. In Pokhara, the forests around the banks of Phewa Lake and Begnas Lake are ideal for bird watching, particularly in the less inhabited areas. In winter, around Phewa Lake you find egrets, herons, pipits, buntings plus gulls, terns, ducks and falcons. Begnas Lake has slopes and wet fields surrounding it, where ducks, pheasant-tailed Jacana, Happie Grey Bellied tesias, and bulbuls are seen.

Bardia National Park is covered with Sal forest and riverine forest and grassland much like Chitwan, but this park has the mighty Karnali river flowing through the park. Boating on the Karnali is a great way to watch herons, cormorants, orials, and many more. The higher regions of Nepal along trek routes are good for birdwatching too.  A rare bird known as Jerdon's Baza was sighted in Nepal.

Over the past few years a conservation group has worked specifically in the Lumbini area to conserve the Sarus Crane. Wetlands have been constructed in the Lumbini area to provide refuge for Sarus Cranes and other wetland birds. In Chitwan, endangered vultures are being protected from contaminated food by establishing what is known as the Vulture Restaurant which feeds them safe carcasses. Nepal’s national bird is the Impeyan Pheasant known as Daphe in Nepali.

Butterflies

Butterflies have been studied in Nepal for over 150 years, with much of the original study and collection done by the British, including one or two British Residents (i.e. British Consuls of the day). After 1950 the Japanese became involved in collection through scientific expeditions, and this resulted later in the establishment by Tribhuvan University of the Natural History Museum at Swayambhu in 1974. Butterfly

The record books state that Nepal has 11 out of the 15 families of butterflies in the world, or over 500 species, and still today in the 21st century new species keep turning up. It is said that you never really know with Nepal's butterflies; they just may turn up unexpectedly . From 1974 to 1981, only a period of seven years, a further 24 specimens or sub-families were added to the records, and in 1981 two alone, the BLUE DUCHESS and the SIKKIM HAIRSTREAK were discovered, with this last one known only from a single specimen from Sikkim, with this one female found in 1981 in Godavari, Kathmandu Valley ; and later in 1986 an entirely new race of the CHINESE HAIRSTREAK turned up. The original collectors were not allowed outside the Kathmandu Valley, so much of their research documented only the valley. Only after 1950 when Nepal opened up to expeditions and limited tourism, did the butterfly collectors venture outside the valley.

Nepal is divided into 5 regions based on altitude, and the seasons are specified as Spring, Pre-monsoon, Summer-monsoon, Post-monsoon, Autumn and Winter. In winter below 3,000 metres.

Within the Kathmandu Valley, the climate which is quite mild with day temperatures reaching 18ºC in mid-winter, there are butterflies all the year round. The best seasons for butterfly watching are late March/April, mid May/ mid June, late August/September. There are forested areas in the valley which are still remarkable places for butterflies, and they include open country near Chobar and there is very little activity except for the very common Oriental Species, with the distribution of butterflies in Nepal being quite specific with about 10% of the butterflies being Palaearctic species above 3,000 metres, and about 90% Oriental species Swyambhu; the base of the hills and forest streams at Godavari, Nagarjun, Budhanilkantha and Sundarijal; the forested hilltops of Phulchowki, Jamachowk and Shivapuri, and the open scrubby bush areas of Nagarkot , Suryavinyak and Chandragiri.

There are about 20 Kathmandu Valley species on the endangered or vulnerable list. Outside the valley in the areas of the National Parks scattered throughout the country, the butterflies too are in profusion, and in undisturbed areas away from settlements are the ideal places to sit and watch.

Flora

Records from 2006 show that Nepal has 6,391 flowering plant species representing 1,590 genera and 231 families whereas in 1997, they recorded 4,259 species representing 1,447 genera and 194 families. Nepal’s share of flowering plant species is 2.76% of the global total compared to earlier records of 2.36%. Nepal’s share of pteriodophytes is 5.15% compared to earlier records of 4.45%.

There are 2,532 species of vascular plants represented by 1,034 genera and 199 families in the protected sites. Some 130 endemic species are found in the protected sites.

For ecology and vegetation purposes Nepal could be divided into four floristic regions i.e. (a) western (b) north-western (c) central, and (d) eastern, and bio-climatically these are broken down into twenty regions from humid tropical climate to the arid, alpine regions. But for the purpose of identifying Nepal’s flora for the special interest tourist, the following shows the zones from the point of view of altitude i.e. Tropical zone (below 1,000 m), Sub-tropical Zone (1,000 to 2,100 m), Temperate Zone (2,100 to 3,100 m), Sub-alpine Zone (3,100 to 4,100 m), the Alpine Zone (4,100 to 4,500 m), and the Alpine Steppe region.

There are 399 endemic flowering plants in Nepal of which about 63% are from the High Mountains, 38% from the Mid Hills, and only 5% from the Tarai and Siwaliks. Similarly, the central region contains 66% of the total endemic species followed by western (32%) and eastern regions (29%).

Fossils

To the geological world, Shaligram is one of the coiled chambered fossil shells of the extinct Cepalopod Mollusks that came into existence as part of the initial emergence of the Himalayan heights from the depths of the Tethys-sea millions of years ago. The Nepali, however, sees the Shaligram from a religious aspect because of its embodiment of Vishnu, one of the major manifestations in the Hindu Trinity. Puranas like Scanda, Padam and Baraha written around 2000 years ago, give an exhaustive account of Shaligram, which are divided into a wide variety of color, shape and size. They can be found in the north of the Nilgiri range right up to Damodar Kunda, and also in the waters of the Kaligandaki river right up to Tribeni in Dolalghat. However, the most popular belt is on the banks of the Kaligandaki river at Jomsom where pilgrims who pass through on their way to Muktinath search for a wide variety of Shaligrams.

Medicinal Plants

Medicinal plants, Ayurveda and the Himalayas are intertwined in a very special manner and Nepal, with a large section lying in the Himalayan region, has special significance. Medicinal plants are used in traditional rural remedies, Ayurvedic medicines, Homoeopathic medicines, and many of them find a place in allopathic medicine as well.

There are thousands of species easily available and most of them are only available in the Himalayan Zone. The demand for these herbs is high and they can be cultivated on a large scale, but care must be taken to preserve these species of medicinal plants.

Some of the important and well-known medicinal plants are: Alpine & sub-alpine medicinal plants: Aconitum Spp., Picrorrhiza scrophularaeflora, Swertia multicaulis, Rheum emodi, Nardostachys jatamansi, Ephedra gerardiana, Cordyceps sinensis, Dactylorhiza hatagirea.

Tropical and sub-tropical medicinal plants: Terminalias, Cassia fistula, Cassia catechu, Aegles marmelos, Rauwolfia serpentina, Phyllanthus emblica, Ricinus recemosus, Acorus clams, Acacia concinnity, Butte monster.

Temperate zone medicinal plants: Valeriana wallichii, Berberis, Datura, Solanum, Rubia, Zanthoxylum armatum, Gaultheria fragrautissima, Dioscorea deltoidea, Curulligo orchoidies.

Some of the regions where medicinal plants are abundantly found are: the Tarai region of Nawalparasi, Chitwan, Bardia, Dhanusha, Mid-hilly Region of Makhwanpur, Syanja, Kaski, Lamgjung, Dolakha, Parvat, Ilam, Ramechhap, Nuwakot, and the Himalayan region of Dolpa, Mugu, Humla, Jumla, Manang, Mustang and Solukhumbu.

Orchids

In ancient Rome, Theophrastus, a student of Plato, was intrigued by the sight of a plant with a pair of roots. Orchis was the name he gave them, the Greek word for testicles. Worldwide, there are some 500 to 600 genera and some 20,000 to 35,000 names, the largest of all plant families, and out of this, Nepal has 57 genera (27 Terrestrials and 30 Epiphytic) with a few Lithophytes. Spread over a large area in different ecological zones, from the foothills of the Himalayas to the plains in the Tarai, orchids are quite widespread in Nepal giving nature lovers and horticultural experts a treat.

Some beautiful terrestrial orchids that flower during July-August have a stem with only two leaves and purple flowers while another orchid from the same genera in west Nepal blooms orange-green flowers during February-March.

Greenish fragrant orchid flowers bloom in March-April around the Godavari area and in Shivapuri and Kakani, orchids with white or pale yellow flowers are seen. During September-October, Sundarijal comes alive with green orchids streaked with purple, and on the way to Daman, pale mauve orchids line the banks of the road in November. All of the areas mentioned above are accessible in a couple of hours or less from Kathmandu. Further away in Dhankuta and Hetauda, there are bright yellow orchid flowers while in Khandbari, purple-brown orchids with pale borders are found.

Nepal is endowed with an incredible variety of orchids scattered across the country. Dedrobium is the largest species, followed by Habenaria and Bulbophyllum. Anthogonium, Hemipilia and Lusia are some of the other varieties amongst the nearly two dozen single species families.

Rhododendron

During spring, between March and May, the hills burst into brightly colored flowers.  These Rhododendron flowers can be seen in all the hilly regions of Nepal above 1,200m.  More specifically, the middle mountains vertical belt between 2000 and 4000m serves as the 'wild' preserve of the Rhododendron, or Gurans as it is known in Nepali.

There are four major areas that are specified for Rhododendron treks -

1.    Milke Danda-Jaljale Himal, a transverse mountain range which separates the two river systems of the Tamur and the Arun

2.    Upper Tamur River Valley

3.    Makalu Barun National Park

4.    The Langtang Valley inside Langtang National Park

Nepal has 30 indigenous species of Rhododendron, and one which is endemic to Nepal and not found elsewhere, is R. lowndesit. It has lemon or creamy yellow flowers, which are short, well-shaped and are solitary or in pairs on the stem. It grows in the drier areas of western Nepal near Muktinath and Phoksundo.

A Rhododendron Trek to the Upper Tamur River begins with a flight to Bhadrapur followed by a drive to Ilam, which is a well-known tea growing region of Nepal. Trekkers can make an interesting side trip to a tea plantation and observe the fascinating process of manufacturing tea. The trek starts on the south-west side of the Kanchenjunga area and the upper valleys of the Tamur River system. Trekkers enjoy grand views of forests resplendent in rhododendron bloom which the region is famous for.

And closer to Kathmandu, Dhunche at 2000 metres is a 5 to 6 hours drive away. Treks to the upper areas of the Langtang Valley begin here. This region boasts of nine species of rhododendron.