Location of Dudhwa National Park: - Situated near the foot hills of Himalayas this area is called the Terai, Nepal borders the Dudhwa national park, The park has Himalayan rivers Mohana and Suheli flowing on the northern and southern periphery.
By Road: - The Dudhwa National Park is located around 238 km from the Uttar Pradesh capital Lucknow. Delhi the national capital is 410 kms, you can reach Dudhwa national park from Delhi driving through Pilibhit and palia the small towns of Uttar Pradesh, Lucknow also has good connectivity through Lakhimpur-Palia- Dudhwa.Lakhimpur is just 90 kms from Dudhwa and has good bus connectivity with the Dudhwa national park.
By Train- Though not very good direct rail connection exits for Dudhwa but small rail stations like palia, Dudhwa exist, Dudhwa is just 4 kms, palia is 10 kms from the national park.Train number 05009 Lucknow-Mailani junction starts from lucknow every day at 7:25 Am it reaches Mailani junction at 11:25 Am , The Mailani junction is just 37 kms from Dudhwa park from here you can ride bus to reach the national park.
By Air- Lucknow airport (Chaudhary Charan Singh International Airport) is the nearest domestic and international airport from Lucknow you can drive to the national park by road.Or you can take the train to Mailani junction.
History and Features of Dudhwa National Park: - Dudhwa lies in the Lakhimpur Kheri district of UP, this is the terai area characterized by the rich alluvial soil, this rich soil comes down the Himalayan mountains flowing with the rivers. The park is situated on an area of around 490 square kilometer, two more national sanctuaries Kishanpur and Katarnia Ghat lie adjacent to the Dudhwa national park. The park has a rich bio diversity led by the population of Royal Bengal tigers which today count 58 in number. In year 1979 the park was declared a tiger reserve, in 1958 this terai regions was declared a wild life sanctuary later in 1977 the title of national park was conferred on the wildlife sanctuary. These three sanctuaries Dudhwa, Kishanpur and katarnia ghat form the tiger reserve.
Climate of Dudhwa National Park: - This area has a very hot and humid summers and a cold and dry winter season. The temperature rises to a high of 40 degree Celsius, in the hot summer months the high humidity because of numerous water bodies make the life difficult. The winters are long and foggy do remember to carry good woolen during the winters as temperature can drop to subzero in this terai area, The fog is quite rampant specially in the December end and January month. The monsoon brings hordes of rains and the small rivers and rivulets flow to the brim during the monsoon months, no tourists are allowed in the park during the monsoon months.
Fauna and flora at Dudhwa National Park: - These are finest forest of the sal, this area sure falls in the Gangetic plains very rich in texture producing a very dense vegetative growth apart from sal the other trees are shisham, Jamun, neem , semal etc.This area is also known for its grasslands, being rich in water there are plenty of lakes and the marshy area. The national park has numerous endangered animals with the most popular being the panther tigris (Bengal tigers) and the Barah singha –this name comes from the characteristic 12 antlers they carry. Herds of Barahsingha an endangered variety of antelope can be seen grazing in the Dudhwa national park presenting a charismatic scene. There are numerous other varieties of deer like chital (spotted dear), swamp deer, hog deer, spotted deer, other carnivores include Indian leopard, jackals, hyena, sloth bear, fishing cat etc. The park has a rich avian panorama comprising of around 350 bird species there are storks, pelicans, eagles, wood peckers, Kingfishers, painted storks, etc . The avid ornithologist sure enjoy a visit to the Dudhwa national park. The sonalipura zone also has a good rhinoceros population. These were shifted to this park from Assam.
Safari At Dudhwa: - Both elephant safari and jeep safari in 4x4 vehicles are conducted at Dudhwa national park, the jeep safari are conducted under the guidance of able and knowledgeable naturalist, each jeep can seat 6 people. There are security personnel escorting the jeep safari. Elephant Safari at Dudhwa is a unique experience where you ride the elephants on a jungle trail the high position enables you to sight the wild creatures from a distance. The safari are conducted in morning and evening shift the chances of sighting a tiger are more in the afternoon safari as majority hunts are conducted by the tigers in the afternoon, the animal comes out of their habitat in the afternoon. You can book the Safari online from the website of UP eco tourism ,Offline booking of safari is possible from the park itself the department maintains an office from where you can hire the jeeps for the jungle safari. The tentative rates are around 3000 INR per jeep which can seat 06 people these charges include the service of a trained naturalist another 100 per person is to be paid for entering the forest area. Not many tourist come to visit Dudhwa so easily you can book the Jeep safari both online or offline.
Hotels and Resorts at Dudhwa National Park: - There are plenty of lodging options available at Dudhwa ranging from 700 INR to 1500 INR .
