Established in 1996 on the edge of the Dehradun valley is Rajaji National Park, covering an area of approx 820sq.kms. The wildlife here includes elephant, tiger, panther, bear, chital, sambar, wild boar, kakar, python, monitor lizard and a large variety of avian fauna. You find many opportunities of viewing these animals in their natural habitat here.

Rajaji National Park is a national park that encompasses the Shivaliks, near the feet of the Himalayas. Three districts of Uttaranchal: Hardiwar, Dehradun and Pauri Garwhal make up this sprawling park land which been three different protected areas before being merged into one. Those three areas had been the Chilla, Motichur and Rajaji sanctuaries. Inhabiting the dense green jungles that form the park are an impressive array of creatures - 23 species of mammals - including tigers, leopards, elephants, deer, jungle cat, wild boar and sloth bear - and 315 species of birds are found in Rajaji. The most prominent avian species include pea fowl, woodpeckers, pheasants, kingfishers and barbets, supplemented by a number of migratory species during the winter months. Besides that, the rivers which flow through the park harbour fish such as trout and mahseer.

Flora
The forest in the park is deciduous, with Sal (Shorea Robusta) as the principal constituent. Due to abundant rainfall, favourable conditions are created for diverse forest types like (1) Moist Shiwalik Sal, (2) Moist Bhabar Dun Sal, (3) Western Gangetic Moist Mixed Deciduous, (4) Low Alluvial Sevannah Woodland, (5) Dry Shiwalik Sal, (6) Northern Dry Mixed Deciduous, (7) Khair Sissoo Forest, and (8) Lower Shiwalik Chir Pineforest. The main species of plants include the Sal (Shorea Robusta), Baki (Anogeissue latifolia), Sain (Terminalia Tomentosa), Haldu (Adina Cordifolia), Bachera (Terminalia Ballerica), Jhingan (Lannea Coromandelica), Kharpat (Garuga Pinnata), Phauri (Lagerstromia Parviflora), Bula (Kydia Calycina), Badal (Stereospermum chelonoides) etc. The under-wood is light and often absent, consisting of Rohini (Liollotus philippinensis), Amaltas (Cassia Fistula), Sandan (Ougeinia Oojeinensis), Pipal (Bauhienia Lazan), Mahal (Pyrus Pashla), Chamaror, (Ehretia Laevis), Aonia (Emblica Officinalis), Kachnar (Bauhienia Variegata), Ber (Ziziphus Mauritiana), Chilla (Casearia tomentosa), Bel (Aegle Marmelos), etc.

Fauna
The Rajaji National Park is rich in faunal wealth because of the varied types of ecological niches existing in the reserve. The main groups found are mammals, birds, reptiles (snakes and lizards), amphibians, butterflies and fishes. The invertebrate groups are, the Scorpions, Centipedes, Odonata (dragon and damselflies), Hymenoptera (Wasps, Bees, etc.) Isoptera (termites) and Lepidoptera, which comprises more than 60 species. India's National Bird Peacock is found here in abundance. Several important herbivores like Asian Elephants, Spotted Deer, Sambhar, Barking Deer, Blue Bull (Neel Gai), Hog Deer, Wild Boar, Rhesus Monkey and common Langur occur in the park. Among the important carnivores are Tiger and Leopard, the smaller carnivores as predators are Leopard Cat, Jungle Cat, Civet Cat and Yellow Throated Martin.

How to reach

• Air : Nearest airport is jolly Grant, Dehradun, 33kms.
  Rail : Nearest railhead is at Haridwar ( 8kms.) and Dehradun (24kms.).
  Road : The National Park is 220 kms. from Delhi & from Lucknow it is at a distance of 510kms.