The protected areas of Nepal cover mainly forested land and are located at various altitudes in the

Terai The Terai or Tarai is a lowland region in parts of southern Nepal and northern India that lies to the south of the outer foothills of the Himalayas, the Sivalik Hills and north of the Indo-Gangetic Plain. This lowland belt is characterised by ...

, in the foothills of the

Himalayas The Himalayas, or Himalaya ( ), is a mountain range in Asia, separating the plains of the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau. The range has some of the Earth's highest peaks, including the highest, Mount Everest. More than list of h ...

and in the mountains, thus encompassing a multitude of landscapes and preserving a vast

biodiversity Biodiversity is the variability of life, life on Earth. It can be measured on various levels. There is for example genetic variability, species diversity, ecosystem diversity and Phylogenetics, phylogenetic diversity. Diversity is not distribut ...

in the

Palearctic The Palearctic or Palaearctic is a biogeographic realm of the Earth, the largest of eight. Confined almost entirely to the Eastern Hemisphere, it stretches across Europe and Asia, north of the foothills of the Himalayas, and North Africa. Th ...

and

Indomalayan realm The Indomalayan realm is one of the eight biogeographic realms. It extends across most of South and Southeast Asia and into the southern parts of East Asia. Also called the Oriental realm by biogeographers, Indomalaya spreads all over the Ind ...

s. Nepal covers in the central part of the Himalayas. Altitudes range from in the south-eastern Terai to at

Mount Everest Mount Everest (), known locally as Sagarmatha in Nepal and Qomolangma in Tibet, is Earth's highest mountain above sea level. It lies in the Mahalangur Himal sub-range of the Himalayas and marks part of the China–Nepal border at it ...

within a short horizontal span. This extreme altitudinal gradient has resulted in 11 bio-climatic zones ranging from lower

tropical The tropics are the regions of Earth surrounding the equator, where the sun may shine directly overhead. This contrasts with the temperate or polar regions of Earth, where the Sun can never be directly overhead. This is because of Earth's ax ...

below to nival above in the High Himalayas, encompassing nine

terrestrial ecoregions An ecoregion (ecological region) is an ecology, ecological and Geography, geographic area that exists on multiple different levels, defined by type, quality, and quantity of environmental resources. Ecoregions cover relatively large areas of la ...

with 36

vegetation Vegetation is an assemblage of plants and the ground cover they provide. It is a general term, without specific reference to particular Taxon, taxa, life forms, structure, Spatial ecology, spatial extent, or any other specific Botany, botanic ...

types. Additionally, nine

Ramsar site A Ramsar site is a wetland site designated to be of international importance under the Ramsar Convention,8 ha (O) *** Permanent 8 ha (P) *** Seasonal Intermittent < 8 ha(Ts) **

Chitwan National Park Chitwan National Park is the first national park of Nepal. It was established in 1973 as the Royal Chitwan National Park and was granted the status of a World Heritage Site in 1984. It covers an area of in the Terai of south-central Nepal. It ra ...

– * Sagarmatha National Park – * Langtang National Park – * Rara National Park – * Khaptad National Park – * Shey Phoksundo National Park – * Bardiya National Park – * Makalu Barun National Park – *

Shivapuri Nagarjun National Park Shivapuri Nagarjun National Park is the ninth national park in Nepal and was established in 2002. It is located in the country's mid-hills on the northern fringe of the Kathmandu Valley and named after Shivapuri Peak at altitude. It covers an ar ...

– * Banke National Park – * Shuklaphanta National Park – * Parsa National Park –

Wildlife reserves

* Koshi Tappu Wildlife Reserve –

Conservation areas

Annapurna Conservation Area Annapurna Conservation Area is Nepal's largest protected area covering in the Annapurna range of the Himalayas. It ranges in elevation from to the peak of Annapurna I at . The conservation area stretches across Manang District, Nepal, Manang, Mu ...

– * Kanchenjunga Conservation Area – * Manaslu Conservation Area – * Blackbuck Conservation Area – * Api Nampa Conservation Area – * Gaurishankar Conservation Area –

Hunting Reserve

Dhorpatan Hunting Reserve Dhorpatan Hunting Reserve is the only hunting reserve in Nepal. Established in 1987 it covers an area of in the Dhaulagiri Himal of western Nepal in the Eastern Rukum, Myagdi and Baglung Districts. In elevation, it ranges from . Flora and fa ...

–

Ramsar Sites

The following Ramsar sites were declared between 1988 and 2008: * Bishazari Tal – * Ghodaghodi Tal – * Gokyo Lake Complex – * Gosaikunda – * Jagdishpur Reservoir – * Kosi Tappu Wildlife Reserve – * Mai Pokhari – * Phoksundo Lake – * Rara Lake – * Lake Cluster of Pokhara Valley –

References

External links

Department of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation, Nepal
{{DEFAULTSORT:Protected Areas Of Nepal Nepal geography-related lists

Nepal Nepal, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mainly situated in the Himalayas, but also includes parts of the Indo-Gangetic Plain. It borders the Tibet Autonomous Region of China Ch ...

Protected areas Protected areas or conservation areas are locations which receive protection because of their recognized natural or cultural values. Protected areas are those areas in which human presence or the exploitation of natural resources (e.g. firewoo ...

Cultural heritage of Nepal