List of protected areas of Nepal

The protected areas of Nepal cover mainly forested land and are located at various altitudes in the Terai, in the foothills of the Himalayas and in the mountains, thus encompassing a multitude of landscapes and preserving a vast biodiversity in the Palearctic and Indomalayan realms. Nepal covers 147,181 km² (56,827 sq mi) in the central part of the Himalayas. Altitudes range from 67 m (220 ft) in the south-eastern Terai to 8,848 m (29,029 ft) at Mount Everest within a short horizontal span. This extreme altitudinal gradient has resulted in 11 bio-climatic zones ranging from lower tropical below 500 m (1,600 ft) to nival above 5,000 m (16,000 ft) in the High Himalayas, encompassing nine terrestrial ecoregions with 36 vegetation types.^{[1][2][3][4][5][6]}

Additionally, nine Ramsar sites were declared between 1988 and 2008.^[7] Two wildlife reserves were declared as national parks in 2017.^[8]

Classification

Further information: IUCN protected area categories

Nepal has the following kinds of protected areas, in the sense of the word designated by IUCN:

• Botanical Gardens
• Conservation areas
• National parks
• Wildlife Reserve
• Hunting Reserve
• Ramsar Sites

Botanical gardens

• National Botanical Garden, Godawari, Lalitpur
• Maipokhari Botanical Garden, Ilam
• Dhanushadham Botanical Garden, Dhanusha
• Mountain Botanical Garden, Daman, Makwanpur
• World Peace Biodiversity Garden, Pokhara
• Brindaban Botanical Garden, Makawanpur
• Dhakeri Botanical Garden, Banke
• Mulpani Botanical Garden, Salyan
• Dhitachaur Botanical Garden, Jumla
• Dewahariya Botanical Garden, Kailali
• National Herbarium and Plant Laboratories:

Conservation areas

• Annapurna Conservation Area – 7,629 km² (2,946 sq mi)
• Kanchenjunga Conservation Area – 2,035 km² (786 sq mi)
• Manaslu Conservation Area – 1,663 km² (642 sq mi)
• Blackbuck Conservation Area – 15.95 km² (6.16 sq mi)
• Api Nampa Conservation Area – 1,903 km² (735 sq mi)
• Gaurishankar Conservation Area – 2,179 km² (841 sq mi)

National parks

Name	Image	Districts	Province	Area (square mile)	Declaration	IUCN Category
Chitwan National Park		Chitwan	Bagmati	952.63 km2 (367.81 sq mi)	1973
Sagarmatha National Park		Solukhumbu	Koshi	1,148 km2 (443 sq mi)	19 July 1976
Langtang National Park		Nuwakot, Rasuwa, Sindhupalchowk	Bagmati	1,710 km2 (660 sq mi)	1976
Rara National Park		Mugu, Jumla	Karnali	106 km2 (41 sq mi)	1976
Khaptad National Park		Bajhang, Bajura, Achham, Doti	Sudurpaschim	225 km2 (87 sq mi)	1984
Shey Phoksundo National Park		Dolpa, Mugu	Karnali	3,555 km2 (1,373 sq mi)	1984
Bardiya National Park		Bardiya	Lumbini	968 km2 (374 sq mi)	1988
Makalu Barun National Park		Solukhumbu, Sankhuwasabha	Koshi	1,500 km2 (580 sq mi)	1992
Shivapuri Nagarjun National Park		Kathmandu. Nuwakot, Sindhupalchowk	Bagmati	159 km2 (61 sq mi)	2002
Banke National Park		Banke, Salyan, Dang	Lumbini	550 km2 (210 sq mi)	12 July 2010
Shuklaphanta National Park		Kanchanpur	Sudurpaschim	305 km2 (118 sq mi)	1976 as Wildlife Reserve; 2017 as National Park
Parsa National Park		Bara, Makwanpur, Parsa	Madhesh	637 km2 (246 sq mi)	1984 as Wildlife Reserve, 2017 as National Park
Chhayanath National Park		Mugu	Karnali	906 km2 (350 sq mi)	4 September 2025[9]

Wildlife reserves

• Koshi Tappu Wildlife Reserve – 175 km² (68 sq mi)

Hunting Reserve

• Dhorpatan Hunting Reserve – 1,325 km² (512 sq mi)

Ramsar Sites

The following Ramsar sites were declared between 1988 and 2008:^[7]

• Bishazari Tal – 3,200 ha (12 sq mi)
• Ghodaghodi Tal – 2,563 ha (9.90 sq mi)
• Gokyo Lake Complex – 7,770 ha (30.0 sq mi)
• Gosaikunda – 13.8 ha (34 acres)
• Jagdishpur Reservoir – 225 ha (0.87 sq mi)
• Kosi Tappu Wildlife Reserve – 17,500 ha (68 sq mi)
• Mai Pokhari – 90 ha (220 acres)
• Phoksundo Lake – 494 ha (1.91 sq mi)
• Rara Lake – 1,583 ha (6.11 sq mi)
• Lake Cluster of Pokhara Valley – 261.1 km² (100.8 sq mi)^[10]