The Dudhwa National Park located in this Uttar Pradesh district closed for tourists on Thursday, marking the end of this year’s tourist season, officials said. Dudhwa National Park (DNP) deputy director Rengaraju Tamilselvan told media that around 28,000 tourists visited the national park this year to enjoy the wild habitat in its natural form.
This season, frequent sightings of tigers, wild beer, elephants besides other wild species added to the excitement and thrill of the tourists, he added.
“A healthy footfall of tourists from both India and abroad was witnessed at Dudhwa and Kishanpur this year, despite a hike in the tariffs and entry fees and weekly closure of the park on Tuesdays,” Tamilselvan said.
He added that the gates of the Dudhwa base camp were locked on Thursday after the morning visit by tourists, marking the closure of the park this tourist season.
With sustainability being a top priority during India’s G20 Presidency, promoting responsible and sustainable adventure tourism is imperative. In this context, it becomes important for both the business operators and consumers to focus on responsible growth of the sector through “Promote Responsibly, Operate Responsibly: Buy Responsibly, Travel Responsibly”. Instead of focusing on mass tourism, adventure tourism strives for quality experiences with minimal ecological impact.
The Dudhwa National Park (DNP), along with the Kishanpur wildlife sanctuary, is opened for tourists on November 15 every year and closed on June 15 the next year before the onset of monsoon, when all the jungle routes get flooded. Located on the India-Nepal border, the Dudhwa National Park attracts tourists, wildlife enthusiasts and researchers every year with its untouched natural habitat, rich grasslands and wetlands and a vast population of wildlife species.
Home to around 106 royal Bengal tigers, 92 leopards, over 200 wild tuskers, 44 one-horned rhinos, 400 species of birds, five species of deer, various reptiles, medicinal plants and vegetation, Dudhwa Tiger Reserve has a mesmerising appeal for those who love to watch wildlife in its natural surroundings.
