Royal Manas National Park
The Royal Manas National Park covers an area of 1057 kilometer square – 653 kms(2) of core zone and 404 Kms(2) of multiple use zone areas – and falls at the tri-junction of three Dzongkhags: Zhemgang, Sarpang and Pemagatshel as well as on the border with India. There are about 2000 households living within the Royal Manas National park, and the total population is 8936 (RMNP, 2017).
The Royal Manas National Park, which is in Zhemgang Dzongkhag, falls under two gewogs, Gomphu and Trong. The main entrance to the park in Zhemgang is about 20 minutes’ drive south of Panbang town. A check post marks the entrance to the park, and for approximately 30 minutes, the road then leads through the park towards the Manas River. The main part of the park is located on the other side of the river and is accessible by boats.
RMNP is the fourth largest park in Bhutan covering an area of 1057 km2.
The park has 558 species of flora and many different species of fauna living within the protected area. Until 2015, the park recorded 65 mammals’ species, 486 birds’ species, 69 fishes’ species and 181 butterflies’ species. Among the mammals, the park is home to several endangered animals such as Royal Bengal tigers, Golden langurs, Clouded leopards, Asian elephants and others (RMNP, 2017). In addition to the park being a home to 4 elephants (1 female and 3 males), the sanctuary has the largest tiger populations within Bhutan with 22-recorded tigers in 2016.
