Rajaji National Park
Spread over an area of 820 sq. Kms, Rajaji National Park
is situated along the hills and foothills of Shiwalik ranges in the Himalayan
foothills and represent the Shiwalik eco-system. Combining three sanctuaries,
namely Chilla, Motichur and Rajaji - Rajaji National Park is spread over the
Pauri Garwal, Dehradun and Saharanpur districts of Uttaranchal. The Motichur
and Rajaji sanctuaries are contiguous, and are separated from the Chilla Sanctuary
to the south-east by the Ganges River and the Chilla River.
Motichur and Rajaji wildlife sanctuaries lie to the north and south of the Siwalik
Ridge and are dissected by many ravines carrying water which descend from the
main ridge, becoming broad pebble/boulder filled streams in the plains. These
streams remain dry for most of the year but become raging torrents during the
monsoon. The area is covered with diverse forest types ranging from semi-evergreen
to deciduous and from mixed broad-leaved to terai grassland and has been classified
as Indus-Ganges Monsoon Forest type. Lofty strands of sal dominate in many parts.

Rajaji
is home to avian species which are found in forested foothills and in open grassland.
It's location in a transition zone between temperate western Himalaya and central
Himalaya enhances the species diversity and consequently the viewing prospects.
Rajaji's checklist has 324 species and includes good birds like Greater Scaup,
White-naped Woodpecker, Great Hornbill, Black-bellied Tern, Pallas's Fish Eagle,
Northern Goshawk, Black-necked Stork, Yellow-billed Blue Magpie, Scaly Thrush,
Snowy-browed Flycatcher, Rusty-flanked Treecreeper, Pale-footed Bush Warbler,
Tytler's Leaf Warbler, Green Avadavat and Reed Bunting.
Birding in Rajaji can be: i) around the various forest rest houses, ii)
on the 26 Km forest drive at Chilla across grassland and mixed forests, iii)
along the Phanduwala - Kansrao - Motichur trail. This 40 km trail goes through
undisturbed stretches of dense forest. The Suswa river runs parallel to these
three connecting forest ranges and marks the northern boundary of the park.
A jungle road connects these ranges from Asarori to Motichur via Phanduwala
and Kansrao. Approaches to this route can be from the Asarori gate opposite
Karvapani gate on the SH-DD highway from where Phanduwala is about 10 km.
An alternative route is from Ramgarh gate near Clemet Town. This road goes
through the Mathurawala swamps along Suswa river to reach Phanduwala.
Rajaji National Park Reservation Form