Banke National Park

Banke National Park protects 550 square kilometres of the western Terai and Churia foothills, gazetted in 2010 and declared a 'Gift to the Earth' for its role in tiger conservation. It shares its western boundary with Bardia National Park, and together with India's Suhelwa Wildlife Sanctuary across the border the three areas form a single contiguous tiger landscape — the Banke-Bardia complex.

The park is largely sal forest, interspersed with grassland, riverine woodland and the dry Churia ridges. It was created specifically to give Nepal's recovering Bengal tiger population room to expand, and it now supports tigers along with leopard, sloth bear, wild elephant, four-horned antelope and more than 300 bird species. The Rapti and Babai rivers form natural corridors through the landscape.

Because it is one of Nepal's newest parks, tourism infrastructure is minimal — there are no large lodges and few marked routes, and most visitors experience Banke as an extension of a Bardia safari rather than a destination in itself.

The park is reached from Nepalgunj, the regional hub, via the East–West Highway which runs along its southern edge. The dry season from October to April, when wildlife concentrates near water, is the best time to visit.