Nature in Nepal

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Chitwan National Park was the main site for seeing wildlife during my visit to Nepal. Chitwan National Park is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The highlight there were the Indian Rhinoceros (Rhinoceros unicornis, german: Panzernashorn, french: Rhinocéros indien). I saw them twice while walking into the park. Our guide kept us at a good distance, since rhinos are very aggressive and regularly kill people that get too close. I saw a few birds and butterflies in other parts of Nepal.

The other highlight in Nepal is seeing the Himalaya peaks. I saw the peaks of the Annapurna Range from Pokhara, the Langtang Range from Kathmandu and Nagarkot, and the Mount Everest area on the flight from Kathmandu, Nepal to Paro, Bhutan. Seeing the snow-capped high peaks was really spectacular. On the ground I never got to a very high altitude (only about 2,200 m (7,220 ft), in Nagarkot), nothing like the 5,200 m (17,060 ft) that I reached in Tibet.

Pictures of birds in Nepal and other nature pages are separate:

Bird Page for Nepal

Other Nature Pages

All pictures are © Dr. Günther Eichhorn, unless otherwise noted.

I have tried to identify the species with their binomial name. Some of them I have not been able to identify. If you can identify any of those, please let me know (email link at the bottom).

Fauna and Flora

Clouds glowing in the evening sun. (512k)

Sunset at Chitwan. (466k)

Morning mist over a small pond. (756k)

Scenic mountain valley between Kathmandu and Chitwan. (1192k)

Cloud bank in a mountain valley. (808k)

Water lily. (749k)

Morning dew on a spider web. (1270k)

Morning dew on a spider web. (973k)

Morning dew. (831k)

Large snail. (507k)

Termite mound. (833k)

Digger Wasp (Sphex argentatus) visiting a flower. (708k)

Small Skipper (Hesperiidae gen., german: Dickkopffalter, french: Hespéridés). (606k)

Large moth (Spirama sp.). (511k)

Blue Admiral butterfly (Kaniska canace, german: Blauer Admiral). (875k)

Indian Tortoiseshell (Aglais caschmirensis)

Indian Tortoiseshell butterfly (Aglais caschmirensis). (795k)

Common Grass Yellow butterfly (Eurema hecabe). (533k)

Great Eggfly butterfly (Hypolimnas bolina, german: Gewöhnliche Eierfliege). (604k)

Great Eggfly butterfly (Hypolimnas bolina, german: Gewöhnliche Eierfliege). (625k)

Two butterflies in flight, one behind the other. They are Common Mormon Swallowtails (Papilio polytes, french: Mormon commun). (626k)

Grey Pansy butterfly (Junonia atlites), older butterfly, its wings are already deteriorating. (537k)

Grasshopper (Hexacentrus sp.). (354k)

Macrocheraia grandis (Macrocheraia grandis)

Bug (Macrocheraia grandis). They were everywhere in that area. (467k)

Jorō Spider (Trichonephila clavata, german: Nephila clavata). (587k)

Stream Glory (Neurobasis chinensis). (502k)

Green Marsh Hawk (Orthetrum sabina, german: Schlanker Blaupfeil, french: Orthétrum en alêne). (731k)

Scarlet Skimmer (Crocothemis servilia). (603k)

Asian Common Toad (Duttaphrynus melanostictus, german: Schwarznarbenkröte, french: Crapaud masqué). (744k)

Common House Gecko (Hemidactylus frenatus, german: Asiatischer Hausgecko, french: Gecko asiatique). (409k)

Rhesus Macaque (Macaca mulatta, german: Rhesusaffe, french: Macaque rhésus) with baby. (609k)

Mugger Crocodile (Crocodylus palustris, german: Sumpfkrokodil, french: Crocodile des marais). (1055k)

Indian Muntjac ssp. aureus (Muntiacus muntjak aureus, german: Indischer Muntjak, french: Cerf aboyeur). (956k)

Chital (Spotted Deer) (Axis axis, german: Axishirsch, french: Cerf axis). (822k)

Tiger kill. (1159k)

Sri Lankan Sambar Deer (Rusa unicolor unicolor, german: Sambar, french: Sambar). (1128k)

Sri Lankan Sambar Deer (Rusa unicolor unicolor, german: Sambar, french: Sambar). (814k)

Elephant tracking an Indian Rhinoceros (Rhinoceros unicornis, german: Panzernashorn, french: Rhinocéros indien). (978k)

Two Indian Rhinoceroses (Rhinoceros unicornis, german: Panzernashorn, french: Rhinocéros indien). (705k)

Two Indian Rhinos. (828k)

Indian Rhino. You can see the characteristic skin folds that look like armor plating. (739k)

Asian Elephant (Elephas maximus, german: Asiatischer Elefant, french: Éléphant d'Asie) on his way home in the evening. (931k)

Asian Elephant with large tusks. (894k)

Asian Elephant with large tusks. (826k)

Asian Elephant with baby. (705k)

Elephant baby. (870k)

Feeding elephant. (742k)

Close-up of feeding elephant. (664k)

Old female elephant, retired from working duty. (1114k)

Excursion on elephants. (1030k)

On an elephant in the Chitwan National Park. (1136k)

On an elephant in the Chitwan National Park. (1041k)

Mahout. (953k)

Scrubbing his elephant at the end of the day. (746k)

Having fun during bathing time. (852k)

Annapurna Range

View from Sarangkot before sunrise. (406k)

The first rays of the rising sun hit some of the high peaks in the Annapurna Range (left Annapurna IV, 7,525 m (24,688 ft), right Annapurna II, 7,939 m (26,047 ft)). (474k)

The first rays of the rising sun hit some of the high peaks in the Annapurna Range (left Annapurna South, 7,219 m (23,684 ft), right Machhapuchhre, 6,993 m (22,943 ft)). (477k)