Royal Manas National Park is Bhutan's oldest national park. The Royal government calls it the "conservation showpiece of the Kingdom" and a "storehouse of important plant species." It covers an area of 1,057 square kilometers (408 square miles) and includes parts of eastern Sarpang District, the western half of Zhemgang District, and western Pemagatshel District.
The park is connected through "biological corridors" to Phibsoo Wildlife Sanctuary, Jigme Singye Wangchuck National Park, Phrumsengla National Park, and Jomotsangkha Wildlife Sanctuary. It also borders the World Heritage Site Manas National Park in Assam, India, to the south. Royal Manas is listed as a tentative site in Bhutan's list for possible UNESCO inclusion.
Public entry to the park is not allowed.
History
Royal Manas was one of the first areas the Bhutan Trust Fund focused on in the early 1990s. It received help with building infrastructure and had basic studies done on the environment and people's lives. The first park management plan for Royal Manas was created, and it helped in managing other parks.
Natural history
Royal Manas National Park has habitats that range from lowland tropical forests to areas with permanent ice. The park includes ecoregions such as the Eastern Himalayan broadleaf forests and Himalayan subtropical pine forests.
Royal Manas is a source of several plant species used in food, trade, medicine, and religious ceremonies. Approximately 5,000 people live in remote and isolated villages located within the park.
The park is home to Bengal tigers, elephants, gaur (Bos gaurus), as well as rarer species such as the golden langur (Presbytis geei), pygmy hog (Sus salvanius), hispid hare (Caprolagus hispidus), and Ganges river dolphin (Platanista). It is also the only Bhutanese park where the one-horned rhinoceros (Rhinoceros unicornis) and wild water buffalo (Bubalus arnee) live. Hundreds of bird species, including four types of hornbills—rufous-necked, wreathed, pied, and great Indian—also live in the park.
The Manas River and its tributaries are home to three types of rare migratory game fish called mahseer: the deep-bodied mahseer (Tor tor), golden mahseer (Tor putitora), and chocolate mahseer or Katle (Acrossocheilus hexangonolepis).