Valmiki Wildlife Sanctuary

Valmiki Wildlife Sanctuary, located in West Champaran district of Bihar, India, is part of the larger Valmiki Tiger Reserve and is the only national park and tiger reserve in Bihar. Covering an area of about 880 square kilometers for the sanctuary and around 335 square kilometers for the national park, it sits in the foothills of the Himalayas.

The sanctuary lies in the Gangetic plains bio-geographic zone and features a diverse landscape including hills, ridges, gorges, dense forests, open woodlands, grasslands, swamps, and riverine areas. The terrain combines the Bhabar and Terai tracts, characterized by boulder deposits and finer sediment soil respectively, with criss-crossing rivers such as the Gandak, which forms the western boundary.

This rich natural habitat supports a variety of flora like Sal, Teak, and Bamboo, and a wide range of fauna including Bengal tigers, leopards, elephants, deer, and over 240 species of birds. The sanctuary forms a crucial part of a larger trans-boundary conservation landscape connected with Nepal's Chitwan National Park and Parsa Wildlife Reserve.

It also faces ecological challenges due to proximity to many villages, requiring ongoing conservation efforts. Valmiki Wildlife Sanctuary offers opportunities for wildlife observation, eco-tourism, and supports local biodiversity within this unique Himalayan foothills environment. It is named after the sage Valmiki from Hindu mythology and was declared a sanctuary in 1978 and part of the national park and tiger reserve system in 1990, serving as a protected refuge for endangered species including the Bengal tiger.