Betla National Park, located in Palamu district of Jharkhand, covers an area of 1026 kms. It was developed as a Tiger Reserve under Project Tiger in 1974. The park covers the western part of Chota Nagpur plateau. As far as its establishment is concerned, it was an extension of the Hazaribagh National Park in the year 1960. The park is blessed with rich flora and fauna. Largely it includes animals like Royal Bengal Tiger, elephant, gaur, cheetal, sloth bear, mouse deer, pangolin, four horned antelope, samber, civet and wolf. It also included Mahuadar wolf sanctuary which added 63 kms to the national park.
Betla National Park consists of long stretch of tropical rain forest with grasslands. The mountain peaks and cliffs in the park prove good trekking ground as well. The national park is also surrounded by Lodh Falls which is 468 ft high. The flora of Betla National Park includes tropical wet evergreen forests in the lower regions, mixes deciduous forests in the middle part of the national park and temperate alpine forests in the upper regions which include trees like Sal and Bamboo. Its topography is also blessed with a number of waterfalls and hot springs.
Along with dense forests the area is also surrounded by the historical sight of Chero King`s fort which was built in 16th century deep inside the dense forest. The outer wall of the fort is visible at the top of the hill with three gates and three strategic corners that was built to provide security to the fort.
The Betla Mational Park is a haven for elephants, panthers, leopard, wild boar, Royal Bengal Tiger, gaur, sloth bear, sambar, chital, nilgai, langur, mouse deer, monkeys, small Indian civet, mongoose, jackals, porcupine, ant eating pangolin etc. Among the birds peafowl, red jungle fowl, black partridges, Great hornbill, white necked stork, swamp grey, quails, black ibis, the pied born bill, wagtails, the harial, doves, drongo, the crested serpent-eagle, forest owls and the papiha are commonly found in this area.
Besides being reputed for being a major Tiger Reserve area, this Indian national park is also popular with the tourists.
