Visitor numbers at Nepal’s Bardiya National Park fell slightly in the last fiscal year, with officials attributing the decline to domestic unrest and the impact of West Asia tension on international travel.

The park welcomed 27,025 visitors in the 2025-26 fiscal year, down from 28,068 a year earlier.

Of the total, 18,907 were Nepali visitors, 6,901 were foreign tourists other than SAARC, and 1,217 came from SAARC member countries, according to park authorities. Entrance fees generated Rs32.6 million in revenue during the fiscal year.

Mahesh Neupane, the park’s information officer, said a two-day nationwide Gen Z protest in September disrupted tourist movement, while the conflict in West Asia dampened international arrivals.

“The Gen Z protests on September 8 and 9 last year affected tourist travel,” Neupane said. “The war in West Asia has also reduced the number of foreign visitors.”

The park recorded its busiest months during the autumn and spring travel seasons. A total of 4,851 visitors entered in October-November, while 4,739 visited in March-April. In contrast, only 294 tourists visited in the final month of the fiscal year, when the monsoon season was underway.

Bardiya is one of Nepal’s premier wildlife destinations and is particularly known for offering some of the country’s best opportunities to spot the endangered Bengal tiger in the wild. The park is also home to Asian elephants, one-horned rhinoceroses and swamp deer.

Tourism entrepreneur Ramji Thapa said visitors are drawn not only by wildlife but also by attractions such as the Babai Valley, the Karnali Bridge at Chisapani, the crocodile breeding centre and the elephant breeding facility. Popular activities include rafting, fishing, jeep safaris and guided jungle walks.

Unlike several other national parks in Nepal that suspend jeep safaris during the monsoon, Bardiya has kept its safari routes open this year.

Park chief Ashok Ram said jeep safaris have continued because heavy rainfall has not yet damaged or blocked the park’s road network.

Thakurdwara serves as the park’s main entrance and handles about 99 percent of all visitor traffic. Rammapur is the park’s secondary gateway.

According to the latest wildlife census, Bardiya National Park is home to 125 tigers, making it one of Nepal's most important tiger habitats. The park also has an estimated 120 elephants and 38 one-horned rhinoceroses.

The tourism infrastructure around the park includes more than 30 hotels and 20 homestays. Many visitors also explore nearby sites outside the protected area, including Dalla and Pattharbhoji in the Khata Biological Corridor.