Lakhimpur Kheri (UP), Jun 16 (PTI) A record 644 foreign tourists visited the Dudhwa Tiger Reserve in 2024-25, significantly more than the figures of 234 recorded the previous season, as the national park and the adjacent Kisanpur Wildlife Sanctuary closed for the annual six-month monsoon break on Sunday.
To mark the closure of the pre-monsoon tourist season, officials at Dudhwa Tiger Reserve (DTR) accorded a warm farewell to the last batch of visitors on Sunday evening and put a ceremonial lock on the main gate of the Dudhwa base camp.
The tourist season in Dudhwa Tiger Reserve commences on November 15 and concludes on June 15 before the onset of the monsoon season.
Deputy director of Dudhwa National Park (DNP), Rengaraju Tamilselvan, told reporters on Sunday that even the count of domestic tourists witnessed a healthy growth this year, rising to 56,729 from 50,961 in 2023-24.
The growth in footfall also resulted in record income from tourists at over Rs 1.85 crore, as compared to Rs 1.39 crore earned in 2023-24, Tamilselvan said.
Established in 1977, the DNP is home to several animal species, including the Bengal tiger, leopard, rhinoceros, elephant, bear, wild boar, a variety of deer, reptiles, and nearly 450 species of birds, among others.
It is a protected area in Lakhimpur Kheri district along the Terai belt close to the India-Nepal border, spanning 490 square kilometres.
In 1958, the area was declared a wildlife sanctuary by the Uttar Pradesh government to protect its swamp deer population, which was facing an extinction threat.
In 1977, the sanctuary was upgraded to a national park, and additional areas were added to the protected area.
The park was declared a tiger reserve in 1987. PTI COR NAV ARI
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