Valmiki National Park is a Tiger Reserve in the West Champaran District of Bihar, India. It is the only national park in Bihar. Valmiki Tiger Reserve covers , which is 17.4% of the total geographical area of the district. As of 2018, there were 40 tigers in the Reserve. History The extensive forest area of Valmikinagar (formally known as Bhainsa Lotan) was previously owned by the Bettiah Raj and Ramanagar Raj until the early 1950s. It was declared a Wildlife Sanctuary in 1978. Valmiki National Park was established in the year 1990. Total area of the park is about 335.65 Km2. Valmiki Wildlife Sanctuary and National Park is the 18th Tiger Reserve of the country. The Valmiki Tiger Reserve comprises the National Park and the Wildlife Sanctuary. Location It is located in West Champaran which derives its name from two words, Champa and Aranya, meaning forest of Champa trees. Geographically, it is situated between 83°0 50′ and 84°0 10′ E longitude and between 27°0 10′ and 27°0 03′ N latitude. Total forest area comprises about , out of which the Valmiki Wildlife Sanctuary is and spread of the National Park is about area. In the north, the protected areas are bordered by Nepal's Chitwan National Park while the Indian state Uttar Pradesh bounds the sanctuary from western side. Bihar Government is turning 800 hectares of forest in VTR into Grassland making it India's biggest grassland. Landscape The landscape of VTR encompasses foothills ranges of Himalayan Sivaliks with mosaic of the cliffs, ridges, gorges, hills, streams and valleys; dense forests, open woodlands, grasslands, swamps and riverine fringe. Situated in Gangetic plains bio-geographic zone of the Country, the forest has combination of bhabar and terai tracts. Boulder and pebble deposits by the Himalayan rivers in foothills characterized the Bhabar tract while the finer sediments deposits feature Terai lands. Foothills of Himalayan Terai outliers - a continuation of Shivaliks Someshwar Hill Range and Dun Hill system with knife-edge ridges and precipitous slopes, cliffs, spurs, gorges, narrow valleys. Bhabar - Dun tract Older alluvium with sandy soil with variegated clay and loose boulder deposits and artesian flows; lateritic formations on higher contours and newer Alluvium on southern parts with reissuing springs akin to artesian flows. Flood plains of Gandak and Burhi Gandak and their tributaries Criss-crossing and meandering rivers, streams and rivulets, man-made canals; Swamps and Grasslands. River Gandak forms the western boundary of