Located within an hour’s drive of Bharatpur airport, Royal Chitwan National Park covers an area of 932 sq km. From the 19th century on, the Chitwan valley was a centre for hunting trips that were popular with the British and Nepali aristocrats. Chitwan was established as a sanctuary in 1973, and despite the history of hunting trips in the area, Chitwan now contains a sizeable wildlife population. The park is also home to an estimated 400-plus Asian one-horned rhinos and 80 Royal Bengal tigers, sloth bears, wild boars, gaur (bison), species of deer, monkeys, crocodiles, leopards, and more than 450 bird species. Elephants are the creatures most often seen in Chitwan.