Makalu Barun National Parkमकालु बरुण राष्ट्रिय निकुञ्ज

Makalu Barun, created in 1992 as the eastern extension of Sagarmatha National Park, protects one of the most dramatic altitudinal gradients on the planet. Across 1,500 km² in Solukhumbu and Sankhuwasabha — with an 830 km² buffer zone — the land climbs from about 344 m in the Arun river valley to the 8,463 m summit of Makalu, the world's fifth-highest mountain, sharing its northern boundary with Tibet's Qomolangma preserve.

That range packs in extraordinary biodiversity: 88 mammals, 440 birds and 3,128 flowering plants, with the rare combination of red panda, snow leopard, clouded leopard and Himalayan black bear all within one protected area. Few parks anywhere span subtropical forest, temperate woodland, alpine meadow and permanent snow so completely.

It remains one of Nepal's wildest and least-trodden parks. The Makalu Base Camp and Arun valley treks pass through old-growth forest and remote villages with none of the foot traffic of the neighbouring Everest region, making it a destination for those seeking genuine Himalayan solitude.