The Koshi Tappu Wildlife Reserve covers an area of 175 sq km and is in the eastern Terai region of Nepal. It lies on the flood plains of the Sapt Koshi and is for the most part, enclosed within the 8 metre high embankments of the Koshi Barrage, which has been designed to minimise the destructive annual floods. It is a beautiful and fascinating aquatic environment and is home to an astonishing variety of water birds that flock to its ponds full of flowering plants.

From Kathmandu, the Reserve is about a 10 hour, 450 km drive along the Mahendra Highway. It is also possible to fly to Biratnagar, from where it is a 50km journey by road.

The reserve provides an important habitat for a variety of wildlife but, in particular, water birds, including several migratory species such as the sarus crane from Siberia. In all, a total of 280 different species of birds have been recorded and these include many varieties of ducks, ibis, storks, egrets and herons, as well as the endangered swamp partridges and Bengal floricans.

Koshi Tappu is also home to the last surviving population of wild water buffalo and its other inhabitants include blue cows, various species of deer, Gangetic dolphins and gharial crocodiles.