Kalesar National Park

Kalesar National Park, in Haryana's northeastern Yamunanagar district, protects a stretch of Shivalik foothill forest along the Yamuna river, supporting elephants, leopards and a range of deer species in terrain considerably more forested and hilly than most of Haryana's predominantly flat agricultural landscape. Its location near the Uttarakhand border gives it a distinctly different character from the state's other, more open protected areas.

The park's forest cover and proximity to the Yamuna make it one of Haryana's most ecologically significant reserves, and while infrastructure remains relatively basic compared to more heavily promoted wildlife destinations, it offers a genuine forest experience within a state not typically associated with dense wildlife habitat.

Declared a national park in 2003, Kalesar protects part of the Shivalik ecosystem that extends across the Haryana-Uttarakhand-Himachal border region, forming an important wildlife corridor connecting habitats across state lines.

About 200km from Delhi, roughly 4-5 hours by road via Yamunanagar.