The Royal Chitwan National Park was proclaimed in 1973 as the first national park in Nepal. Chitwan was long time a hunting reserve exclusively for the ruling classes. Additional to the royal protection state of the area a virulent form of malaria prevalent in the region kept Chitwan relatively free of human settlement. After malaria was largely controlled by liberal applications of DDT from 1954, land- hungry people from the hills were quick to see the potential wealth of the region and much of the jungle was rapidly transformed into farmland. There are four major ecosystems in the Chitwan national park: the riverine forest, the Sal- forest, the grassland and the floodplains. The cumulative impact of the two most important ecological factors, the fire and the flood, forms a mosaic of many small vegetation types inside the park. The main touristic attraction of the park is the big game, which has some similarities to the African fauna. The best way to spot the animals is an elephant safari.