Located in the district of Daltonganj, as Palamau Sanctuary the Betla National Park covers an expansive area of 979sq.km. The core area of the park that covers 232 sq. kms of the sanctuary was declared as Betla National Park in September 1989. The park forms an extension of the Hazaribagh National park and occupies the western parts of the Chotanagpur plateau. The extended part of the park i.e. Palamau region had the distinction of being the place where the world's first tiger census was enumerated in 1932 and te hpark in turn became on of the first 9 tiger reserves in India under 'Project Tiger' in 1974.

The park can easily be reached from Ranchi Airport which lies 140 km away. The nearest railway station from the park lies 25 kilometers away from the park which is Daltonganj. The roadways connect the park with the different parts of the state quiet comfortably. Regular bus services run from Hazaribagh and different cities to the park.

The forest if famed for its varsity in vegetation that makes it one of the greenest sanctuaries of the country. The topography of the park is dominated by tropical wet evergreen forests in the lower reaches, mixed (moist & dry) deciduous forests in the central part and temperate alpine forests in the higher reaches. The vegetation at the upper reaches includes Sal and bamboo as the major components along with a number of medicinal plants. The park is dissected by river Koel and its tributaries at many parts. The river flowing areas are covered by grasslands. The topography of the park also provides waterfalls and hot springs adding to the varsity of the region. Another attraction of the park stands as the two historical forts visible high up on the hills.

Considered as one of the finest parks in the north-east, the Betla National Park in Jharkhand offers a vast variety of fauna population too. The main attractions to the park remained Tiger, Chital, Gaur. Though, recently the tourists are also