The Terai (‘moist land’) is the most southerly part of Nepal, and the Royal Chitwan National Park (300m) was Nepal’s first conservation project, begun there in 1973, and more recently awarded the status of World Heritage Site. Even during a short holiday, one might expect to see many of the 56 species of mammals offered protection in this particular Terai reserve of Chitwan (‘heart of the jungle’), as well as some of the estimated 470 other kinds of mammal, 126 species of fish, 150 sorts of butterfly and 47 kinds of reptile.

The best times to visit the Park are from January to May, and from late September to December. The month of June can be uncomfortably hot, while the Monsoon rains are present in July, August and early September, causing rivers to swell and making parts of the park inaccessible. Safaris into the jungle are mainly by elephant, four wheel drive, dugout canoe and foot, and are accompanied by an experienced and knowledgeable local naturalist guide.

We use Nepalese-owned resorts in Sauraha, Chitwan. The accommodation is just inside the Chitwan buffer zone, and each day spent there revolves around visits of one kind or another into the park, organized by the resorts, which are themselves situated near the banks of the Budhi Rapti river in an isolated northern area of the National Park, next to the deep Baghmara forest. The resorts have modern amenities, with all rooms boasting air conditioning, attached bath and 24-hour hot and cold water. Some resorts have small, outdoor swimming pools, which are a most refreshing facility after a hot jungle safari - especially when cold beers, soft drinks and other refreshments, may be ordered from the resort bar, to be brought out to the poolside!
 
The full-board accommodation at the resorts is simple yet comfortable, and the food is well cooked, and plentiful, comprising Nepalese, Indian, Continental and Chinese cuisine. The staff are courteous and friendly - mostly local people - and the fact that the resorts are Nepalese-owned ensures that profits remain in Nepal (unlike the situation in some other, much grander resorts, which are foreign-owned) and mostly in the Terai. The grounds are spacious and relaxing, and the views from all sides are unhindered - just flat fields, water buffaloes, trees and a few well-spaced thatched houses. The numerous exotic shrubs and trees in the grounds attract many species of birds, and the birdsong there is almost totally unlike that which we enjoy hearing in Europe. The resort's natural history experts are experienced and knowledgeable ornithologists, and they will take you on an early morning bird-watching walk, if you wish. Some resorts have their own elephants, which need to be taken to the river to bathe and be scrubbed, daily, and visitors often like to go into the river with them, to help the mahout with the ablutions - usually a two-way affair involving much super-soaking! We can wholeheartedly recommend thiese activities, as they are not in any way artificial 'entertainment', but a daily necessity which happens whether or not visitors are present.
 
The resort elephants are part of a group in the locality which take visitors on short safaris into the jungle, in the hope of seeing the rare Bengal Tiger, and the less rare (purely in Chitwan terms) one-horned rhinoceros. Both animals are on the endangered species list, but they are being protected within the park. It is quite likely that rhinos will be observed during your jungle safari, also various deer and probably wild boar - tigers only if you are extremely lucky.
 
Also on the list of activities provided is a leisurely bullock-cart excursion to the local village, where there is a small Tharu museum, and where the inhabitants sell some of their handicrafts in order to boost their income. The chance to be poled along and over the river, in a dugout canoe, in order to visit the Elephant Breeding centre is also included, and this is an excellent opportunity to watch out, whilst on the river, for the two local species of crocodile, the rarer bulbous-nosed, fish-eating Gharial, and the more common, 'smiling' Mugger, which spend much time sunning themselves on sandbanks.
 
The Elephant Breeding centre is the only one of its kind in Nepal, where much excellent conservation work is carried out - there is a room devoted to very interesting information and it is almost always possible to see young elephant calves with their mothers, with some of the very small ones being allowed out of their enclosures to enjoy mixing with visitors, in the hope that someone will have purchased a bag of special elephant biscuits or a few bananas!
 
There is so much to do and enjoy at the resorts, that there never seems to be enough time to just 'stand and stare' - however, if you like to take your breakfast or lunch on the wooden balcony, or at the garden tables, you can at least 'sit and stare',  at the surrounding fields, local people going about their daily lives, exotic garden plants and fascinating butterflies and birds.  Chitwan resort visits are a welcome refreshment, expecially after a demanding trek in the mountains, but also because the surroundings are so exotic, so secluded and so different! It is good to be reminded that Nepal is not just the Himalayan peaks, wonderful and magnificent as they undoubtedly are!

The best time to visit the park is from October to April, and we don’t recommend visiting Chitwan between June and September, the rainy season.

Itinerary at a glance

Day 01 - Drive to Chitwan     
Day 02 - Jungle activities
Day 03 – Late morning drive back to Kathmandu