०५ · Rhino and tiger country
Chitwan
Sal forest, elephant grass and slow rivers, home to most of Nepal's one-horned rhinos.
Inner Terai
Where
Sauraha, five hours by road from Kathmandu
Altitude
About 150 m
Best time
Oct to Mar. Feb to Apr for sightings
Time needed
Two to three nights
Status
Nepal's first national park, 1973. UNESCO, 1984
Photograph by Vadim Tolbatov, CC BY-SA 4.0
The story
Chitwan was once a royal hunting reserve. It became Nepal's first national park in 1973, when the one-horned rhinoceros was close to disappearing from the country. Today it holds most of Nepal's rhinos, along with Bengal tigers, leopards, sloth bears, wild elephants and more than five hundred kinds of birds.
The park covers lowland forest and grassland between the Rapti, Narayani and Reu rivers. Gharial and mugger crocodiles sun themselves on the sandbanks, and the morning mist sits low over the water.
The Tharu people have lived in this valley for centuries, and their villages around Sauraha welcome visitors to their dances and their kitchens.
What to see and do.
- ०१
A walk with a naturalist
On foot through the forest with two licensed guides, reading tracks and listening for alarm calls.
- ०२
A dugout canoe on the Rapti
Drift downriver at dawn past crocodiles, kingfishers and storks.
- ०३
A jeep safari
Deeper into the grasslands, where rhinos graze and tigers are occasionally seen at the waterholes.
- ०४
A Tharu evening
The stick dance in the village and dinner with a Tharu family.
Adapted from a photograph by Silu0211, CC BY-SA 4.0
Before you go
What to know.
Entry to the park needs a permit, bought daily. Your guide arranges it.
The grass is cut in late winter, so February to April is the easiest time to see animals.
Choose operators that do not offer elephant rides.
Next place
Gokyoगोक्यो