Chitwan national park is home to hundreds of species of birds, crocodiles, one horned rhinos, sloth bears and elusive Bengal tigers!
On the bank of the Rapti River, the town of Sauraha is the jump off point for excursions into the Chitwan park. Sauraha has various accommodation options, river side restaurants and terrace bars. Perfect for resting after a long day wildlife spotting, sipping a drink watching the sunset. With various adventurous excursions available, Eloise and I decided on a canoe ride down the Rapti River in the morning and a jeep ride in the afternoon! Hoping to see some exotic wildlife, we documented our day out with some photos for you to enjoy.
With great transport from Kathmandu and Pokhara, Chitwan is by far the most popular park in Nepal with backpackers ans wildlife fans. Unfortunately it comes with the usual pitfalls of being a bit crowded and commercialised. If you want quieter adventure further from the crowds in perhaps a more natural environment – hopefully with a higher chance of seeing exotic wildlife then I recommend checking the other national parks out in Nepal.
While impossible to guarantee sightings of anything exotic, things could be run slightly differently to increase these chances. Unfortunately during the jeep ride in the afternoon, dozens of incredibly loud tractors we’re using the same route… I can’t imagine much if any wildlife will hanging around to listen to that. The quietest time of the jeep ride was when it broke down for 20 minutes, I was almost willing a tiger to jump out on us!
Either way, it was an excellent day out. The tranquil waters of the canoe ride in the morning were the highlight. Slowly meandering through the water ways with fish darting around the clear waters. Kingfishers flying overhead while we moved silently down stream was unbeatable.
I’m sure it’s total chance if your lucky enough to see any rare animals at all during a visit to Chitwan. We saw some very large beautiful birds, crocodiles basking in the sun, and a family of deer right at the very end which ended the day well.
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