After exploring Nepal’s capital city, Kathmandu, and getting acquainted with the urban macaques, we decided to head south towards the jungle near the border of India. Tom and I enjoy the hustle and bustle of cities and all the culture and history that comes with it, but what we love most is being out in the wilderness. It was time to pay Nepal’s first national park a visit.

---

Chitwan National Park

Established in 1973, Chitwan National Park (चितवन राष्ट्रिय निकुञ्ज) was Nepal’s first national park.

The park is located in the subtropical Terai region of southern Nepal and covers an area of 932 km^2 (360 sq mi). It is a world heritage property, and also contains the Ramsar site, Beeshazari Tal, in its buffer zone.

A total of 68 species of mammals, 544 species of birds, 56 species of herpetofauna and 126 species of fish have been recorded in the park. The park is especially known for its one-horned rhinoceros (Rhinoceros unicornis), royal Bengal tiger (Panthera tigris tigris), and gharial crocodile (Gavialis gangeticus).

---

Getting There

We caught a bus from Kathmandu to Sauraha, a town just outside Chitwan National Park. We didn’t quite realise what an adventure that journey was going to be… Rickety old vehicles with no suspension on very rough roads, constant road works because of all the landslides and slips, vertical cliff edges both above and below us, buses and trucks over-taking each other on blind corners. It was a ride to be remembered, that’s for sure.

Click to zoom in

From Sauraha, we were picked up by our hotel, Jungle Wildlife Camp. The staff were friendly and knowledgeable about the area. The views were great and, best of all, it was only a 2-minute walk down to the river.

Click to zoom in

That evening, we had a stroll through the township and alongside the river. Without even entering the national park, we saw a young rhino charging through town, a sloth bear crossing the river in the distance, and several gharial resting on the water’s edge on the opposite bank. We couldn’t quite believe it! We’ll post a few of those pictures below, and the rest in our upcoming species-focused blog posts.

Click to zoom in

---

A Walk in the Park with United Jungle Guide Service

The next morning after picking up a packed-lunch, we met our guides who were going to accompany us for the next couple of days. As you’ll see on the park entrance permits below, you cannot enter the park without a guide. We chose to book with the United Jungle Guide Service, primarily because they had good reviews and didn’t support the riding of elephants for tourism. Here’s an excerpt from their website which Tom and I quite enjoyed:

“A jungle walk is certainly the most exciting way to see the national park. All walking are accompanied by at least two nature guides, and trips wander along the park’s trails in search of a rhino or tiger, just not too close. Because, walking groups are lead by unarmed guide (except for a long stick). As long as there are a few climbable trees around tourists are fairly safe, and groups go out everyday with out accident.”

Click to zoom in

Briefed and ready to go, we made the 15 minute walk down to the river’s edge where our canoe was waiting to take us into Chitwan National Park.

---

Canoeing into the Jungle

Tom, our two guides, the canoe punter and I headed down the river to where we would start our trek. It was a species-filled two-hour journey, and highly recommended if you are a birder or want to get a good view of the extremely rare gharial crocodiles.

Click to zoom in

---

A Two-day Trek

We landed the canoe, and continued on foot through the long elephant grass. The two-day trek took us through the national park the first day, and the Buffer Zone (which was just a great) the second day. We had many animal sightings and a few close encounters!

Click to zoom in

For the first night of our trek, we stayed in accommodation just out of the national park in a small village. For the second night, we stayed in a 22-foot high tower in the jungle inside the Buffer Zone. The Jungle Tower stay was one of my favourite memories of the trip. Nothing can beat going to sleep and waking up with the sounds of the jungle. The dawn chorus of birds, insects and monkeys was bliss! We were even awoken by the sound of fighting rhinos right below us – we could see the footprints in the dust the next morning.

Click to zoom in

---

The Wildlife

Here’s a small sample of the species we came across during our trip in Chitwan National Park and the surrounding area. We took so many photos that it was hard to narrow them down! We will write dedicated blog posts for the gharial, rhinoceros and bird species we photographed. I will link to posts here as we publish them.

Mammals

Click to zoom in

• A special mention: The Royal Bengal Tiger (Panthera tigris tigris)

This was a species we really didn’t expect to see in the flesh due to their extremely elusive lifestyle. Along the way, we saw plenty of sign that they were about: Claw marks in the trunks of trees (check out the height at which one tiger marked a tree – Tom is 6’3″ for reference), and fresh footprints in the sand.

Then, much to our disbelief, we spotted a tiger walking on the opposite bank of the river and disappearing into the elephant grass. Tom managed to snap one shot (below) – proof that it wasn’t just a trick of the light! I did’t even have time to get my binos on it. We were absolutely stoked!

Click to zoom in

Reptiles & Amphibians

Click to zoom in

Check out our gharial & marsh mugger crocodile blog post here.

Birds

Click to zoom in

Insects and Invertebrates

Click to zoom in

---

On the Road Home

After our dawn-chorus wake-up, we packed our gear and made the final trek back to civilisation. Our journey through Chitwan National Park was a fleeting, yet fabulous visit. Having knowledgeable and experienced guides definitely made the difference.

Click to zoom in

---

Until Next Time…

Many thanks from both of us!

Click to zoom in

---

Want to read about another of our jungle adventures?

Then check out these posts:

---

References and Further Reading

Birdlife International – Chitwan National Park – http://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/14325
(Retrieved 23 June, 2018)

Department of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation, Nepal – Chitwan National Park – http://www.chitwannationalpark.gov.np/
(Retrieved 23 June, 2018)

Department of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation, Nepal – The Status of Nepal’s Mammals: The National Red List Series. PDF (2011) – http://awsassets.panda.org/downloads/nepal_redlist_low_09_06_2012_1.pdf
(Retrieved 23 June, 2018)

Jungle Wildlife Camp Website – http://www.nepaljunglesafari.com/
(Retrieved 23 June, 2018)

Untited Jungle Guide Service – http://www.unitedjungleguide.com/
(Retrieved 23 June, 2018)

Wikipedia – Chitwan National Park – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chitwan_National_Park
(Retrieved 23 June, 2018)