Chitwan National Park

Chitwan National Park, in the subtropical lowlands of the southern Terai, offers a completely different side of Nepal from its mountains, a UNESCO reserve of dense jungle, grassland and rivers teeming with wildlife. It is one of the best places in Asia to see the endangered greater one-horned rhinoceros, alongside wild elephants, deer, crocodiles, sloth bears and, elusively, the Bengal tiger, explored on jeep safaris, canoe trips and walks, and home to the culture of the local Tharu people.

History

From the end of the 19th century Chitwan was a favourite winter hunting ground of Nepal's ruling class, who stayed for months in comfortable camps shooting hundreds of tigers, rhinos, elephants, leopards and sloth bears; until the 1950s the journey from Kathmandu took weeks on foot. In 1950 its forests and grasslands covered more than 2,600 square kilometres and held about 800 rhinos, but the valley was then opened to settlers from the hills, malaria was wiped out with DDT, and by the end of the 1960s 70 per cent of the jungle had been cleared and only 95 rhinos remained. The first conservation law protecting rhinos came in 1957, Edward Pritchard Gee studied the area in 1959 and 1963, the government set up the Gaida Gasti, a rhino patrol of 130 armed men, and the park was gazetted in December 1970 and established in 1973 as Royal Chitwan National Park, Nepal's first, over 544 square kilometres; it became a World Heritage Site in 1984 (Wikipedia, Chitwan National Park).

The landscape

• The one-horned rhinos - the endangered rhinos of the grasslands.
• The wildlife - the elephants, deer, crocodiles and, rarely, tigers.
• The jungle safaris - the jeep, canoe and walking safaris.
• The Tharu culture - the villages and traditions of the local people.

When to go

October to March, the cool dry season, is the most comfortable and good for wildlife; the grass is cut low around late winter and spring, improving visibility. The monsoon brings heavy rain and the pre-monsoon months are very hot.

Practical notes

Ethical wildlife tourism matters here: elephant-back safaris and elephant bathing, once common, raise serious welfare concerns, so choose jeep, canoe and walking safaris and responsible operators instead. Tigers are very elusive and rarely seen, though rhinos are relatively reliable. It is hot and humid in the lowlands, a very different climate from the mountains.

Nearby

Lumbini, the birthplace of the Buddha, and Pokhara are within reach.

Key facts