Chitwan, Nepal Travel Guide: Jungle Safaris & Tharu Culture

Chitwan sits in the Inner Terai lowlands of south-central Nepal, a humid belt of sal forest, elephant grass and slow brown rivers that feels like a different country from the Himalayan Nepal most travellers picture. The district lies in Bagmati Province, wrapped around the floodplains of the Narayani, Rapti and Reu rivers, roughly 160 kilometres southwest of Kathmandu — about five to six hours by road through the Trishuli gorge, or a 25-minute flight into Bharatpur, the regional capital. At barely 150 metres above sea level, the air here is thick and warm, the mornings foggy, and the horizon flat until the Himalaya appear on a clear winter dawn like a rumour above the tree line.

The name Chitwan translates roughly as “heart of the jungle,” and for most of its recorded history that is exactly what it was. Malarial and thickly forested, the valley was left largely to the indigenous Tharu people, who farmed its margins for centuries. The Rana rulers of Nepal used it as a private big-game hunting reserve, and photographs of their shooting camps here are notorious. After malaria eradication in the 1950s brought waves of settlers and a collapse in wildlife numbers, Nepal reversed course: Chitwan National Park was gazetted in 1973 as the country’s first national park, and in 1984 UNESCO inscribed it as a World Heritage Site. It is now one of the great conservation success stories in Asia, and the single best place on the subcontinent to see a greater one-horned rhinoceros in the wild.

What to see in Chitwan

• Chitwan National Park — The roughly 950-square-kilometre core of any visit, protecting sal forest, riverine woodland and vast tracts of elephant grass. Jeep safaris and guided jungle walks are the standard ways in, and sightings of greater one-horned rhino are close to routine.
• Sauraha — The riverside village that serves as the park’s main gateway, strung along the north bank of the Rapti. Its sunset viewpoint over the river, with rhinos occasionally grazing on the far bank, is the classic Chitwan image.
• The Rapti River by dugout canoe — A silent drift downstream in a hollowed-out sal trunk, level with the water. It is the best way to see marsh mugger crocodiles hauled out on the sandbanks and the park’s extraordinary birdlife at close range.
• Gharial Breeding Centre, Kasara — Beside the park headquarters, this centre rears the critically endangered gharial — the narrow-snouted, fish-eating crocodile of the Ganges basin — for release into the Narayani and Rapti.
• Elephant Breeding Centre, Khorsor — A short ride from Sauraha across the Budhi Rapti, where calves of the government elephant stable are raised. Go early in the morning, when the animals are being bathed and fed.
• Bis Hazari Tal — The “Twenty Thousand Lakes,” an oxbow lake system and Ramsar wetland in the buffer zone north of the park. It is quieter than the park proper and superb for birdwatching and early-morning walks.
• Tharu villages and the Tharu Cultural Museum — The mud-and-lattice longhouses around Bachhauli, and a small museum documenting Tharu tools, dress, fishing traps and ritual life. Evening stick-dance performances are widely staged in Sauraha.
• Devghat — Upstream near Bharatpur, at the sacred confluence of the Kali Gandaki and Trishuli rivers. A serene Hindu pilgrimage settlement of ashrams and river ghats, and a complete change of register from the jungle.

What to eat in Chitwan

The staple everywhere is dal bhat tarkari — lentil soup, steaming rice, a seasonal vegetable curry and a sharp pickle, usually with a second helping pressed on you before you have finished the first. What makes Chitwan distinct is Tharu cooking. Look for dhikri, thumb-shaped steamed rice-flour dumplings eaten with a fiery sesame or chilli chutney, and ghonghi, small river snails simmered with garlic, ginger and turmeric and eaten straight from the shell. Sidhara and sukuti — sun-dried fish and dried spiced meat — are the pantry backbone, and gundruk, Nepal’s fermented leafy green, turns up as both soup and pickle. Fresh fish from the Narayani, grilled or curried, is worth ordering wherever it is on the board.

For something sweeter, Nepali tea shops here fry sel roti, a crisp ring of sweetened rice batter, and jeri, the local jalebi, best eaten within about a minute of leaving the pan. Malpuwa and syrupy lal mohan appear at festival time. Wash it down with masala chiya, milky tea boiled with cardamom, ginger and cinnamon. Chitwan’s farmland is also serious banana and mustard country, so roadside fruit is excellent and the cooking oil is unmistakably local.

Shopping & crafts

Tharu craft is the thing to buy: tightly coiled grass and cane baskets, winnowing trays, fish traps and beadwork, sold in village cooperatives around Bachhauli and Sauraha where the money actually reaches the makers. Hand-woven dhaka cloth — the geometric fabric used for the Nepali topi cap — and block-printed cotton are widely available, and Bharatpur’s bazaar is the place for everyday Nepali goods at non-tourist prices. Buy nothing made from animal parts, feathers, ivory or claws; it is illegal and it undermines everything the park has achieved.

Best time to visit

October to March is the prime window. October and November bring clear, washed air after the monsoon, comfortable daytime temperatures and the occasional Himalayan skyline at dawn. December and January are cool and often foggy in the early morning, which can delay flights and safaris but makes for atmospheric river mornings. Late January through March is arguably the best wildlife viewing of all: the tall grass is cut and burned by local communities under permit, sightlines open up dramatically, and animals concentrate around water. April to early June is very hot — well above 35°C — but that heat drives wildlife to the rivers. The monsoon from mid-June to September brings heavy rain, high water, leeches and reduced access, and some park activities pause entirely.

Good to know

• Guides are compulsory for walking safaris inside the park, and park entry permits are issued daily. Reputable lodges arrange both as a matter of course.
• Choose jeep safaris, canoe trips and jungle walks over elephant-back riding. Nepal’s conservation sector has moved decisively away from riding, and the wildlife viewing from a vehicle or on foot is better anyway.
• Wear neutral colours — olive, khaki, grey — and long sleeves. Bright clothing and strong scent cost you sightings, and cover helps against insects.
• Mornings are the point. Safaris start early because that is when rhino, deer and, if you are very lucky, tiger are active. Build in at least two full nights so you get more than one shot at it.
• Getting there: the drive from Kathmandu is scenic but slow and prone to traffic delays; the short flight to Bharatpur is the reliable option, and Chitwan pairs naturally with Kathmandu, Pokhara and Lumbini on a wider Nepal itinerary.