Chitwan National Park Safari

Trip Overview

Tiger Tops Tharu Lodge, located in Chitwan, is the property of Tiger Tops, which is a well-known brand, for safari trips service provider in Nepal. The Tharu Lodge is situated on a high ground overlooking the lush forests and small villages surrounding the park. Since built-in 1980, this property has been operating and serving hundreds of visitors every year with its expertise and experienced guides.

You will feel happy to stay in the lodges of this property which are styled after the traditional longhouses of the local Tharu people. The materials used to build these houses are purely local. The structure is wooden, made from Sal trees with tiled roof. The walls are made with reeds, mud, and dung, which keeps the bugs out. This way of spending your days here will give you an experience of Southern Nepalese people lifestyle.

Rooms at Tharu Lodge

The rooms at Tharu Lodge are spacious and contains one comfortable king size bed and one single bed which easily fits a small family with up to two children. To meet the strict eco standards of Tiger Tops, the rooms are well equipped with the fans for cooling instead of air-conditioning. This reduces both noise and pollution in the room conserving the electricity ultimately. The rooms are well designed and decorated according to the traditional architecture of the surrounding Tharu community to maintain and emphasize the authenticity fo Tharu culture. FYI, all the rooms have attached bathrooms to make sure the comfort is equally taken care of while caring the Tharu culture authenticity.

Safari Tents (Option)

The tents contain either two single or one double bed and have a changing department towards the ensuite bathroom. The tent s are electrified for light and for charging of any electrical equipment. The attached bathroom is spacious, with simple tasteful decoration and rainfall shower. Each tent is situated in a lush green environment, giving you an authentic experience of the jungle sounds as well as the privacy from the screen of plants.

Your program at Chitwan is quite flexible which can be tailored in any way you like. Your wish will get fulfilled by the humble and friendly staffs of Tiger Tops Tharu Lodge. Hence, you can decide the activities and re-schedule it with proper consultation with the lodge manager and guides depending on personal interest, weather and time of the year after you reach the lodge property. However, below listed are some trip highlights of this program.

Highlights

Safari and cultural experiences

Jeep Safari
River Safari
Birdwatching
Jungle walk in Chitwan National Park
Fisherman village visit
Ox Cart ride

The Elephant experiences

Grass cutting with mahouts and elephants (morning activity)
Buffer zone jungle walk with elephants
Visit to Narayani River to watch elephants swim (afternoon/ evening activity)
Elephant Sandwich (Kuchi) making

Itinerary

You will be picked up at your Kathmandu Hotel for the flight to Bharatpur by one of Trek Guider's office representatives. The flight will take approximately 25 minutes to reach Bharatpur. Upon reaching Bharatpur, you will be picked up by the representative of Tiger Tops Tharu Lodge and escorted to the property in a private vehicle.

Arriving at the gate of Tiger Tops Tharu Lodge, you will be met by the Tiger Tops staff with a welcome drink. You can stay for a while and consult about your tour schedule with the lodge manager before continuing for the lunch.

After lunch, you can settle into your rooms and explore the large lodge ground. You can take a chance to dip in the swimming pool or relax with a drink in a hand and enjoy reading. To enjoy your day further, you can take a stroll to the Narayani River with the resident elephants and one of the lodge's naturalist to enjoy the family of elephants bathing. You can stay there watching the sundowner view along the elephants bathing.

Return to the lodge afterward and have a shower and a cold drink before dinner.

Tharu Lodge/ Safari Tent

Lunch, Dinner

After you enjoy your hearty breakfast beneath the shady mango trees of the Tharu Lodge garden, get prepared to start your safari trip to the Narayani River. The outing commences with a nature walk or bullock cart ride through the riverine forest, followed by a scenic float down the river. Cruising on the wide expanse of the river, pockets of rapids propel the boats along as gentle waves lap at the sides. Sitting inside a hand-carved boat, keep your eyes peeled for a variety of birdlife and wildlife. Top of the list is the endangered fish-eating Gharial crocodile and its more sinister relative, the March-Mugger.

After river safari, return back to the lodge where you will be provided a Nepali style lunch. Relax sometime sunbathing near the pool of Tharu Lodge.

Later in the afternoon, you will be going for a jeep safari with Tiger Tops naturalist in the National Park to get the taste of the Jungle. Exploring the nature in the classic vintage Land Rovers in comfort, you can ask as much as questions to your guide to learning as much as you can about the jungle.

In the evening, you will get to enjoy the cultural dance performed by the local dancing troupe from the village before having dinner.

Tharu Lodge/ Safari Tent

Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

After leisurely breakfast, you will be transferred to the Bharatpur airport by the hotel representative/ or just the driver for the flight back to Kathmandu. Upon reaching Kathmandu, Trek Guider's representative will pick you up at the domestic airport terminal and transferred you to your Kathmandu hotel. Trip concludes !!

Breakfast

Commencing this trip

This trip starts with the flight to Bharatpur from either Kathmandu or Pokhara. Tiger Tops Tharu lodge is located at a distance of approximately 45 km from the Bharatpur airport and will take around 1 hour and 15 minutes to reach there by surface transfer. If you are not willing to take a flight then the surface transfer can also be arranged which is a relatively cheaper option if you are at least 2 travelers for cost sharing. Likewise, after your trip, you can also have an option of surface transfer instead of taking a flight back to Kathmandu or you can divert your trip towards Pokhara if you are looking for some peaceful holiday.

Best time to do this trip

This trip is highly recommended to do in between October to March when the temperature is around 25-degree Celsius and weather is also clear. However, the best time to see animals is from late January to March when the towering phanta grass is slashed by villagers, improving visibility considerably.

During summer time the park will be muddy due to rain making it impossible to do convenient jeep safaris and other jungle related activities. The river levels will also rise with flood and becomes unfavorable for any sort of river activities too.