Photo: Bhupendra_Shrestha / Pixabay

Chitwan National Park

Nepal's first national park: rhinos, tigers and jungle mornings.

Region: Bagmati Province, Chitwan
Best time to visit: After mid-October, once the monsoon ends and the grass begins to dry
Getting there: Sauraha, the main gateway town, is in Ratnanagar Municipality. Travel by road from Kathmandu or Pokhara, or fly to Bharatpur.
Permits and entry: Park entry per day: NPR 2,000 for foreigners, NPR 1,000 for SAARC nationals, NPR 150 for Nepalis (VAT may be added).

Chitwan was set up in 1973 as Nepal’s first national park and listed by UNESCO in 1984. It covers about 932 square kilometres of forest, grassland and river, and it is one of the best places in Asia to see wildlife.

The wildlife

One-horned rhinos: the 2021 national count found 752 in Nepal, with 694 in Chitwan.
Bengal tigers: the latest count found 145 in Chitwan, part of a national record of 429.
Plus sloth bears, gharial and mugger crocodiles, several kinds of deer and hundreds of bird species.

What to do

Take a guided jungle walk with a licensed nature guide.
Visit the Elephant Breeding Centre and the Tharu Cultural Museum.
Learn about Tharu culture in the villages around Sauraha.

Our tip

Go out early. The first two hours after dawn, with mist on the river and the jungle waking up, are when Chitwan is at its most magical. And always follow your guide: these are wild animals.