Next stop in our Nepalese adventures: the Chitwan National Park. Created 50 years ago, appointed World Heritage Site in the 80s, the oldest national park in Asia covers more than 950 km2 and hosts “68 species of mammals, 544 species of birds, 56 species of herpetofauna and 126 species of fish” (source: Chitwan National Park website). The park is especially famous for the one horned rhinoceros and the royal Bengal tiger. We had to see by ourselves the great protection work done. And, perhaps, if we were lucky, catching a glimpse of one representative of those glorious mammals…

Reaching Chitwan… to live in the trees

Here we go again, for a 6-hour bus ride from Pokhara to Sauhara (the main city bordering the park), booked in advance by Niru’s nephew, the handsome and intelligent Ocean (I hope you are reading us! 😉). Have I mentioned already how much I like the way bus trips are managed here? Yes, you will get a strong lower back massage from the road bumps. Buuut bus drivers accommodate to their passagers’ needs way more than what I’ve experienced in Europe: customized bus stops (as long as it is on their route), lunch breaks at road restaurants, small breaks for coffee and natural business in-between, etc. (An entire bus stopped for me, once, when I was in desperate need for a bathroom break… We ended up peeing in line, sheltered from the road by the bus, women one side, men the other. I definitely felt as being part of the community in this episode!)

After having showcased my newly-found talents for haggling (just kidding – I usually solely manage to come from the over-priced tourist “tax” to a somewhat fair price), our taxi takes us from Sauhara to the nearby village, where we plan to stay… in the trees. A note on Sauhara: given how the Chitwan National Park was mentioned in every travel recommendations, I was expecting a mass-tourism city, filled by look-alike hotels and tourist groups. I know, we are tourists ourselves, but whoever has travelled a bit knows that being stuck between travel agency groups often turns highly frustrating. Anyway: I did my research and we found out about Pemsee’s Tree Town.

Pemsee’s Tree Town comes from a different approach to tourism, closer to nature – which seems fit when you are literally bordering a jungle. The place, named after one of the founders’ daughter, is the result from the collaboration of locals (lending land in the village) and internationals, come as volunteers or already living in the area. In terms of accommodation, here you can find wood rooms perched in the trees and huts built with traditional material. As one volunteer tells us eerily when we arrive: here, the main activity is to “be busy living“. I am sick (again) and the moist heat is quite unbearable – so we are perfectly fine with this program! After the frenzy of the past days, we slog between our dormitory in the trees, the hamacs, the beds built in the trees and the restaurant serving finger-licking vegetarian food (this cook is a truly gifted individual).

Our 1-day jungle adventure

The Chitwan National Park is known for its fauna, and the obvious activity is to do a safari. Upon the recommendation of other travellers on Facebook groups (couldn’t recommend more the hyper active Français in Népal community), we contact Prem, a guide who offers walking safaris. The briefing session that we have with him, before proceeding with anything, roots us into reality: we would enter into animal territory, so safety is not to be taken lightly. A few weeks back, one guide was fatally injured by a rhinoceros – while two traumatized tourists run away, getting lost looking for help and only coming back too late. We are told that this guide was alone, which is forbidden – nonetheless, gloups…

I have to admit: we are close to chicken out for a second, as ending up as snacks for tigers or pureed by an upset rhino was not exactly in our travel plans. We brace ourselves, reassured by how serious our guide seems and we onboard our roomy (hi Michael!) into our adventure. We put on neutral-colored, fully covering clothes and grab our pique-niques – hoping not to be something’s else pique-nique ourselves. Let’s go into the jungle!

There is something fascinating about walking in the grass and being in the look-out for animals… It goes without saying that we are terrible at spotting anything – while Prem and Hasbin, our guides, manage to make out imprints out of the dirt and animals out of black spots in the distance. In the end, we are fortunate to meet several rhinoceros, crocodiles and witness the presence of sloth bears and tigers. Not bad just for one day! Safaris usually last for days – imagine what we could have seen?!… If you are ever in the region, we highly recommend this respectful way to see animals – don’t hesitate to contact Prem (+977 981-6207244)!

Note on animal welfare

I’ve mentioned it before, when we were in the Indian Thar desert: every tourist activity that involves living beings, especially animals, can hide a hideous reality. I would recommend all travellers to read this great article from the Broke Backpacker, written by a vet who worked in Sri Lanka with elephants: How to Stop Abuse in the Elephant Tourism Industry (2024). In short: never ride an elephant (they are basically tortured to accept you on their back), do your research before doing anything with animals and only go for activities where you are not in direct contact with the animals. For instance, if you want to witness the majesty of elephants, do not ride them, bath or feed them – just join them in their walks, by their sides. All advice can be summarized in one sentence: the further you are from animals, the better they are. 😉

Note on environmental protection and fires

Since our arrival to Nepal, the sky has been almost always clouded with a thick smug – to the extend that we could not see the sun through it in Kathmandu and Pokhara. No chance for us to see the mighty Himalayas from the valleys, and we were only able to get some nice views in the very early morning. The culprits? Regular pollution and massive fires in the North of India and in the South of Nepal.

What seems surprising is that most of those fires are man-made. The most frequent reason why is that farmers use fire to make their lands more fertile – even if it could lead to wilder consequences. Even more curious, firing crops is even used within the national park. Grass can go up to 6 meters after the monsoon – which makes it difficult for the many grass-eaters to reach it. The government is then regularly putting parts of the lands in fire, to protect their biggest animals… while killing the smaller ones, which cannot escape in the process. As Prem, our guide, put it: “Fires bring 60% advantages and 40% disadvantages…”.  A reminder that no solution is perfect…

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Continuing our journey further East, our next stop is the Kathmandu Valley. This will be our last post in Nepal, before we leave central Asia for South-East Asia. Hit me up if you have any contact in Vietnam! 😁