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Destination of the Month

Chitwan National Park

Posted by: NTN Admin | Date: November 18, 2009

Chitwan National Park is Nepal’s first national park which is listed in World Heritage Nature Site by UNESCO. It is situated in the central development region covering an area of 932 sq. Chitwan National Park is the home to more than 500 Asian one-horned rhinoceros and Royal Bengal Tigers. This is also the home to around 600 plant species, 50 mammals, 526 birds and 49 amphibians and reptiles. Here you can travel through open grassland and dense forest on elephant back and while doing this you will come across different wild animals including rhinos, different kind of deer’s, wild boars, and in rare cases, tigers.

The tiny village is famous for being one of the main entrance gates to the Chitwan National Park as it is located in the buffer zone to the park and dotted with hotels, resorts and an array of wildlife activity.
Sauraha is one of the most visited tourist destination in Nepal. It is the gateway to Chitwan National Park which is listed in UNESCO world Heritage Site. It is a small charming village at the foot of the
Himalayas on the northern bank of the Rapti River. It is a village which is inseparable from the Chitwan National Park. The Park is one of Nepal’s treasures of natural wonders and first national park.

Activities in National Park

Jeep Safari
For jungle safari, four wheel jeep is easy to go deep into the park, viewing some of the rare species of flora and fauna. You can also go on foot in to the park escorted by your experience guide who will interpret to you the concealed secrets of the jungle.

Canoe Ride Canoeing/boating
Another activity in the park is the boat/canoe trip down the Rapti and the Narayani Rivers. This is one of the most serene ways to explore the area as float downstream with the river’s flow.

Elephant Safari
Elephant safari is popular in Sauraha jungle safari. Elephants are accessible in almost all resort and lodge here in Sauraha.

Bird Watching
During Jungle safari and canoe trip, you have a great opportunity to see many species of birds including water fowl, Brahminy ducks, pintails, bar-headed geese, cormorants, woodpeckers, hornbills, peacocks, peahens, floricans, red-headed trogons and many others

Tharu Cultural Show/Museum
Throughout the periphery of national park Tharu community is settled, and during your visit, you can observe the Tharu community, their culture, living style and many more traditional customs with Tharu cultural show and Tharu museum.

Elephant Breeding Centre
Elephant Breeding Center (EBC) was established in 1985 at Chitwan National Park and is the only EBC in Nepal. A breeding center for increasing number of elephants but not having compartment for mating with wild bull. Well trained and appropriate number of staff should be provided and an Elephant Camps Service should be created separately for promoting them.

Elephant Polo
The World Elephant Polo Association (WEPA) was formed in 1982 at Tiger Tops Jungle Lodge in the Chitwan National Park in south west Nepal . The first games were played on a grass airfield in Meghauly which is located just on the edge of the National Park. The co-founders, James Manclark, a Scottish landowner and former Olympic tobogganer and Jim Edwards, owner of Tiger Tops Jungle Lodge and Chairman of the Tiger Mountain Group, came up with the idea in a bar in St. Moritz, Switzerland, where they are both members of the Cresta Club.

Elephant polo was first played in India around the turn of the 20th century, by members of the Maharaja’s Harem (Zenena) – to keep them busy. WEPA is the first paramount organization in the modern times to host and create elephant polo as a game with organized competitions. The first games were played with a soccer ball, but after finding that the elephants like to smash the balls, the soccer ball was replaced with a standard polo ball. The sticks are made of bamboo and have a standard polo mallet on the end. The length of the stick depends on the size of the elephant - anywhere from 5 to 12 feet.

Most of the rules of the games are based on horse polo, but the pitch is 3/4 length (because of the slower speed of the elephants) and there are some necessary additions - for instance, it is a penalty for an elephant to lie down in front of the goal line. Players are secured in rope harnesses, with a rope across their thighs and rope stirrups. The game will stop if a player's harness becomes too loose and there is a danger of the player falling off. Players have fallen off elephants only a few times in WEPA's 20-year history.

The primary difference between horse and elephant polo, besides the substitution of an elephant for a horse, is that the elephants are "driven" by their trainers, called "mahouts." The mahouts have generally worked with the elephant for many years and the elephants respond quickly to the mahout’s signals and commands. The mahout communicates with the elephant with verbal commands and by applying pressure to the back of the elephant's ears with their feet. The player's responsibility is to let the mahout know where to go, how fast, when to stop, etc. Most of the mahouts and all of the elephants only understand Nepali, so the communication is difficult at times. The professional players tend to learn some basics Nepali to help with the communication on the pitch.

Sauraha Festival

Generally, Sauraha Festival is scheduled to held in December/January in Sauraha, Chitwan. The program highlights various activities like cart race, boat race, elephant daily routine show, cultural dances etc. “The elephant race would include 20 participants where all the elephant are professionally trained and are in a healthy state.

Accommodations

In Chitwan you will be accommodated at the resort of there are many hotels .Chitwan can be reached by flight from Kathmandu. The airport is 15min drive from the park or by road via tourist bus. It’s a four hour drive or you could drive by private car.