Royal Chitwan Wildlife Safari

For some reason I thought being on a “safari” meant sitting on your ass with binoculars in hand…..”safari” in Nepal means something completely different…it means getting close to dozing rhinos (don’t worry if you’re upwind or is it downwind?), chasing after sloth bears (why are we running?) and napping in head high grass (are we baiting tigers with our own bodies?)….somehow I lost my ability to keep my own safety in mind. I’m sure our guides were perfectly capable of protecting us with their walking sticks.

Rhino Chitwan NP

Hello Rhino…we’re friends right?

Well…we picked the worst day of the year to go on safari….it poured, and I mean poured. We were soaked within minutes, maybe even seconds… and this was within the first hour. Apparently when it’s cool the animals don’t like to come out. Fortunately, this “friendly” rhino caught our attention when we were on our 2 hour canoe trip…we also saw a couple of spotted deer, a crocodile, and a handful of peacocks.

Nepal4ChitwanSafariDeer

Spotted Deer at Chitwan National Park

Between storms we took breaks at a couple of different places….one was a viewing platform set high above the grass complete with sloth bear scat!!! Maybe it was from the same sloth bear we saw in the forest. Anyway, the sky eventually cleared and we were able to walk through the grass plains in search of animals.

Chitwan Elephants

A male elephant escaped form the Breeding Center, so we saw a few different groups of Park Rangers out with their elephants searching for him.

Although the Terai grasslands started to heat up in the afternoon sun, the animals weren’t coming out…and we searched high and low.

Chitwan Angie and Steve

We aired out our feet…

Our guide in a tree at Chitwan National Park

while our guide climbed a tree.

With no luck in the grasslands we headed back into the forest to search some more….then we went to the river to search some more….no tigers, but I was pretty thrilled to see all the other cool animals in the wild: rhino, sloth bear, peacocks, crocodiles and spotted deer.

I wish I could have gotten a picture of the sloth bear. Unfortunately it is hard to focus a camera while running though the forest at a moving target. Sloth bears are even more rare than tigers in the park…in fact, there are so few and they’re so elusive that they aren’t sure how many are still around. (NOTE: Sloth bear does not equal Sloth)

Red Cotton Bug at Chitwan National Park, Nepal

Red Cotton Bug

Rhino at Chitwan National Park, Nepal

Rhino!!!

Note: Headed to Royal Chitwan National Park? All the accommodation within park bounds is now closed. There are TONS of places for EVERY budget in Sauraha. We stayed at a cheapie called Wendy’s on the road into town for about $5/night for 3 people. Our room was definitely spacious, but was unbearably musty, but we didn’t spend much time in our room anyway.

Also: We booked our guides through the guide cooperative. We had two guides, both were very knowledgeable and the younger of the two had great eyes. He could spot animals from really far away.

Also, bring some money for a tip….the guides will suggest you tip the boatman (a couple hundred rupees will do) and if your guides do a good job, they’ll appreciate the extra money too.

Also, pack your Rain Jacket and make sure it is actually waterproof, my Nepali made “North Face” that I picked up in Pokhara after a mouse chewed through my Patagonia jacket held up surprisingly well, while Steve’s Columbia Jacket was soaked through within minutes. Be prepared for mud and puddles too. All of our boots held up pretty well….our feet got wet, but it was from the rain running down our legs and filling our shoes from the top….wish I had rain pants too…lol.

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