One-horned rhinos, Bengal tigers, and elephant safaris in Nepal's jungle
Chitwan National Park is Nepal's premier wildlife destination — a UNESCO World Heritage Site in the subtropical Terai lowlands where the Himalayan foothills meet the Indian plains. It is one of the last places on earth with a recovering population of one-horned Indian rhinoceros (around 700 now), and shelters Bengal tigers, gharial crocodiles, sloth bears, leopards, and over 650 bird species. Safaris by elephant (ethical operations), 4WD, dugout canoe on the Rapti River, and on foot with armed naturalist guides. The gateway town of Sauraha has Tharu cultural performances and riverside dining.
The Terai region was historically malarious and thus lightly populated, used as a royal hunting reserve for Nepalese royalty and their British colonial guests. Operation Tiger Eradication drives in the 1950s and agricultural colonisation caused dramatic wildlife decline. The area was declared Nepal's first national park in 1973, after the one-horned rhinoceros population had fallen to fewer than 100. UNESCO inscribed it in 1984. The park has been cited internationally as a successful conservation story — rhino numbers increased tenfold from the nadir. Community-based conservation involving lo…