Chitwan

The first stop on my Nepal trip was the national park of Chitwan, located in the lowlands of the south. When planning my activities in Nepal, I was a bit worried still being in the throes of the monsoon season but figured it was important to have nice weather for hiking and this was a good activity to do while waiting.

The first adventure of the trip was getting there. Chitwan, only 100 miles away, is a very popular destination and has both an airport and a bus route. The expensive (for Nepal) plane ride takes 25 minutes while the drive takes about 10 HOURS. Luckily it costs only $10. The roads in the country are horrendous and exasperated by the geography, The roads in general have to wind around so many different mountains and ridges and it doesn't help that the main road between the Kathmandu and Chitwan is only halfway paved with pot holes the size of craters which were big enough to bounce me out of my bus seat.

Getting to the bus depot, I decided to conquer one of my fears and take the local bus from the my home stay's town of Phutung over to the Kathmandu bus center. This may sound very boring but these busses are so unfamiliar to me as a westerner. In addition to the standard culture shock I wrote about in the previous blog, you have to wave the busses down as they barrel frighteningly fast down the dirt roads, know when to get off (yell at the driver), AND you get CRAMMED should to shoulder standing room only which is not fun when having a big bag. My host had told me where to sit so the bus could see me wave it to a stop before hopping aboard. On our way into the city it did indeed get absolutely packed! Luckily being early in the route I had my own tiny seat and started chatting with the guy next to me! Turns out he was a lecturer at one of the universities in Kathmandu and like many of my conversations in this country, was very curious about how to get his son into an American university. I was happy to chat with him about that as well as discuss american politics (he brought it up curious about the election that was coming up) and he even helped me get off at my stop! I had completely missed the warnings and he and I had to jump off while the bus was still moving. He even invited me to have dinner with his family and stay over. This was an opportunity where I would've taken him up on it if I wasn't a solo traveler in an unfamiliar country even though I know Nepal is quite safe. Overall I got to my bus headed Chitwan quite proud of myself considering 2 weeks ago when I was arrived just by walking through the streets.

Sunset view through a window showing buses and motorcycles in a busy transportation hub.

View from my bus during sunrise

The bus itself was a trip. 10 hours on the road with 2-3 stops. First stop after 2.5 hours for the bathroom. Next stop was another 3 hours for lunch, followed by an optional stop for another bathroom break. I could not believe that the main highway of the country was in such poor condition with much of it on dirt and just space for 3 lanes total. For hours we just stood in traffic which is quite normal as truckers, busses, and motorbikers fought for position. The bus had the bounciest suspension in the world so reading or watching saved movies was near impossible. It was comfy with good AC (the non AC local busses were only a few bucks cheaper for an even worse experience). With minimal reading it was fun to just look out the window and watch the country pass you by. We traveled through mountains eventually to a more tropical grass land with all sorts of sights along the way.

Once arriving in Chitwan I went to my hostel to meet one of the friendliest hosts I've ever met. Like all of Nepal he picked me up from the bus station on the back of his motorcycle and took me to view the boundary of the park at sunset!

Golden sunset over a river with sandy banks and tree silhouettes on the horizon.

The beach on the other side is one of the entries to the park

Afterwards he took me back to the hostel/lodge for check in and booking. In Chitwan you have to visit with licensed guides which makes sense considering the rhinos, tigers, and elephants present. Everything is booked through the lodge which made everything easy and after 5 minutes of talking to the lodge owner I had scheduled 2 full days of safari activities costing me just under $200 which I thought wasn't too bad (food, housing, and private guides). Despite liking to go at things alone and figure it out, in countries like Nepal, having a guide is so important because it can be near impossible to visit a lot of these places with so little infrastructure and such a radically different language/culture.

Come night time I realized my main mistake of the trip was not spending the extra 5$ a day for an air conditioned deluxe room. I don't know how I could be so stupid. All my previous time in Kathmandu had fooled me about the weather. Kathmandu is in an elevated valley which is much much cooler than the hot southern grasslands of Chitwan. I'm talking about going from an average of 70-75 to a humid 85 in the span of a single day's worth of travel. Getting in to my room for the stay I'm immediately greeted by the room's resident lizard whose mosquito eating abilities are appreciated but also a bit concerning at each hour of the day he's in a different location of my room. The night was not much cooler with high humidity proving to be quite the discomfort. I only fell asleep thanks to the room's fan. After a decent-ish sleep, the next morning I wake up to find ANTS crawling ALL OVER my stuff. I'm talking everything, they're IN my laptop, clothes, bag, and in the bed. It was horrendous. There's not enough time to fully deal with the problem as I have to head to the start point of the safari. I quickly throw on my hiking pants only to find I LITERALLY HAVE ANTS IN MY PANTS. Each ant bites was decently painful only going away after about 10 minutes but still not enjoyable at all.

Mr. Lizard 1 hour between videos

After the pain of the ant bites faded, I was able to get myself via motorbike to the meeting point off the safari! My first day of the safari was composed of 2 different activities. The first was a 45 minute boat tour down the Narayani river. We started out our float down seeing some small birds, alligators and even a few monkeys in the trees as we pass the local villages inhabited by the indigenous "Tharu" people.

Halfway through the cruise as we start to round a corner, our guide gets really excited and tells us all to get ready. Get ready for what? Thirty seconds later we see it, a MASSIVE rhino just relaxing at the bank of the river! These things are so huge and I'm so used to seeing them in popular media or the zoo but nothing could prepare me for seeing it in person. As we float past it, the rhino just lazily stares us down as we pass within 20 feet.

Wild hippos resting near riverbank in their natural habitat.

First view coming around the bend

Close-up black and white portrait of a rhinoceros showing textured skin and horn details.

Hello Mr. Rhino

As we continue along our riverboat tour we also catch a glimpse of the himalayas towering over the valley in the far far distance. Its hard to put into words just how impressive these mountains are when viewing from sea level. It doesn't quite make sense at first how much they dominate the sky even from so far away

Panoramic mountain landscape with lake and trees under bright blue sky.

A little preview of where I get to hike! Keep in mind the mountains are this big 75 miles away!

Bird soaring through clear blue sky with wings spread wide.

Close-up of green reeds and grass stalks in natural wetland setting.

A large crocodile rests motionless on a sandy riverbank in natural habitat.

White egret stands near a resting crocodile along the water's edge.

Birds soar against a clear blue sky over a river landscape.

Small boats float on a wide river with lush green vegetation along the shoreline.

Dense grass and vegetation grows along a muddy riverbank.

Bird's nest made of twigs perched in a leafy green tree.

Large crocodile swimming in dark rippling water with its scaly back visible.

Multiple crocodiles bask in shallow muddy water near the shoreline.

Once we land on the river bank, I separate from the rest of the group with my two guides. I feel like a VIP being led away with the two guides. I'm a little nervous as these guides lead me into the jungle because all they have to protect me against elephants, rhinos, and tigers, is ONE big stick EACH!

Over the next 6 hours we walk and walk and walk through the jungle. This was a hot, sweaty, and buggy experience which I wish I could say was really fun! For me it was more about doing my best to enjoy the experience and ignore all the discomfort. We would walk on the trails of the jungle to the guides's favorite spots and stop at a rickety spotting tower every 2 hours or so. I knew coming into it that this was not the most ideal time because the summer grasses were in full bloom, limiting the animal spotting opportunities but also presenting a beautiful lush landscape.

Group of wildlife observers stand in shaded forest area with backpacks and gear.

before splitting off from the group, our jungle walk

Panoramic view of a covered porch overlooking a vast green field with scattered trees.

View from one of the spotting towers, not much to see but but grass

Mango juice box held up against a scenic forest backdrop from a viewing platform.

an excellent lunch snack at one of the spotting towers. This tower was a little too wobbly for my liking.

Every once in awhile, the lead guide would hold up his hand and get deathly quiet. This was pretty scary as they were worried about getting surprised by the dangerous animals on either side of the 5-8 feet tall grass on either side of the trail. They were able to point out traces of rhino and tiger activity which was pretty terrifying. The tiger scratches in the tree were of particular concern.

Concrete or stone surface with small green plant sprouts emerging along the edge.

very large pawprint

Forest scene with tall tree trunks covered in moss and undergrowth.

Tiger's scratching post

Scene from The Simpsons showing Ralph Wiggum sitting on a bus saying he's in danger.

The guides were very friendly and had plenty of crazy stories of encounters, the older of which holds the badge of honor of actually fighting a rhino with his guide stick! They did not mess around with safety! I was told the best way to run away from each of the dangerous animals: from slowly backing away from a tiger, running zig zag away from a rhino, or saying my final prayers if its an angry elephant. Overall I got to see a few pretty birds, and a second viewing of a rhino on the other side of the river. It was not the luxury thrill-a-minute safari experience that my parents had in Africa, but I was still very glad I did it!

Tall grass sways in the breeze along a sandy riverbank.

Crocodile resting on a sandy riverbank while small birds walk nearby in the water.

Large crocodile basking in shallow water near the shoreline as birds gather around.

Small wooden boat navigating through a river surrounded by lush green vegetation.

Scenic view of a river landscape with traditional thatched-roof structures visible in the background.

Black bird with long curved beak standing in golden grass near the water's edge.

Silhouetted figures sitting among tall reeds and grass near a body of water.

Dark-colored bird perched on a branch against a blurred natural background.

Fresh green grape leaves and vines growing in bright sunlight.

Grassy riverbank with scattered vegetation and water visible in the background.

Dark bird silhouette perched on a vertical branch against a soft green background.

Lush green grass blades swaying in a gentle breeze on a sunny day.

Monkey peering through dense green foliage in a tree.

Close-up of vibrant green ivy leaves growing on a surface.

After a delicious dinner, I settled in for another uncomfortable night in my ant infested bed. I could feel them crawling over me which would spark a 5 minute killing spree only for them to pop back up in my bed 15 minutes later. When I was finally was able to fall asleep... I was be woken up sweating at 1 am because the hotel lost power meaning my room's fan lost power! Losing my only means of cooling meant I was just there staring at the ceiling, actively sweating and hating my life, wondering why I didn't just pay for the air conditioned room which probably didn't have ants too. I discovered the next morning that the ants inside my computer damaged on my speakers so that was a nice surprise too!

My second and last day of the safari experience was a bird watching walk in the morning which amounted to few bird sightings. In the afternoon was the "jeep safari" which was definitely a budget version of what my parents were able to do in Africa. The park was closed to jeeps during that month, so during this time they do a loop of the "conservation area". The conservation area was still pretty good and had all the normal animals. The downside was that the strict paths and smaller area meant that every single jeep safari was doing the same route at the same time which didn't make for the most magical experience. We did still see some rhinos, deer, and animals so it was an enjoyable way to finish up my time.

Dark silhouettes of elephants visible through dense vegetation.

Chained up elephant. One of the reasons why I chose my safari lodge because they had a strict "No Elephant" policy, there are places for sustainable and ethical elephant tourism; this is not one of them

View through concrete pillars of elephants grazing in a lush green landscape.

A small bird perched among green leafy branches in a forest setting.

A red beetle rests on a bright green leaf against a blurred natural background.

A bird silhouetted against cloudy sky while perched on large green leaves.

A white egret stands in tall grass against a green background.

A lone bird silhouetted on a power line against cloudy sky and mountain backdrop.

Two primates sitting together in a leafy tree canopy.

White egrets walking through tall grass in a natural wetland setting.

A hippo splashing and creating water spray in a pond surrounded by green vegetation.

A hippo partially submerged in water among green aquatic plants.

A gray bird with spread wings perched on a bare tree branch.

A vibrant kingfisher bird with blue and orange feathers perches on an electrical wire against a blurred green background.

A faint rainbow arcs across a pale blue sky with delicate grass silhouettes in the foreground.

Small birds perch on bare branches against a sky with a rainbow in the background.

A black crow stands on a white railing with green foliage in the background.

A spotted fawn rests hidden among green foliage on the forest floor.

In total, I was glad to visit Chitwan National Park for a very different experience in Nepal! The nature and landscapes were beautiful and a far departure from my upcoming time in the Himalayas. The next morning I got another bike ride to the bus station and started my journey to Pokhara!