Things to do in Chitwan
And where to stay, the best time to visit, what a day costs, and the traps to skip.
Best time to visit Chitwan
• a note or something on ✦ an occasion worth the trip
Comfortable peak season, roads repaired, birds returning, grass tallest in October and improving weekly.
Grass cut low for open savannah views and peak birding, with cold foggy dawns near 5 to 10C.
Animals concentrate at water with best tiger odds in March and April, but midday heat reaches 35 to 38C.
Monsoon, core jeeps suspended, flooded tracks and leeches, buffer safaris continue and lodges discount.
What's on
- Dashain September / October
Major festival filling lodges and transport, so book ahead.
- Tihar October / November
Festival period filling lodges and transport, so book ahead.
- Chitwan Elephant and Tourism Festival late December
Sauraha festival reframed toward conservation formats, mainly a booking pressure point.
- Maghi mid-January
Tharu New Year with a week of feasting, dawn river bathing and dancing in the villages.
- Maghe Sankranti mid-January
Devghat fills with pilgrims at the sacred confluence, spectacular and crowded.
- Holi March
Celebrated a day after the hills, in clothes you will sacrifice.
- Nepali New Year mid-April
Adds domestic crowds to the spring heat season.
Best things to do in Chitwan
Full-Day Jeep Safari, Chitwan National Park
Full day in the core park gives the best rhino odds and time to stop for tracks, lakes and grasslands.
Guided Jungle Walk, Chitwan National Park
Walking with two licensed guides is the defining Chitwan experience, reading tracks and approaching rhino on foot.
Rapti River Canoe, Sauraha
A silent dawn dugout float past crocodiles and kingfishers, best paired with a jungle walk back.
Jungle Tower Night, Chitwan
Sleeping in a buffer forest watchtower is the only easy way to hear and watch the jungle at night.
Tharu Village Walk, Sauraha
A guided walk into a working Tharu village adds the human half of Chitwan to a wildlife trip.
Tharu Cultural House
Evening stick, peacock and fire dances by a community troupe, about an hour in central Sauraha.
Elephant Breeding Centre
Government centre where you see mothers and calves up close and learn the patrol elephant story without riding.
Gharial Breeding Centre
Kasara pens raise critically endangered gharial for release, an easy stop inside a full day jeep route.
Where to stay in Chitwan
Sauraha
first trip, all-round base
Walkable village on the Rapti with lodges in every tier, independent restaurants and competing safari agencies.
Meghauli
luxury, quiet and couples
Dispersed luxury lodges in their own river grounds with private naturalists and far fewer jeeps.
Patihani
polished lodge stay, families
Upscale resorts near Kasara gate and the community forest, with pools and quick Bharatpur airport access.
Amaltari / Barauli
community tourism and repeat visitors
Tharu villages and storied lodges on the Narayani with the quietest western sector safaris.
Think twice about
- Bharatpur / Narayanghat city
Highway and bus junction sprawl with no walkable park access, so every safari starts with a long transfer.
- Tadi Bazaar
Noisy highway bazaar where buses stop, about 6 km from Sauraha. Use lodge pickups and sleep in Sauraha.
- Sauraha main street core
Touts, loud bars, idling jeeps and elephant riding pitches. Sleep a lane toward the river or a few hundred metres out.
Best restaurants in Chitwan
Barahi Jungle Lodge
Top end lodge table with varied full board menus and candlelit riverside dinners in Meghauli.
Meghauli Serai, A Taj Safari
Taj grade full board dining across Tharu, Nepali and continental cooking on the Rapti bank.
KC's Restaurant and Home
Sauraha institution with a wide Nepali, Indian and continental garden menu, the safest big group dinner.
Friends Cafe
Traveller cafe bar on the strip with good coffee, cocktails and a menu reviewers rate above its category.
Sapana Village Lodge
Best Sauraha lodge table open to non guests, with Tharu sets and local fish in a pond side garden.
Greasy Spoon Restaurant
Spotless cafe restaurant known for pizzas and traveller staples, a clean rest day lunch or homesick dinner.
Art Cafe
Small art filled cafe just off the busy street for cheap pizza, snacks and an unhurried afternoon seat.
Taxi's Restaurant
Small family run place for proper dal bhat and seasonal Nepali cooking, guided by what is fresh.
Outdoor things to do in Chitwan
Multi-Day Jungle Trek, Sauraha to Madi
Two to four days walking core and buffer jungle with guides and porters for the highest cumulative wildlife odds.
Cycling the Buffer, Sauraha
Flat bicycle loops to Tharu villages, the breeding centre and Bis Hazari Tal make the best cheap rest day.
Kumroj Community Forest
Rhino rich community forest east of Sauraha with jeeps, walks and tower nights at lower prices than the core.
Baghmara Community Forest
Community forest west of Sauraha holding rhino, deer and rich birdlife with fewer jeeps than the core.
Narayani River Boat, Meghauli
Longer boat trips on the big western river for gharial and birds, usually run as a lodge programme.
Trishuli River
Half or full day class II to III rafting that turns the Kathmandu to Chitwan road transfer into a trip day.
Seti River
Gentler two day family raft from near Pokhara with a beach camp, ending close to the Chitwan road transfer.
Devghat
Sacred confluence of the Trishuli and Kali Gandaki with temples, ashrams, ghats and suspension bridges.
Best hotels in Chitwan
Sapana Village Lodge
Tharu inspired lodge in green grounds with a strong restaurant and a community project ethos.
Green Park Chitwan
Sauraha side resort with large gardens and a proper pool, a few minutes west of the strip.
Maruni Sanctuary Lodge
Cottages in jungle gardens on the Kumroj forest edge where deer and rhino come to the fence line.
Chitwan Village Resort
Family run riverside lane lodge with gardens, home style food and owners who assemble honest safaris.
Hotel Rhino Land
Small budget hotel that explicitly does not organise elephant rides, with well guided walk and jeep days.
Evergreen Ecolodge
Garden bungalows and a laid back eco minded setup on the edge of Sauraha at backpacker prices.
Meghauli Serai, A Taj Safari
Flagship luxury lodge in tall grass on the Rapti, with villas, plunge pools and in house naturalists.
Barahi Jungle Lodge
Thatched river bungalows in jungle grounds with a spa, pool and naturalists guests praise by name.
Is Chitwan expensive? What a day costs
| Budget | NPR 5,500 a person |
|---|---|
| Classic | NPR 10,750 a person |
| Splurge | NPR 45,000 a person |
A day of food, drink, sights and getting around, before the room
What to book ahead
- Full-Day Jeep Safari, Chitwan National Park: weeks ahead
- Guided Jungle Walk, Chitwan National Park: a few days ahead
- Jungle Tower Night, Chitwan: a few days ahead
- Bis Hazari Tal: a few days ahead
- Walk with Elephants, Tiger Tops: a few days ahead
- Multi-Day Jungle Trek, Sauraha to Madi: weeks ahead
- Narayani River Boat, Meghauli: a few days ahead
- Trishuli River: a few days ahead
- Book luxury lodges six to ten weeks out and Sauraha mid range two to four weeks out in peak weeks.
- Book the lodge first, then compare activities in person in Sauraha rather than buying a Kathmandu package.
- Core park entry for foreign visitors was NPR 2,000 per person per day. Carry passport copy and cash rupees.
Is Chitwan safe?
- On foot follow both guides instantly, wear dull colours and no scent, and never approach a rhino in town.
- Never swim in the Rapti or Narayani due to crocodiles and currents, and avoid unlit lanes after dark.
- Use bottled or filtered water only, repellent at dusk, and leech socks in and just after monsoon.
Chitwan travel tips: tourist traps to skip
- Elephant back safari and elephant bathing are still sold on the strip. Spend the money on a walk instead.
- Half day shared jeeps as your only safari have no stopping power. One full day beats two half days.
- Guided sunset tours for a free five minute walk to the riverbank, and Bis Hazari Tal sold as a beauty spot lake.
Getting around Chitwan: public transport and more
- Fly Kathmandu to Bharatpur in about 20 to 25 minutes, then transfer 30 minutes to Sauraha or 40 to Meghauli.
- Sauraha is walked and bicycled. Other bases run on lodge vehicles, so agree outside transfers in advance.
- Tourist buses go to Tadi Bazaar in five to seven hours. Lodges meet guests there routinely.
Who Chitwan suits
| Solo travellers | Good |
|---|---|
| Groups of friends | Great |
| Couples | Great |
| Bachelor parties | OK |
| Families | Good |
| Bachelorette parties | OK |
Make Chitwan your trip
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