Things to do in Sauraha and Chitwan
And where to stay, the best time to visit, what a day costs, and the traps to skip.
Best time to visit Sauraha and Chitwan
• a note or something on ✦ an occasion worth the trip
Best all round window and peak season, jeep safaris reopened after monsoon, with tall grass in October improving by November.
Winter, cold misty dawns but the grass is cut in January for the best visibility of the year and the richest birding.
Hot dry season, animals concentrate at water for the best tiger chance of the year, with days regularly over 35 degrees by April.
Monsoon, core jeep safaris suspended from around 1 July to early October, with walks and canoes weather permitting and flood disruption possible.
What's on
- Maghi Mid January, date varies
The main Tharu festival, celebrated in the Sauraha villages and the best date of the year for the culture strand of a trip.
- Holi in the Terai March, one day after the hill celebration, date varies
The colour festival as celebrated in the Terai, filling Sauraha for a day. Keep phones and cameras protected.
- Dashain and Tihar September to November, dates vary by lunar calendar
Nepal great autumn festivals, bringing domestic holiday crowds to Sauraha on top of the international peak season.
Best things to do in Sauraha and Chitwan
Chitwan National Park
Nepal first national park and the whole reason Sauraha exists, entered across the Rapti with a guide and a day permit.
Elephant Breeding Centre
The government patrol elephant breeding centre at Khorsor, a standard visit with honest reports of chained elephants.
Tharu Cultural Museum and Research Center
A small museum of Tharu dress, tools and ceremonies that explains whose land the park was made from.
New Sauraha Tharu Cultural House
The evening Tharu dance show in town, stick, peacock and fire dances performed by young local dancers.
Where to stay in Sauraha and Chitwan
Sauraha main street and river road
first visit, town base and walk in choice
Lodges, guesthouses, restaurants and safari desks within walking distance of the Rapti and the park gate, home to Sapana, Wild Horizons and Hotel Parkside.
Baghmara
resort comfort and community forest access
A quieter village edge by the Rapti and the community forest, about 2 km from the centre and home to Green Park Chitwan.
Meghauli
luxury lodge safaris at a quieter gate
The western park gate area about 30 km from Sauraha town, home to Meghauli Serai and Barahi Jungle Lodge, booked as self contained lodge stays.
Think twice about
- Inside the park without a guide
Illegal and dangerous. Entry to Chitwan National Park requires a licensed guide for walks, jeeps and canoes, with two guides on foot.
- Rapti River banks in flood or monsoon high water
The Rapti rises fast, canoe trips are pulled in high water, and the park issues river avoidance appeals in flood weeks. Follow your guide and lodge.
- Bharatpur highway strip as a base
A road town for transit only. Sleep in Sauraha for dawn safaris and the river, not by the highway 30 to 45 minutes away.
Best restaurants in Sauraha and Chitwan
KC's Restaurant And Home PVT.LTD
One of Sauraha oldest traveller restaurants, multi cuisine with a garden terrace, the natural mid range safari day dinner.
Friends Cafe
The town traveller cafe bar on Sauraha Road, rated for its kitchen from late breakfast through to after show drinks.
Art Cafe
The daytime favourite cafe on Sauraha Road, good coffee and a mixed menu with air conditioning that matters in the heat.
Shantiko Kitchen
A local kitchen on Sauraha Road for honest Nepali home cooking at local prices, where guides and guesthouse staff eat.
Sauraha Thakali Kitchen
Thakali thali sets with refills at cheap prices, the most reliably satisfying full lunch in a Nepali traveller town.
Outdoor things to do in Sauraha and Chitwan
Rapti River
A guided dugout canoe down the Rapti past basking gharial and mugger crocodiles, the best wildlife per rupee in Sauraha.
Bishazari Tal
A Ramsar listed oxbow lake system in the buffer zone, reached by bicycle or jeep for birds, marsh and quiet water.
Shared Jeep Safari, Chitwan National Park
The standard half day shared jeep into the core park from Sauraha gate, the mid tier way most visitors look for rhino.
Guided Jungle Walk, Chitwan National Park
A full day on foot in the core park with the mandatory two guides, the closest and most intense rhino encounters in Chitwan.
Private Full-Day Jeep Safari, Chitwan National Park
Your own jeep and senior guide for a full deep park day to Kasara, the splurge that buys range, time and probability.
Best hotels in Sauraha and Chitwan
Meghauli Serai, A Taj Safari, Chitwan National Park
Chitwan true luxury safari lodge on the Rapti at Meghauli, with pool villas and its own naturalists at a quieter gate.
Barahi Jungle Lodge
A high end eco jungle lodge in the Meghauli area with a full private safari programme, a self contained luxury base.
Sapana Village Lodge
A community linked garden lodge in Sauraha with a good restaurant and village programme, the mid tier town base to pick.
Green Park Chitwan
A larger resort hotel in Baghmara near the river with every safari arranged in house, a sound family and group base.
Wild Horizons Guest House
A family run guesthouse with a shady garden and praised guiding, the cheap tier done properly in Sauraha.
Hotel Parkside
A proper budget hotel by the park edge with a pool and safari desk, at the lowest proper hotel prices in town.
Is Sauraha and Chitwan expensive? What a day costs
| Budget | NPR 6,000 a person |
|---|---|
| Classic | NPR 12,000 a person |
| Splurge | NPR 35,000 a person |
A day of food, drink, sights and getting around, before the room
What to book ahead
- Shared Jeep Safari, Chitwan National Park: a few days ahead
- Guided Jungle Walk, Chitwan National Park: a few days ahead
- Private Full-Day Jeep Safari, Chitwan National Park: a few days ahead
- Meghauli Serai, A Taj Safari, Chitwan National Park: weeks ahead
- Barahi Jungle Lodge: weeks ahead
- Sapana Village Lodge: a few days ahead
- Green Park Chitwan: a few days ahead
- Book Meghauli Serai, Barahi Jungle Lodge, Sapana Village Lodge and private full day jeeps ahead in October, November, March and April.
- Check the core park jeep safari reopening date live if travelling near the early October restart after the monsoon closure.
Is Sauraha and Chitwan safe?
- Never approach a rhino in town or in the park. Get indoors or behind a solid barrier and follow local instruction.
- Use repellent and cover up at dawn and dusk, as dengue is present in the Terai and malaria risk is low but not zero.
Sauraha and Chitwan travel tips: tourist traps to skip
- Anyone promising a tiger sighting. Rhino are common and never guaranteed, and tiger sightings are luck.
- Elephant rides sold as if they entered the core park. They run only in buffer zone community forests and are in decline.
- A buffer zone jeep in monsoon sold as a core park safari, and a one night stay with only one permit day.
- Bundling the Elephant Breeding Centre without mentioning the chained elephant reports from recent visitors.
Getting around Sauraha and Chitwan: public transport and more
- Walk or cycle in Sauraha. The main street, riverbank and park ticket office are walkable and lodges rent bicycles.
- Tourist buses to Kathmandu and Pokhara leave in the morning, scheduled about 5 hours and regularly 5 to 8 in practice.
- The fast Kathmandu route is the 20 to 25 minute flight to Bharatpur plus a 30 to 45 minute drive to Sauraha.
Who Sauraha and Chitwan suits
| Solo travellers | Good |
|---|---|
| Groups of friends | Great |
| Couples | Good |
| Bachelor parties | Not ideal |
| Families | Good |
| Bachelorette parties | Not ideal |
Make Sauraha and Chitwan your trip
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