Start place: Kathmandu Valley
Namaste! Welcome to Nepal. Please meet at our Kathmandu office, which is listed in the trip notes, the day prior to departure at 5 pm for a meeting.
We'll depart Kathmandu at 7 am, travelling by bus to Chitwan National Park (approx. five hours). Here, you'll be met and transferred to your accommodation. Of all the world's remaining jungles, this is one of the most enchanting. Discover a lost world of towering trees and twisting vines and of lumbering rhinos. There are crocodiles, pythons, deer and brilliantly coloured birds. Spend the evenings by the banks of the river Rapti in the small village of Sauraha, located on the edge of the park.
Over the next few days you'll boat along the Rapti, which shelters around a quarter of the world's remaining gharial population. This fish-eating crocodile has been hunted in the past for the supposed aphrodisiac qualities of its snout. Enjoy a guided jeep safari to Bishazari Tal (20,000 Lakes) as well as a bird-watching experience, and spend some time in a local village travelling as the locals do – on a traditional ox cart. Cap the trip off with an evening performance of a traditional stick dance by the local Tharu people.
Meals: B, L, D