Chitwan, Nepal

We had planned to explore Kathmandu for 2 days but we had been there before and seen all of the most popular sites so we decided to go to Chitwan. As we were limited on time the plan was to drive down and take the 30 minute flight back. The drive took us about 5 hours and we passed excellent scenery. The roads are quite good in places, but other parts are terribly bumpy.

 

There was very heavy rain and wind overnight which continued into the morning. We heard that our flight back to Kathmandu had been cancelled due to severe weather conditions so we set off on elephant back to  cross the deep, fast running rivers, then on canoe against the current to finally meet up with a vehicle that was to drive us back to Kathmandu so we could catch our evening flight back to the UK. The whole experience was very frightening and at one point I even doubted if the elephants could hold their footing against such a strong water current.

 

Tiger Tops Jungle Lodge, Asia’s first wildlife safari lodge is a rich and spectacular wildlife sanctuary. Set inside the Chitwan National Park, the Tiger Tops tree houses, built from local natural materials overlook a large expanse of open grassland with animal sightings being commonplace. The most interesting safaris are by elephant through the tall elephant grasses. The park is home to the elusive Royal Bengal Tiger, great one-horned rhinoceros, leopards, sloth bears and a host of exotic birds such as the Bengal Florican.