Chitwan National Park Nepal – A Walking Safari

Chitwan National Park in Nepal is a world heritage site that covers 932 square kilometres. I’m here today in the hopes of spotting either the one horned rhinoceros or if I’m really lucky a Bengal Tiger.

Chitwan is one of the few national wildlife parks in the world that allows guided walking safaris. As there is alot of thick and high grasses you really do get a full on wild safari experience. My guide Dev gives me the rules if we encounter a rhino. Stay a minimum 30 metres away. Run for a tree if we’re charged, and drop an article of clothing or backpack as a decoy. Just knowing that a tiger, rhino, or sloth bear could be just around the corner makes for a truly adrenaline charged day. To be honest though, I’m really not interested in testing by tree climbing skills today.

My guide Dev is actually trying to listen for the sounds of rhinoceros. We are very vunerable in these high grasses with nowhere to run.

Finally, we spot some tiger tracks. Because the tigers tend to stay within a territory Dev recognizes the pug marks from this tiger.
Finally some wildlife? Well not exactly. Elephant rides are a popular way to get around the park and can be booked as a package or with your hotel.

We waited for hours with no luck spotting rhinos or tigers. Still, even with no big wildlife in sight sitting under these trees knowing we were in their backyard was such an awesome feeling I’ll carry with me for life.

Late in the day we were finally able to spot a young rhino. Unfortunately my camcorder’s night vision couldn’t.
I walked away from this experience with a whole new appreciation for wildlife and the people who protect it. In Chitwan National Park, Nepal.