About Sauraha

A quickly growing but still small village that caters to the needs of the visitors to Chitwan National Park, the best known safari park in Nepal. It is located 160 kms by road from Kathmandu, 155 kms by road from Pokhara and 160 kms by road from the Indian border at Sunauli. The Chitwan National Park is home to Bengal tigers, rhinoceroses, bears, leopards, crocodiles and monkeys amongst others, and hundreds of species of birds and butterflies. The village of Sauraha is separated from the national park by the Rapti River, which is safe to swim in. During the dry season one can wander the sand dunes of the shrunken river. It is possible to walk for miles along the mud roads west, north and east of the village to other, rural Tharu villages.

What to do ?

Getting Around the Park

Elephants Rides

An elephant ride in the park is the highlight of a visit to Chitwan. An elephant is the best way to see the wildlife, especially in the summer and autumn when the grass gets very high, up to 8m high. Riding on an elephant doesn’t scare the wildlife away, because the scent of the elephant masks your scent.

Hotels inside the park have their own elephants. Elephants safaris usually begin at the hotels in Sauraha have their own elephants.

Around ten elephants go out into the park around 7.30 am and 4 pm for 1½ hours. During the high-season the demand is greater than the supply, so elephants should be booked as soon as possible. Usually people start queuing up very early in the morning, so it is most likely a good idea to pay to pay around a Rs 100 for your lodge to arrange the elephant for you. On major Nepali holidays the elephants do not go out.

Several of the hotels in Sauraha have their own elephants. The elephants from these hotels can only go to the Baghmara Community Forest, a few kilometres west of the park. This area is used by many of the villagers for grazing animals, which has a tendency to scare away the animals. The private operators say you are just as likely to see wildlife here, as within the park, but in actually it is much better in the park. Some people have seen rhinos here.

When booking a package tour to the park, you should make sure to find out if the elephant ride is inside or outside the park. You should ask to see your park entry ticket. Sometimes people are told that the elephant ride is in the park and it is actually outside the park.

Elephants do not go out on important holidays such as the eighth or ninth days of Dasain.

Jungle Walks
Jungle Walks are a good way to sight wildlife and is great for bird watching. Walks begin between 6 and 7 am. Half-day walk goes for three hours.  Many of the hotels have their own guides and there are some independent guides.

They can be a dangerous, which is a good reason to have an experienced guide with you. A half-day walk will visit grassland and riverine forest. To get into the jungle a full day is needed. There are also longer two day jungle walks. It is best to go with a senior or advanced guide on longer walks. The best time for a jungle walk is in the spring, at which time the grass is shorter. It is possible to take a jungle walk along with a canoe ride.

Jeep Rides
Jeep rides last three to five hours and can cover a greater distant than an elephant. Jeeps depart at 7 am and 1 pm. There is a better chance of seeing wildlife in the afternoon. It is normal to see a rhino on a jeep safari. The best months to see wildlife are February to April, after the grass has been cut. Jeep rides normally go to Kasara Durbar, the park headquarters and the gharial crocodile breeding project, about 20km west of Sauraha.  Often jeeps can not get into the park until the water level of the rivers decrease after the monsoon, until November or early December. During this time shorter and not as good trip will be done outside the park.

Most lodges have their own jeeps. You should book early with your lodge to guarantee a seat in a jeep.

Canoe Trip
Canoe trips usually go down the Rapti or Narayani rivers one-half hour to one hour and then from there you take a guided walk two or three hours back to Sauraha. As many people walk on this trail, it often scares the animals away. Trip usually begin near the Baghmara Community Forest and go down the Rapti River to the Elephant Breeding Project. You can also take a jeep ride back.
Canoes depart at 8 am and 2 pm. You have a better chance of seeing something if you take one of the first canoes departing in the morning or afternoon. During the high-season they should be booked a day in advance. The canoe rides are peaceful. During one, you will see water birds and may see gharial crocodiles, the rarely seen Gangetic dolphin, or a mugger crocodile. The mugger crocodile like the marshy areas.

Bicycle Rides
You can also take a bicycle ride to Bis Hajjar Tal (20,000 Lake) in about 1½ hours. You may see rhinos, gharials and birds at the lake. You should get to the lake early in morning. A bike should be reserved the night before. Bicycles are not allowed in the park. Bikes can be hires  at Tadi Bazaar and Sauraha.

To get to Bis Hajjar Tal you first go to Tadi and then you turn left (go west) on Mahendra Highway. You then go 3km until you cross a bridge that goes over the Khageri Khola. You cross the bridge and take the dirt road on the left (go south). After going over another bridge you come to a fort in the road. Take the right fork for 5km and the lake will be on your right.

Places In and Around the Park

Kasara Durbar, built in 1939, is the royal hunting lodge.

At the Gharial Crocodile Breeding Project, the endangered gharial crocodile’s eggs are incubated under controlled condition, therefore increasing the survivor rate. It was started in 1977 when there were only 1300 gharials left on earth.
Lami Tal Lake is good places to view mugger crocodiles and birds.

The Elephant Stables, at the southeastern border of Sauraha, is where many of the Chitwan elephants live. A good time to visit is in the afternoon when the elephants are fed.
At the Elephant Breeding Program, 4km west of Sauraha, elephants are breed and trained. The best time to visit is in the afternoon.

Bis Hajaar Tal is a group of marshy lakes west of the Elephant Breeding Program where deer, birds, monkeys and sometimes rhinos can be seen here. It is best to have a guide to do a day walking tour here.

Colorful Evenings

As the name of Chitwan is derived from two Tharu words – Chit (meaning dense in local language) and Ban (forest) – this place has also become a famous destination to enjoy typical tharu cultural dances – long stick dance (in local language it is called Vajaiti which shows how the ethnic Tharu community spent their life in the past living near the forest), Damphu or Phagui, Thakara and Jhirka. These typical dances are performed in the central part of small city of Sauraha. Dhampu or Phagui is a dance mainly performed on the day of Phagu Purnima, which is a main festival of Tharu people.

What you may not like ?

Mosquitoes at certain times of the year (nets are provided in hotels/lodges) / The overzealous hotel touts at the bus park (simply board any jeep that will take you the 3 kms to the village. If you stay in the hotel the jeep goes to the ride is free. If you don’t like the look of the lodge, hand the driver fare for the ride and choose another place).

Leeches (jukha) can be a problem  during the monsoon at Chitwan National Park. There are still some leeches one or two months after it stops raining.

How long ?

You might really like the laid back atmosphere and stay longer than you had originally planned. The small village has a few restaurants a la Pokhara and Thamel, but local-style eateries as well. Life is tranquil here. You will want to spend at least one day in the national park, and a couple more days to walk/bike around about. Give yourself at least a minimum of three days.

When to go ?

The dry season would be best (November-April) and March would be the ideal time. The daytime temperature is not too hot and the elephant grass in the national park has been cut, allowing for better animal spotting.

Getting there and away ?

From Pokhara and Kathmandu many tourist buses leave, usually at 7 or 8 a.m. Just pop into any ticket and travel agency for all the details. From Kakarbhitta or Raxaul, take the bus for Narayangadh and get off at Ratnanagar, 7 kms from Sauraha. The last 7 kms can be made by jeep.
When leaving, your lodge/hotel will organize a motorbike or jeep to take you to the bus park to pick up the tourist bus or take you the 10 kms to Ratananagar where buses connect with Sunauli, Kakarbhitta and Raxaul.

 

* Some of the words are taken from http://www.greenline.com.np/sauraha.php, http://www.passplanet.com/nepal/sauraha.htm, http://www.vegetarian-restaurants.net/Nepal/Nepal-Others/Chitwan-Park.htm,