February 23rd - Kathmandu to Chitwan National Park

We left the Hotel at around 8am, piling into the three vans that had been hired to take our party to Chitwan. More Kathmandu road craziness, and then a spectacular cliimb out of the valley. The air was unfortunately quite polluted and we were not able to see the distant Himalayan mountains. Most of the drive was through terraced farmland, however the roadside poverty was unbelievable. These people live in houses that are precarously balanced on the side of a 1000 ft shear rock face above the river. A common sight was women sitting next to huge piles of boulders, attempting to turn them into gravel using a tiny hammer. Often the husband would be there too, usually asleep.

We stopped for lunch at a fabulous resort where we met some of the other WWF staff. Then another three hours driving. The Maoist inssurgency in Nepal ended in 2006 and the country is now relatively safe for travellers. Never the less we saw armed soldiers at every intersection, and had to pass through numerous army checkpoints. At the entrance to the park we were escorted by a Jeep in order to keep us safe in the event of any animal attacks.

The Tiger Tops lodge is the only resort inside the boundary of the National Park. It consists of a large traditional round room in which meals are served and talks are given by naturalists. Most of the accomodation is on stilts to protect the guests against animals.We ended up in one of the non-stilted cabins, and therefore required a couple of armed guards outside our room all night.

The park is home to a large percentage of the remaining population of tigers which until recently roamed most of the Indian subcontinent. Widescale hunting during the early 1900's, and more recently poaching has decimated their population.

After checking in, we emarked on our first elephant safari. Elephants are frequently used inside the park because they are non-agressive, yet large enough that they are unlikely to be attacked.



Riding the elephant was remarkably uncomfortable as every step pushes you up and then drops you. Having just come off of a 7 hour car journey along winding roads, it was not the most pleasant ride, but more than made up for by the view and the chance to observe animals in the wild.



February 23rd - continued

Our elephant safari took us across the shallow river bordering the resort, and then into the thick undergrowth. Monkeys could be seen in the trees on the way to the river. The visibility was not great due to the many fires that had been set to control the height of the grass.

We covered several miles over two hours, and were able to get fairly close to several Rhinos, spotted dear,wild boar, and an Asiatic black bear. We returned right at sunset and got a spectacular view of the sun setting over the river.

That night we were treated to a traditional Nepalese dinner served in the round house around a wood fire. Then returned to our cabin where the beds had been pre-warmed with hot water bottles. Got the best night sleep of the trip (so far) drifting off to sleep to the strange sounds of the jungle.