A journey of a thousand miles begin with a single step
Lao tsu
We always ponder about escaping from our monotonous life. However, most of the time, we are confused about the place, food, lodging, and whatnot. If you are one of them, then you have landed at the right place. Take a break from your work and start travelling.
We will help you out in planning your itinerary and also give you a glimpse of our journey.
1. Why Chitwan?
Chitwan has always been on the bucket list for many travel addicts like us. I guess after reading this blog, you all will be excited to visit Chitwan. Let’s start on this beautiful journey of Chitwan. This place offers a unique experience, especially for nature enthusiasts, wildlife lovers, especially the curious ones.
2. How to cross the border and reach Chitwan from India?
Well, Chitwan is located in the southwestern part of the beautiful country of Nepal. The easiest way to reach this place from India is to cross the Indo-Nepal border via Raxaul-Birgunj and take a cab/bus from Birgunj and reach Sauraha, a village in the Chitwan district. A cab can take approximately 2000-3000 INR.
We took this route after getting down at the Raxaul railway station (located in Bihar) in India crossing the border with a Tonga (a cart drawn by horse); an adventurous ride, and in the blink of an eye, you will find yourself in another country. Tonga took us to Birgunj (located in Nepal), and it was time for a break.
3. Do we need to stay close to the border to go to Chitwan?
Our answer depends on when you arrive at Birgunj. In case you arrive by noon, it is better to leave for Chitwan, or else there are many stay options in Birgunj. Of course, we arrived early, so we opted to depart after a quick refreshment. We hopped onto the bus that we booked for Chitwan and departed after lunch.
4. What are the road conditions and duration to reach Chitwan from Birgunj?
To be honest, initially, the road condition was not so good as well as it was dusty. After one hour of journey, as the transition came from the mundane city mode to the forest mode, we were really happy as well as relished our journey to reach Chitwan. The distance between Birgunj to Chitwan is approximately 150 km which can be covered in 4 hours approximately. Of course, the traffic condition needs to be considered.
5. Where are we gonna stay in Chitwan?
This is something that depends on your budget. So, in our case, we reached Sauraha village in the evening hours. We were greeted by the ever-smiling locals. The locals here are very friendly.
There are many stay options available in the Sauraha region. Our suggestions would be to try some cottage options in Sauraha that give you an authentic feel about staying in a National Park Region. The stay options that we chose were super cool, especially the vibe and the culture.
Despite travelling for so long, we decided to take a break for an hour, have some tea and go on to explore the locality. We found travellers from all across the globe enjoying and immersing themselves in the culture of the region. We had our dinner a bit early as the early morning jungle safari was awaiting the next day.
6. How is the Jeep for the Jungle Safari?
Continuing our story, the next morning, we woke up much early before the alarm. It was all about excitement for the jungle safari. There are two options either you can opt for an elephant or jeep safari. We opted for the Jeep safari. It was an open jeep, and about 16 persons could sit at a time.
This was a first-time experience for us. The time was December, so the chilled morning breeze shivered us as the jeep rolled on into the dense forest. The sunlight provided some relief for us, though. You all can see the Jeep and how it looks.
7. How was the Jungle Safari?
As far as the safari is concerned, the Chitwan National Park is a UNESCO World Heritage Site that spans over 900 square kilometres. We were able to spot a few deer in the early hours, along with a few rhinos and crocodiles. Also spotted a few fresh footprints of the royal Bengal tigers.
If you are a bird lover, then you can spot many endangered birds, though, for us, it was difficult to distinguish the birds. The overall safari took 4 hours to complete.
The pickup/drop for the safari was from our stay. There, there are many safari options that you can opt for, especially if you are staying in Sauraha; you will come across many agents organising elephant and jeep safaris. There is nothing to worry about.
8. How to spend an evening in Chitwan?
Let us first give you a glimpse of what we did. Soon after our safari, we had local lunch and were eager to meet the local people. One of them greeted us with his own version of Hindi as well as Nepali songs. We were more interested towards visiting the Rapti River Side. It felt like a mini-Goa in Nepal. The riverside has many pubs with cosy chairs under umbrella shades to relax.
On interacting with the locals, we heard some weird myths about this place. We came to know about a mystic creature called “Banbasa”. As per the local beliefs, the Banbasa possesses the ability to shape-shift into various animals, often appearing as a beautiful woman to trap unsuspecting travellers deeper into the wilderness. This story is a bit weird and creepy, though. In the meantime, we also enjoyed the sunset by the riverside. I hope this is a nice way to spend an evening by the Rapti River Side. Yes, you can also opt for camping in your stay or taking a stroll down the road. You will definitely enjoy.
9. Are there any traditional dances of Chitwan?
The answer is Yes, there is a traditional dance and that too is very unique in its own way. We planned to explore some local souvenir shops in the late evening. One such local shop owner told us of the famous Tharu Dance that would be performed just next to our stay. We were thrilled to hear that. So, we quickly booked the tickets for the front row and enjoyed the local dance performed with sticks and fire.
We found the local people to be extremely talented and hard-working. We clicked a few snaps with the dancers as memories. It was time for us to bid adieu to this beautiful place after two memorable days and move on to the next destination. Now you think on your own about how beautiful the place is. Ask yourself, Shall we visit Chitwan in 2023?
10. What benefits are we gonna provide to you?
Hmm, this question is bound to come to your mind. Let us inform you that we prepare itineraries not only for anywhere in India but also for Asia. We have been travelling since we were toddlers. So here in our blogs and stories, we will be giving you a glimpse of our journey and also helping you to plan your trip.
Read about our Uzbekistan blogs.
Read about our Kazakhstan blogs.
Read about our Singapore blogs.
Read about our Vietnam blogs.
Read about our Cambodia blogs.
Read about our Bali blogs.
Read about our Kuala Lumpur blog series.
Read about our Sri Lanka blogs.
Read about our Nepal blogs.
Read about our Char Dham blogs.
Read about our Ladakh blogs.
Read about our day trip to Hyderabad.
Read about our Madhya Pradesh blogs.
Read about our Andaman and Nicobar blogs.
Do follow our Instagram handle @mindfulllofvacations and keep an eye out for the next destination story of Nepal. For any query related to any trip, drop a mail at @mitkau007@gmail.com
by mitkau