Chitwan National Park has situated in south-central Nepal in the subtropical lowlands of the inner terai of Chitwan, Makawanpur, Parsa, and Nawalparasi districts. The altitude ranges from 110m to 850m above sea level.
The park is bounded by the Rapti and Narayani River in the north, Parsa Wildlife Reserve in the east and Madi settlements and India border in the south. The physiography of the park consists of the Terai and Siwaliks. Three major rivers Narayani, Rapti and Reu, and their floodplains, and several lakes and pools are the major water sources of the park.
The best of Chitwan is a wilderness of a rich ecosystem that includes mammals, birds, reptiles and water animals of numerous kinds. The highlights of this park are the 500 Asian one-horned rhinoceros and some hundred nocturnal Royal Bengal Tigers that live in the dense forests of the park. You will discover a lost world of towering trees and twisting vines, of pre-historic rhino and lumbering elephants, crocodiles, pythons and deer, brilliantly colored birds and if you are fortunate – the superb Royal Bengal Tiger.
Different Areas In The Chitwan National Park
Amaltari (Western sector)
This is one of the entrances for the park. This is preferred by the tourists as it is closer to the Mahendra Highway. This region has the Rapti, Narayani and Reu rivers. This is the right spot to explore to spot a lot of animals. Jeep safari and other safaris cover this region.
Kasara (Mid sector)
This region holds the museum and the park headquarters. You can find a famous religious site, Bikram Baba in this region. A little away from the headquarters, you will find the Gharial breeding center, where crocodiles, turtles, and muggers are bred. This region is covered on foot, usually.
Madi-Bagai (Southern sector)
This is the deep forest region. Tourists usually are not taken to this part of the jungle.
Sauraha (Eastern sector)
This is the eco-tourism region. You can find many development activities like resorts, safari routes, birdwatching sites and others here. Sauraha is another important entrance to the park. This region covers the Churia hill regions. You can find rare species in this region. Sauraha has the wildlife conservation program, souvenir shop, gift shops and others in the visitor center.
Best Time to visit Chitwan National Park
The best time to visit this national park is from October to March. During this season, the sky is clear and the temperature is cool. Thus, visibility is clear. In addition, by January, the villagers cut the grass for their use. This also increases visibility. By monsoon season, these grasses grow up to 8 m, thus spotting smaller mammals will be harder.
In addition, monsoon makes jeep safari harder. The safari is restricted only to the buffer zone during monsoon. Flooding is very common during monsoon season. Thus, it is best to avoid it. Summer is the right time to spot many predators. The smaller water sources inside the forest would be dried by summer and the animals come to the main water source to quench their thirst. Thus, spotting animals becomes easier. However, birdwatching is quite harder as many migration birds would have left the region.
How to Reach Chitwan National Park
The park is around 5 to 6 hours of drive from Kathmandu. This is the commonly chosen route as most of the tourists enter Nepal via Kathmandu airport. If you want to reduce the travel time, fly from Kathmandu to Bharatpur airport. From Bharatpur airport, it would take only a few minutes to reach the park. From Kathmandu airport, seven flights fly to Bharatpur, every day. The flight time between the two destinations is just 25 minutes.
