Chitwan National Park was Nepal's first national park and is now a UNESCO World Heritage site. Its sal forest, tall grasslands and slow rivers in the southern Terai are home to the greater one-horned rhinoceros, Bengal tigers, sloth bears, gharial crocodiles and well over 500 species of birds.
Most visitors stay in Sauraha on the park's edge. Early mornings are best: drift down the Rapti River in a dugout canoe as mist lifts off the water, then join a jeep safari or a guided jungle walk. Sightings of rhinos are common; tigers are elusive, so treat one as a bonus.
Leave time for the Tharu villages around the park, whose mud-walled homes, stick dances and cooking are a highlight of their own. Bharatpur airport is a short drive away, and buses from Kathmandu and Pokhara take most of a day.
