Elephantastic!

Our next destination was Chitwan National Park, down in the low-lying Terai region of Nepal. Quite a change from the towering, snow-capped mountains, this region is steamy jungle, home to one-horned rhinos, elephants, leopards and Bengal tigers. 

Getting here involved another long-ish bus journey but the scenery was spectacular again and luckily there were no breakdowns so we arrived earlier than anticipated. We were staying in a really nice jungle lodge which is 50% owned by a Dutch NGO and does a lot towards helping to develop the local villages, schools and women's skills. They also arranged a full schedule of activities for us.

The first of these was an evening visit to the village of an indigenous Tharu tribe. Their houses are built from mud and manure and have to be re-constructed twice per year. It was interesting to see their way of life although I always feel mildly uncomfortable on tours like this - it feels a little intrusive at times and I'm never sure how the villagers feel about it (although obviously they welcome the money!). We were given some home-made rice wine to try, but I think I'll be sticking to the grape variety from now on! Later that night we went to the cultural centre to watch a tribal stick-dance!

In the Tharu village...

The next day we were up early to go wildlife watching in the national park... on the back of an elephant! It was nice to swish through the trees on the back of this gentle giant. Quite early on we saw two one-horned rhinos sleeping in a little lake and we were able to get really close, as the rhinos aren't really bothered by the elephants. We also saw a sambar deer and a monkey.

Sleepy Rhino

On the back of our elephant

Our lodge actually had a couple of its own domestic elephants living on-site (very common in this area) so we'd regularly see them plodding past the restaurant or rooms while we were hanging out there. Later that morning we had the chance to help bathe one of them! We got onto her back (bare-back this time, which was much more fun than the little wooden seat we'd had on the jungle trip) and she slowly lumbered down to the river and waded into the water.  

Wading into the river...

We mentally prepared ourselves for the imminent soaking, as she gradually sunk to her knees and then rolled onto her side, tipping us into the river! 

We helped the keeper to wash her stomach and legs, ears and trunk and then we clambered back on top of her. I felt a bit mean using her legs as steps and heaving myself up onto her stomach but the keeper assured me it was no weight to her! 

Giving her a good scrub! 

Splashing around!

With both of us on her back again she proceeded to spray us with water from her trunk. We were squealing and laughing like little kids - it was so much fun! 

Finally she carried us back to the lodge and we headed back to our room for a shower and then spent a couple of hours relaxing in the hammocks in the garden. 

Soaking but elated!

That afternoon we set off back to the jungle, this time by way of a canoe trip down the river. There were no other tourists around and it was really peaceful as we slowly meandered along, passing blue kingfishers and egrets on the banks. 

The ultimate in tranquility

After half an hour or so we moored at a quiet spot and went on a walk into the jungle. We very quickly encountered some deer and then our guide spotted a rhino in a lake a little way away. As we quietly crept closer he noticed two wild elephants on the opposite bank. As these are very dangerous animals we had to take a detour to be able to view them from a safe distance.

There seemed to be a sort of stand-off between the rhino and the biggest elephant - they were both fixed in place and staring at each other somewhat warily. 

Elephant - Rhino stand-off

Then the elephant made a sudden movement and the rhino let out a loud warning shriek. Our guide turned to us and shouted "RUN!!". Hearts pounding, we turned and tore away in the direction of a nearby watchtower - I dropped my sunglasses and almost tripped over my own feet on the way but did manage to sprint over a narrow wooden bridge which I would have teetered across in normal circumstances - amazing what adrenalin can do! 

Luckily we were fine - when we looked back the rhino had started munching on some greens and the elephant had nonchalantly strolled off in a different direction.  We took more photos as the guide went back to recover my sunnies! 

Wild elephants

Hungry rhino

We later saw another rhino and a crocodile in the same river, although sadly no tigers (only tiger poo... not quite the same!). On the way home we stopped at an elephant breeding centre but seeing them in captivity wasn't quite as enchanting after our "wild" experience!

When we got back to the lodge one of the elephants was being given a shower next to our room so we had a few more pictures taken and then fed him some potatoes!

The next morning it was already time to return to Kathmandu. All in all it was a fantastic couple of days and definitely the absolute highlight of my time in Nepal!

Looking a little damp

Very happy after an excellent day!