Welcome to the Jungle

Last weekend, Danielle—another ELI volunteer—and I decided to take a break from the craziness of Kathmandu and head south to the jungle in Chitwan, home to the nation’s largest national park. 

Our journey to Chitwan was a bumpy six-hour drive often along narrow and winding roads in the mountains. But the further away we got from Kathmandu, the sparser the towns became and the more green and lush the scenery outside grew. We arrived in Sauraha, the small town right outside the entrance to Chitwan National Park, a very hot and sweaty mess in the mid-day humidity. We were very happy though when we discovered that our hotel room had both a fan and AC, which is very luxurious for Nepali standards.

Tharu people harvesing rice fields in Sauraha

After relaxing a bit, we joined our new tour guide, Asha, for a walk around a traditional Tharu village in Sauraha. The Tharu people, who are known as people of the forest, are indigieneous to the Terai belt region that stretches across southern Nepal and northern India. Historically, the Tharu people are known for their immunity to malaria, which for centuries kept foreigners out of their lands. They cultivate staple crops such as rice and corn, and construct their homes with walls made of mud and cow dung.

Traditional Tharu dance during cultural program

That evening, we had the unique experience of attending a Tharu cultural dance program. Two men kept the beat on bongo drums as groups of young Tharu men and women in traditional dress danced in unison. The men used sticks that they would rythematically hit against one another and then turn to hit against their neighbors. The women sang a beautiful traditional chant as they went around in a circle waving their arms. Our favorite dance of the night had to be the solo mating dance, in which one person dressed in a peacock outfit scurried along the stage while displaying a huge backside of colorful feathers.

Getting ready to head out on our jungle trek

The next morning, just as the heat was beginning to rise, we set out for our elephant trek. This is definitely one of the highlights of the typical Chitwan tourist experience, and we were not about to miss it. Although sitting in the “saddle” with three other people was not the most comfortable arrangement, it was an experience to tromp through the jungle at tree-height and maintain balance as we slowly rolled from side to side. During the trek we did not encounter much wildlife, but we did see one rhino who was taking his morning bath, a couple peacocks, and a lot of spotted deer.

Morning bath in the river

Next on our packed tourist agenda was elephant bathing, by far my favorite part of the trip! This was much better than the elephant trek because you were able to sit directly on the elephant’s back with little restraints, which made it a bit difficult to hold on at times. Once I steadied myself, the maute—or elephant trainer—shouted several times commanding the elephant to soak up water from the river and then spray me with its trunk. After this happened about ten times, the maute commanded the elephant to lay down in the river and roll over causing me to fall off. I was a bit nervous since just the day before we had seen crocodiles upstream, but the water was shallow so I could see if anything was lurking. We then took our morning “bath” together in the river.

Dugout canoe commonly used along the river

Later during the mid-day heat, we slowly floated along down the river in a dug-out wooden canoe. These canoes are a common mode of transportation on the river, and are propelled by one person with a long stick who stands on the end. We spotted several crocodiles sunbathing, which our guide assured us were the aggressive type and can grow up to 12 feet long. He said on some days they had seen thirty or more crocodiles in that same river stretch, which I was very happy was not the case for us.

Baby 45-day-old elephant with his mother

Next to the national park there is an elephant breeding center that is operated by the Nepali government. They keep female elephants who breed with wild male elephants every year and then have babies that are trained to work in the jungle. When we were there we saw a 45-day-old baby who was very friendly and came over to the edge of the pen where I was able to pet him briefly before he ran away. There were also two twin elephants who were one years old, which is a rarity for elephants.

Baby rhino and its mom at night near the jungle tower

The last part of our Chitwan Adventure was pretty amazing. We decided to forgo the luxurious AC and pack our bags to spend the night in a jungle tower. Yes, straight up jungle tower. The national park owns a very basic concrete tower and rents it out to tourists who cannot get enough of the jungle during the day. We arrived at dusk and as we sat on the deck eating our packed dinner and drinking Everest beer, I saw something out of the corner of my eye. A baby rhino and his mother were coming out of the trees and walked right across the open space in front of us.

The jungle tower--our accommodation the last night

The sounds of the jungle at night were intoxicating—the hum of the various insects, chirping of birds that occasionally flew by, barking of the deer (yes, deer), calling of the peacocks, and the rolling of nearby thunder. By the end of the night, lightning lit up the night as jagged bolts flashed across the sky above the tree tops. We fell asleep outside under a mosquito net, but moved inside once the rain came. The pounding on the tin roof was intense at times, but turned into a soothing pitter-patter—the perfect jungle lullaby.