Chitwan National Park

Chitwan National Park in Nepal is made up of jungle and grasslands. After our trek, we welcomed the comfort of a lovely lodge. On our first day we took a walk through a traditional village where many homes were made of straw and elephant dung. The people are descendants of those who originally lived in the jungle and lived by hunting. They now are mainly farmers. Their neighbors are rhinos, crocodiles, elephants, leopards, and tigers. Elephants and rhino often visit the village looking for food Leopards sometimes enter to hunt dogs and chickens.

We left the village and walked on the bank of the river spotting crocodiles and a sleeping rhino. The next day we took an elephant safari, which was a magical way to experience the beauty of the forest. We saw another sleeping rhino, not far at all from women working in the fields. Bill was particularly taken by the beautiful trees. We were later to see another rhino and a wild elephant.

Rhino sleeping, shhh.

We rode in dugout canoes made from a single tree. They were a bit tipsy and the guide kept repeating, “Balance”, which was not so reassuring. He told me later he had never been a boat that capsized. We passed several crocodiles on the way, one large one swimming quite close to us. The boat men use a pole to propel the boat.

We enjoyed a cultural show of traditional dance.