Chitwan National Park has a very rich flora and fauna and is home to one of the last populations of single-horned Asiatic rhinoceros and is also one of the last refuges of the Bengal Tiger. Chitwan National Park, established in 1973, was Nepal’s first National Park.
Traveling to the park I was very excited to see the wildlife in the park, however I know, it’s the nature so no guarantees. The options were, a canoe-trip, jeep safari or walking-safari. I liked to be a bit active after the long bus ride the day before from Kathmandu, so I went for a day tour by foot into the jungle with 2 guides. Weaponed with a bamboo stick each I first got a small briefing.
When a rhino is coming; climb in a tree at minimum 2 m height. For a bear; stick together and make a lot of noise. And for a tiger; make eye contact and slowly walk backwards….that said we went into the jungle. Quite fast we were on a track of an animal, after a while we spotted a bear!! It was really exciting to spot a bear walking…in his territory! Normally I always want a sharp picture, however, trough all the bushes it was not possible to focus sharp. So this picture is for having a memory of this exciting moment!
After a few hours there was no tiger coming so we went further on our track. Later on, we saw some rhinos, deer, lot of insects, crocodiles and… a footprint of a tiger. During the tour I made a lot of nice pictures of this amazing park.
In the evening I wanted to eat something in a restaurant and I heard someone calling ‘rhino’, I thought they wanted to sell a tour. After a few meters I saw a rhino walking in the street!! Was really exciting and strange to see….and really a gift after such an amazing day!
Text and Photo by Andre Sprong (An amateur journalist/photojournalist from The Netherlands)
