Nepal 2017

Saturday18November

Early wake-up to catch the bus (booked the day before) that will take us to Chitwan, a nature reserve home to birds, crocodiles, rhinos, and elephants...

Only 170 kilometers separate Lumbini from Chitwan... We leave at 7:30 AM, so we hope to arrive at the latest for lunch... Not at all!   It will take us almost 9 hours to get there! Traffic jams, accidents, roadworks, and other inexplicable stops will accumulate!  

In Butwal, we lose almost an hour at this bus station, for nothing, as we won't pick up any other passengers...  

All I had left was to make friends with this charming wildebeest to pass the time...

That won't stop us from picking up additional passengers for the rest of the journey.

At 11 AM, a one-hour stop in a traffic jam caused by simple roadworks...

Around 4:00 PM, we finally arrive in Chitwan where we go directly to the Rainbow Safari Resort where we will stay for two nights. At dusk, a short walk takes us to the banks of the Rapti River.

And presto, after this tiring bus day, a big sleep awaits us. It will pass safely under the watchful eye of the guard gecko, or at least what's left of it...

Sunday19November

This day will be the only one we spend in Chitwan. Enough to discover the local wildlife, especially since we have a slight concern about the activities offered to tourists, perhaps a little too intrusive in this wild setting... The site has been a UNESCO World Heritage site since 1984.

For this morning, we opt for a dugout canoe ride on the Rapti River, which we will share with its inhabitants, especially some four-legged reptiles... No question of capsizing the boat unless you are an expert in the art of imitating a floating piece of dead wood...  

And for now, it's only the upper part of the marsh crocodile (Crocodylus palustris) that we can see...

Meanwhile, the Sun rises over the mist of the Rapti River, but also over the cigarette smoke.

There are not only crocodiles, there are also gharials (Gavialis gangeticus).

Ruddy shelducks (Tadorna ferruginea) come here in large numbers to winter.

Female ruddy shelducks.

Fishermen do not hesitate to go into the water despite the presence of crocodiles. Attacks are surely very rare.

The canoes are well filled, but the banks are much less so. There isn't much wildlife to observe. Here a little egret (Egretta garzetta) snubs us from three-quarters.  

In the distance, about a hundred kilometers away, the Himalayas are still visible.

We are now on land.

Axis deer (Axis axis) will be the only wild mammals we encounter.

We arrive at the "Elephant Breeding Center", a breeding center for domestic elephants.

These are Asian elephants (Elephas maximus) and will be used, among other things, as means of transport for exploring difficult-to-access jungles. Let's hope that this life in "community" with humans suits this pachyderm. Let's not forget that we do the same with our horse breeding... We would still prefer to see them in total freedom as we were lucky enough to see them in Namibia in 2014!  

Return to our bungalow at the Rainbow Safari Resort, located in the small village called Sauraha.

Walk in Sauraha. Here a marsh crocodile (Crocodylus palustris).

Lunch break at Accoustica Shisha Bar.

With a little scruple, we choose a small elephant-back safari, mainly to approach Indian rhinos (Rhinoceros unicornis) without risk.

"The Indian rhinoceros was once a widespread animal, but hunting and agricultural development led to the collapse of its population, which numbered only 100 to 200 animals at the beginning of the 20th century. Protected from 1910, the Indian rhinoceros saw its population increase to about 2,500 individuals in 2006 and 2,700 in 2010. One-fifth of the rhinos are confined to ten small reserves in northern India and Nepal. Almost all the others live in the 860 km2 of Kaziranga National Park in northeastern India." © Wikipedia

Apparently, these rhinos have suffered attacks from poachers who came to tear off their single horn... Chitwan Park also exists to protect these mammals from smugglers.

Our means of locomotion and all its hair.  

On the left, Indian lapwings (Vanellus indicus). On the right, an Asian openbill (Ciconia episcopus).

Return to the village of Sauraha where we dine on the local specialty, abas and other sausages cooked suspended over the barbecue.

Tomorrow, we return to Kathmandu, the last stop of our trip!