Wildlife of Nepal

Bhaktapur, down the valley from Kathmandu, boasts an impressive concentration of medieval palaces, courtyard monasteries (bahals) and monumental squares – all in high Newari style. Despite being Nepal’s third city, it’s a much more easygoing destination than the capital thanks to the absence of traffic from its historic core. Wandering the pretty cobbled streets around Durbar Square, you’ll see traditional potters’, weavers’ and wood-carvers’ workshops, and local people spreading raw rice to dry in the sun.

A sprawling modern city of nearly a million inhabitants, the Nepali capital can feel overwhelmingly crowded and chaotic on first impressions. But head for its ancient core, where the Shah and Malla kings erected their resplendently gilded stupas, palaces and carved wood pagodas, and things improve dramatically. Durbar Square forms the epicentre of this superbly atmospheric quarter. More than fifty temples, 106 monastery courtyards (bahals) and countless shrines line its narrow, cobbled backstreets. Settle on to one of the terraced platforms of the Manju Devul tower to watch the exotic bustle of marigold sellers, saffron-clad sadhus, stray cows and pigeons.

Bounded by the Karnali River and the Churia range of the Siwalik Hills in south-western Nepal, Bardia National Park is the largest and most undisturbed protected area in the Terai region. Its combination of magnificent sal forests and extensive grasslands makes an ideal habitat for a variety of fauna ‒ around 53 species of mammals and over 400 birds. Bardia’s stars include the endangered Royal Bengal tiger and the vulnerable one-horned rhinoceros but there are plenty more elephants, black buck, swamp deer, and two species of crocodile. With patience and luck, visitors might also glimpse the rare Gangetic dolphin in the Karnali River.

Southwest Nepal is the homeland of the Tharu people, an indigenous minority whose traditions and, more famously, mysterious resistance to malaria, set them apart from other ethnic groups in the Terai region. Thought to have descended from Rajput clans who migrated here in medieval times, the majority subsist from share cropping agriculture, living in small mud and thatch villages in jungle clearings. You’ll have opportunities to visit a couple of Tharu villages, and watch the legendary Tharu ‘stick dance’ during your overnight stay in the area.

Village safaris in this area come in a variety of forms: by car, bullock cart, cycle or on foot – or indeed a mixture of all of four! You’ll get to experience rural life in this very traditional region of the Terai at close quarters..

Elephant safaris are the big selling point of the Royal Chitwan National Park. Sitting astride a swaying, soft-footed pachyderm, you’ll stand a much better chance of getting close to the Jurassic-looking rhinos that are the reserve’s big stars, as well as the more elusive tigers inhabiting its core zone. Sightings of Gangetic dolphins and gharial crocs are almost guaranteed, and be sure to visit the critically important breeding centre for vultures, which have declined to the point of extinction over the past fifteen years or so but survive here in healthy numbers.

The one-horned rhinoceros is emblematic of this area, which it shares with a handful of wild (as opposed to domestic) elephants, crocodile, buffalo and bison. Deer such as the spotted and swamp varieties along with sambar are ubiquitous but there are also antelopes, elusive tigers and leopards, hyenas, sloth bears and jackals. A handful of gangetic dolphins survive in the Karnali River and these can be sighted on boat trips.