We caught a tourist bus from Pohkara to Sauraha, which is a city near the outer areas of the Royal Chitwan National Park, the first national park of Nepal. The park is located in southern Nepal, bordering India, and spans over 900 square kms. It's one of the very common touristic stops on any Nepalese tour where people book jungle walks, elephant rides, and other outdoorsy adventures.
The bus ride took about 4-5 hours, and I'm beginning to think it takes 4-5 hours to get anywhere in Nepal!
There weren't too many tourists in Sauraha, and I think we were the only ones at the lodge we stayed at. It seemed the hotel workers were desperate to get us to book some sort of package with them, but we decided to head to the visitor center to get more objective information on what we should do. We met with a guy dressed as a park ranger who suggested different activities. In the end, he was just another guy trying to sell us a package, but we ended up booking a 1.5 day jungle walk with him, a canoe ride, and a night in a lodge, all starting tomorrow morning.
There is opportunity to see tigers, elephants, rhinos, sloth bears, and other animals. We'd be walking with two guides, who would make sure we didn't get lost. It's funny because there's a whole section in the Lonely Planet that explains the different ways to remain safe if you see any of these animals, from climbing a tree, to running in a zig zag, to gathering together in a group, to throwing your clothing somewhere and running the other way. It'll be interesting what we will come across tomorrow.
Tourist Bus Stop with the Annapurna Mountains in the back
I'm not sure that Camels are supposed to be in Nepal..
First Day in Sauraha and we Already saw a Rhinosaurus!
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