Self-Launched Chitwan National Park Safari: 4 Days from Kathmandu

Land at Tribhuvan International Airport and make your own way into Thamel (pre-paid airport taxi ~NPR 800–1,000 / £5–6, or use the airport's official taxi counter). Check into a Thamel guesthouse, get a Nepali SIM/eSIM (Ncell or NTC tourist SIM ~£3–5), and pick up your Chitwan park permit info and bus ticket for the morning. In the afternoon wander Durbar Marg or Swayambhunath if time allows, and eat dal bhat at a local bhojanalaya. Book your Kathmandu–Sauraha tourist bus seat (via your guesthouse or a Thamel agency) for tomorrow morning — most buses leave Kantipath/Sorakhutte around 7am.

🚌Airport taxi to Thamel ~£5–6; evening walkable

🛏Thamel guesthouse or budget hotel, private room with hot water (e.g. around the Sorakhutte/Kantipath end)

• →Arrive and settle into Thamel
• →Buy tourist SIM card
• →Book Kathmandu–Sauraha tourist bus ticket
• →Optional: Swayambhunath (Monkey Temple) at sunset

Take the morning tourist bus from Kathmandu to Sauraha (roughly 5–7 hours including a lunch stop, ~NPR 1,500–2,000 / £9–12 one way). Arrive early afternoon, check into a guesthouse in Sauraha village — budget riverside places like Aama Garden–style guesthouses are plentiful and a 5-minute walk from the park gate. Pay the Chitwan National Park entry fee (NPR 2,000 / ~£12 for foreigners) plus buffer-zone fees at the park HQ. In the late afternoon, take a dugout canoe ride on the Rapti River (~NPR 1,000–1,500 / £6–9 per person, book at the riverside or via your guesthouse) to spot gharial and marsh mugger crocodiles, turtles and river birds, followed by a short guided jungle walk in the buffer zone with a licensed local guide (~NPR 2,000–3,000 / £12–18 for a half-day, split between a small group). Evening: dinner at a Sauraha guesthouse restaurant.

🚌Tourist bus Kathmandu → Sauraha ~£9–12; walking around Sauraha

🛏Sauraha riverside guesthouse, private room (~£12–18/night)

• →Kathmandu–Sauraha tourist bus
• →Chitwan National Park entry permit
• →Dugout canoe ride on the Rapti River
• →Guided jungle walk in the buffer zone

Start early — wildlife is most active at dawn. Join a shared jeep safari into the park's core zone (~NPR 3,500–5,000 / £20–30 per person for a 4–5 hour shared jeep including guide and park fees, bookable at Sauraha agencies or GetYourGuide). Look for greater one-horned rhinos, spotted and hog deer, langurs, gharials and — with luck — a tiger (tracks are common, sightings are not). Alternatively or additionally, do a half-day guided jungle walk (3–4 hours of walking, as the operator advertises). In the afternoon visit the Elephant Breeding Centre at Khorsor (entrance ~NPR 500 / £3) to see calves and learn about conservation — skip the elephant-back ride, which is now discouraged on welfare grounds. Late afternoon: visit the Chitwan Natural History Museum (small, ~NPR 200–500). Evening: Tharu cultural dance show in Sauraha village (~NPR 300–500 / £2–3), often including the fire dance.

🚌Walking; shared jeep arranged through guesthouse (~included in safari cost)

🛏Sauraha riverside guesthouse, private room (~£12–18/night)

• →Shared jeep safari in the park core zone
• →Guided jungle walk (optional add-on)
• →Elephant Breeding Centre visit
• →Chitwan Natural History Museum
• →Tharu cultural dance and fire dance show

Get up early for a self-guided birdwatching walk along the Rapti River and Community Forest (Nepal's Chitwan buffer zone is excellent for kingfishers, storks, hornbills, bee-eaters and more) — a local guide for two hours costs ~NPR 1,500 / £8 if you want one. Return for breakfast, check out, and catch the tourist bus back to Kathmandu (departs Sauraha around 9–10am, ~£9–12, arriving Kathmandu mid-afternoon). Alternatively, extend in the direction of Pokhara on the same tourist bus network — most operators let you split the ticket. On arrival in Kathmandu, make your own way to the airport for onward flights (taxi ~£5–6 from Thamel).

🚌Sauraha → Kathmandu tourist bus ~£9–12; taxi to airport ~£5–6

🛏None included (onward travel or add a Thamel night ~£10–15)

• →Sunrise birdwatching on the Rapti River
• →Optional local bird guide
• →Return bus to Kathmandu
• →Optional onward extension to Pokhara