It didn’t take long to find the next adventure after the trek. One of the other women on my trek had some free time, too, so we decided to travel south to Chitwan National Park. We spent four days doing a jungle safari. It was a fun visit to an other part of Nepal that was so vastly different from the mountain region we were in the week before. Here are a few pictures to summarize the adventure.
Our hotel was located right on the Rapti River.Elephants were often seen crossing the river. The elephants we saw were trained for government use. Their handlers would take them into the jungle in order to feed on the elephant grass.Elephant grass was very abundant in the forest. It’s height added to the excitement of being in the jungle since it was hard to see over it. We had to be heads up for wild elephants, rhinos, the sloth bear, tigers, and of course monkeys, birds, and insects.The only big wild animal I came across was this rhino feeding in one of the protected army barricades. Apparently this rhino was known to the locals because he often fed in this area because it was protected. He was an older rhino so the danger level was low in this moment!On the first full day of our trek we took an hour long canoe ride down the river so we could walk back in the jungle.These are the trees that locals use to make the canoes.Morgane and I met the week before on our trek. We are both taking 5 months to travel and Nepal was the first stop for both of us. One of the wonderful things about solo travel is the opportunity to meet people. I went outside my comfort zone when I left for my trek because I didn’t have the next week planned. I have a tendency to plan and prepare! But keeping some flexibility in my schedule allowed me to travel with a new friend to a place I wasn’t planning on traveling to.After our canoe ride we took a couple of hours to trek back to our starting point. I’ve never been so alert on a hike before. I had to look down to watch my footing in the mud since the ground was uneven with footprints from tigers, rhinos, and elephants. I had to look forward, backwards, left and right to make sure I wasn’t surprised by anything big. Plus I had to be heads up with the monkeys in the tress. We were told to look at the monkeys at an angle since they often pee. We didn’t want to get urine in our eyes. It was both comforting and disappointing that we didn’t see any big mammals. Perhaps my encounter with some brown bears this summer in Lake Tahoe was enough excitement for this year!Did I mention crocodiles yet? Oh yeah we had to watch out for crocodiles, too!
The morning of day 4 before setting off for Ghandruk.
Day 4: Tadapani – Ghandruk
While we had amazing views of the mountains we also spent some time walking in lush forests.We hiked in and out of rhododendron forests throughout the day but when we popped out this was our view! It was hard walking because I just wanted to stop and stare at the mountains.We ended our day in Ghandruk, a major settlement of the Gurung, an ethnic group of Nepal.Everyday we had dal bhat, a traditional meal, for lunch.We did a half day hike on day 4 so we arrived at our guest house in time for lunch. This was the view from the dining room.With a free afternoon we wondered around the village and had some fun dressing up in traditional clothes.
Day 5: Ghandruk – Nayapul – Pokhara
Leaving our guest house on the final day of trekking.Day five was a long day of hiking down through villages back to our starting point – Nayapul.After five full days of trekking we made it back to Nayapul for our pick-up back to Pokhara.Taking time to enjoy a cocktail on the lake once we made it back to Pokhara. Cheers!
Kelly Jo Travels 