The day was the 15th of November when you and your group decided to take a jungle Safari inside the Chitwan National Park.
You left Ghatgain at 6 am hoping to see a variety of wildlife throughout the day.
Crossing the Rapti River on the canoe, you set foot inside the park and embark on your journey.
After half an hour of walking, everything was going well. Then your group spots a one-horned rhinoceros grazing quietly 500 meters away. As the rhino senses you approaching, it stops grazing, looks at you and comes charging at you. You and your group frantically run in opposite directions.
This separates everyone from the group. And now, like everyone else, you are on your own too. Unfortunately, you even have lost the sense of direction. Now, you realize that you are trapped in this jungle with no way out and the only way to survive here for the rest of your life is to become Tarzan.
Now, wait….
This might feel like a possible scenario when you think about taking a jungle Safari inside the Chitwan National Park. But, no, this isn't how your safari would end up.
Rather, let me give you a scenario of how it actually goes: (the professional way)
If you took the package of Jungle Safari, let's say, a 1-day Jungle walk, you will have to check in at the Ghumtee Riviera the day before (at most). There you will be introduced to the nature guides who will company you for the walk.
The next morning, you would rise up early, take breakfast and be ready for the walk.
Now here are a few things to keep in mind to prepare yourself:
- Have plenty of breakfast that will give you an initial boost of walking energy.
- Wear comfortable clothing with dull colour that matches the jungle background. Don't choose flashy clothes that might attract attention from the animals.
- Have a reliable pair of shoes that will support you throughout the journey.
- Don't panic and run frantically on your own, even if the situation gets dire. Listen very carefully to your guides and follow every instruction. Always look for instructions from your guides.
- Carry enough packed lunch such that you will feel content for the day.
- Carry very few accessories in your backpack but enough bottles of water.
With this, you are all set. You will bid adieu to Ghatgain, and head towards the Rapti River. The Rapti River boatman will help you cross the river on a canoe. After you cross the river, you are now officially inside the Chitwan National Park.
Keep in mind that, once you are inside the park, you will have many chances to encounter majestic animals like the Bengal tiger, One-horned Rhinoceros, Gharial Crocodile, Monitor Lizard, Gaur and so on. But it all depends on luck for how many animals you will see or when you see them.
And don't worry. If you see a rhinoceros, say 500 meters away, quietly grazing, it won't come charging at you. After it senses you, it might look at you and continue whatever it was doing there.
There is a saying for everyone who enters the Chitwan National Park, "if you don't disturb the animals, they won't disturb you back." So Even if you pass the Rhinoceros 50 meters away, without making much fuss, the Rhinoceros won't care about your presence either.
Yes, there are circumstances where you will have to be careful like when the rhinoceros is with a baby or two male rhinoceros fighting, but instructions for such situations will be explained by the guides. That's why you need to be very attentive to their words.
Inside the park, along with trees and bushes, you will observe many beautiful lakes, view towers, grasslands, swamps, hills and all sorts of landscapes. Some of the famous lakes of Chitwan National Park are Lami Taal (Lami = Long; Taal = Lake), Tamor Taal, Thotari Taal (Thotari = Tortoise), Kamal Taal (Kamal = Lotus) and more.
At various places (usually near those lakes) there are wooden view towers where visitors of the park can take a rest, sight animals far away, or save themselves from angry animals.
Talking about angry animals, there wouldn't be any protection accessories like guns or knives. The guides will be carrying a large stick. Although the stick won't harm those large animals, guides have a really good idea of how to evade any dangerous encounters. You will survive the jungle excursion solely on experience and the wise judgment of your guides with your strength.
If any dangerous situations were to come, guides would scare away animals by thudding the stick to the ground and making large noises.
There have been many cases where sloth bears or tigers or rhinoceros have attacked the group, and guides were injured or even died but there are zero cases of any tourist or guest being injured. So It's more like, guides will sacrifice themselves before letting the animals reach you.
I presented this scenario not to discourage you from jungle Safari but to make you realize that once you are inside the park, you will be experiencing nature in its most primitive form. You will have to tap into those repressed instincts of yours that our prehistoric ancestors used to navigate around the jungle.
Mind you that the animals you see inside the park aren't savage beasts. They are gentle animals who take action only under fight and-flight situations. If you pay due respect to their presence and don't agitate them in any form, they will be busy with their work and give you a beautiful experience on the safari.
The jungle Safari will give you an experience of how vast nature really is and how little we truly are. It evokes a sense of respect for these rare and exotic animals and humility within your soul.
This blog was just a brief introduction to what you can expect within the Chitwan National Park. There were sections where it might feel scary to take this adventure but trust me, the real experience would be a thrilling one.