Bardia National Park is one of the places in Nepal you can go on a jungle safari to spot tigers, elephants or rhinos in the nature. Although, Chitwan has become very commercialized, Bardia is still less visited by tourists and has kept its authentic beauty. Bardia National Park is further away from Kathmandu (400 km, 17-18 hours by bus) but it offers a more unique experience spotting wildlife in Nepal.

How to Get to Bardia National Park

Getting to Ambassa and Thakurdwara

The closest village to the Bardia National Park is Thakurdwara (about 17 hours bus ride from Kathmandu) where most hotels are located and the place where the safaris start. To reach Thakurdwara, first you will have to take the bus to Ambassa. Once in Ambassa, take a tuktuk to Thakurdwara. Tuktuks cost around Rs. 500 and take about 30 mins to reach Thakurdwara from Ambassa.

What’s Thakurdwara Like?

Thakurdwara is a small village right next to the Bardia National Park. It is a small village with not much going on to be honest. There are a few shops and a temple in the “town centre”. It is really small and it is not as developed as Chitwan. If you have been to Chitwan, you found it is full of restaurants, bars and travel agencies. Thakurdwara is much more remote, there are not really western restaurants and travellers mostly eat in the hotels that they booked.

Information for Visiting Bardia National Park

• Best time to visit: February-April (during this time, the grass is lower and you get better visibility to see animals in the wild). The weather is not too hot yet, so it is an ideal time to visit Bardia.
• Park Entry Fee: Rs. 1,500/day (if you want to enter on multiple days, you will have to buy a separate ticket for each day).
• Wildlife in numbers: Tigers: 125, Rhinos: 38, Elephants: over 120.

Bardia Safari

• Walking Safari: half or full day (including packed lunch): There are options to go on a half or full day safari. The prices of a full day safari is USD 50 (which includes the park entry fee of Rs. 1,500 and a packed lunch)
• Jeep Safari: half or full day. Hiring of jeep costs between USD 200-250 and then the costs can be split between the passengers. If you want to go on a jeep safari, tell your hotel and they may be able to pair you up with other guests to fill up a jeep and be able to share the costs.

Other Activities in Bardia

• Visit the Sunset Point: There is a sunset point near the Elephant Breeding Centre in Thakurdwara. The sunset point is not as well built like in Chitwan (no bars by the river), basically it’s just a field from where you can see the sunset across the river and the park. My hotel’s owner also told us not to stay too late and be back to the hotel before it gets dark, as animals can wonder around the river and it’s safer to be in the hotel’s premises before it’s completely dark. You can still see some of the sunset but better not to stay too late.
• Rafting
• Bird Watching: Although people mostly come to Bardia to spot tigers and elephants, it also has a great habitat for birds. (If you are a bird enthusiast, you can also check out the Koshi Tappu Wildlife Reserve in Nepal, which has an even greater bird habitat)
• Culture Tour: In the Terai Region of Nepal, you will find people belonging to the Tharu ethnic group. As every ethnic group in Nepal, they also have their own traditional food, dresses, houses and language. If you don’t want to pay for a culture tour, you can just walk around the village and see the traditional Tharu houses and village life.
• Camping inside the park

Where is the Sunset Point?

Is it Mandatory to Hire a Guide?

Yes, it is mandatory to hire a guide to enter Bardia National Park. You can easily arrange the guided safari the day before at your accommodation. There are no travel agencies in Thakurdwara to shop around and negotiate the prices like in Chitwan. You may be able to negotiate a lower price in your hotel or alternatively, walk around some of the other hotels for better prices. Generally, people book their safari through the hotel they are staying in. If you need budget prices, it is best to call ahead your accommodation to get an idea if they can give you a discount.

What’s it Like to Go on a Walking Safari in Bardia National Park Nepal?

I was not sure what to expect going on a jungle walking safari. To be honest, I was a little bit worried about it but my brother was visiting me in Nepal and he really wanted to go on the walking safari. Despite my initial worries, our guide was really great, knowledgeable and I felt safe. 

Coordination between the guides during the walking safari

Each safari starts at 7 am in the morning and there are multiple groups entering the park more or less the same time. When I was there, there were maximum 10 groups that day (including walking and jeep safari) – so much less than in Chitwan. Once in the park, the groups more or less split up in different directions, and then meeting up every now and then in different lookout points.

The guides are in contact with each other all day long and let each other know if anyone spots any wildlife. This helps so every group is safe and if you are in a nearby spot, you may be able to make it to the next group/spot where some animals are (in a safe way). Through this communication between the guides, we were able to spot rhinos and elephants.

Types of wildlife spotted

During our jungle walk, the highlights were spotting elephants and rhinos. We did not get to see tigers, although I must say our guides really tried to find tigers. Due to the coordination between the guides, we were always updated on which animal we can spot in which location. One time our guide got the info that we were nearby a river where an elephant was bathing. So we got up and quickly made it to see the elephant. For me, this was surprising, at one moment, our guide told us to start running through the jungle path to make it to the spot to see the elephant in the river. It was funny because I thought if I will be running through the jungle it will be to get away from an animal attack but in the end we were running in the jungle to find the animals.

Safety measures

At the beginning of your walking safari, your guide will tell you the safety procedures and what to do in case any animal comes close to you. If your guide does not tell you, make sure to ask so that you are prepared before you enter the park. Some good practices include: 

• If an elephant attacks you: drop your bag (the elephant will smell it around, play with it) and then you run away in zig-zag. Following your guide and his instructions. Elephants are very powerful, and it is said it is one of the most dangerous if one attacks you.
• If a tiger comes close to you: watch for its move, look into its eye and if it comes close, start to hit the ground with your stick (yeah, you will get a walking stick) in a way to scare it away. Climbing up a tree is also a life-saving option in the case of encountering a tiger.

Lunch break during the safari

As part of your package for a full day safari, you will also get a packed lunch. The lunch includes Nepali food (veg fried rice), some snacks and a can of juice. Usually, lunch break is timed around 12 in a shaded spot, so that you can relax in shade and not be out during the hottest part of the day.

Things to Take with You on a Walking Safari

• Clothes: it is best to wear clothes in colours of green, brown, grey, black. Do not wear bright colours that stand out too much from the jungle, such as red or yellow, and try to wear colours that blend in with nature as much as possible.
• Binocular: if you are a nature and wildlife spotting enthusiast, it is great to have your own binocular. However, the guides generally have a binocular with them and they will happily lend you theirs to see the wildlife.
• Sunscreen and sun hat: Although March-April is considered the spring season in Nepal, it can still get pretty hot and sunny in Bardia. Bardia is located in the southern part of Nepal, close to the border with India, so it is much hotter than for example Kathmandu. If you walk a full day in the sun, it will get pretty hot.
• 2-3 litres of water: If you don’t have enough water bottles with you, you may be able to borrow from your hotel. The hotel I was staying at had extra water bottles to give to guests going on the full day walking safari.

Names of Animals in Nepali

Even if you have a private guide, at some locations, the various groups during the walking safari will meet up. Sometimes, the guides are talking to each other (sometimes also on the phone) in Nepali about where and when wildlife is spotted. Although, the guides are great and translate everything to English well, if you memorize the names of some of the animals, you will be one step ahead. Here are the names of the 3 most popular animals to be spotted in Bardia:

• Tiger = baagh
• Rhino = gaindaa
• Elephant = haatti

Hotels in Thakurdwara

There are lots of budget hotels in Thakurdwara (much cheaper than in Chitwan) and the hotels usually recover the costs from guests booking the jungle safaris through them.

Budget Hotels (USD 4-6/night)

Wild Planet Eco Resort: booking.com

Bardia Eco Friendly Homestay: booking.com

Nanu’s Bardia Homestay: booking.com

Mid-Range Hotels (USD 45/night)

Bardia Forest Resort: booking.com

High-End Hotels (USD 370/night)

Tiger Tops Karnali Resort: booking.com