Bardiya National Park

If Chitwan is Nepal's famous wildlife park, Bardiya is its wild one. Covering around 970 km² of sal forest, grassland and riverine jungle between the Karnali and Babai rivers, it is the largest protected area of the Tarai, and it feels remote in a way Chitwan no longer does.

Tigers

Bardiya is widely considered the best place in Nepal to see a wild Bengal tiger. Nepal nearly tripled its tiger population between 2010 and 2022, and Bardiya played a big part. Sightings are never guaranteed, but patient days spent waiting at river crossings with a good guide give real chances.

Other wildlife

Herds of wild elephants move through the park and across to India. Greater one-horned rhinos were translocated here from Chitwan and have established a population. The Karnali and its Geruwa branch hold mugger and gharial crocodiles and the endangered Ganges river dolphin. Deer, langurs and hundreds of bird species complete the picture.

How to explore

Walking safaris with licensed guides are the Bardiya speciality, alongside jeep drives, rafting and boat trips on the Karnali. Lodges and community homestays cluster at Thakurdwara on the park's southern edge, surrounded by Tharu villages.

Tharu culture

The villages around Bardiya are home to Dangaura Tharu families, many of them former Kamaiya bonded labourers freed in 2000. Homestays and community forests offer a way to support them directly.