Chitwan safari packages: choosing the right length

What is included in a Chitwan package

A standard Chitwan jungle safari package covers your accommodation in a buffer-zone lodge, meals during your stay, a licensed nature guide for activities inside the park, and the activities listed in the program. Park entry fees are usually included, but do check the tour page, because some packages list them separately.

Typical activities are a jeep safari, a dugout canoe ride on the Rapti, a guided jungle walk, a Tharu village walk and an evening cultural program. Longer packages add a full-day jeep drive, dedicated birding or a night in a community-forest watchtower.

How the day tour and 1, 2 and 3 night packages compare

Time in Chitwan is shorter than it looks on paper. Arrival day usually starts in the early afternoon after a 5–7 hour drive from Kathmandu, and departure day is often over not long after breakfast. Here’s what realistically fits.

You’ll find a sample program for each length on its own page: the day tour, 1 night and 2 days, 2 nights and 3 days and 3 nights and 4 days.

Which length suits your Nepal trip

If Chitwan is one stop on a Kathmandu and Pokhara loop, two nights is the usual answer. You get a full day in the park without eating too far into the rest of your trip. One night works when time is short, but it leaves little room for weather, a slow jeep morning or simply resting after the road.

Three nights make sense if wildlife is the main reason you’ve come. Tigers are rare to see, and every extra outing in the park improves your chances of good rhino, bird and deer sightings. Our guide on how many days to spend in Chitwan walks through the trade-offs in more detail.

Where Chitwan packages are based

Lodges inside the park were closed in 2012, so every package stays in a buffer-zone village. Most standard packages use Sauraha, on the north bank of the Rapti River. It has the widest range of lodges, easy access to canoe put-ins and community forests, and cafés and riverside sunsets within walking distance.

Quieter villages such as Meghauli, Amaltari and Barauli sit further west, closer to the Narayani River. They mostly host higher-end lodges with their own naturalists, and there are fewer vehicles around. Packages based there usually need a private transfer rather than a tourist bus.

Shared activities or a private guide

Standard packages often share the jeep and canoe with other guests on fixed departure times, which keeps costs down. Jeeps carry roughly 6–8 guests, and walks go out with two licensed guides. If you’d rather have your own vehicle and timings, almost any package can be run privately for an extra cost.

Private and higher-end versions

Any of these lengths can be run privately, with your own guide, vehicle and timings. That suits families, couples and photographers who like to set their own pace. See private Chitwan safaris for how tailoring works.

For quieter lodges, private naturalists and more comfortable transfers, the luxury safari page explains what changes and where the higher-end lodges are.

What drives the price of a Chitwan tour package

Live prices for each tour appear on this page, straight from our booking system. What moves a price up or down is fairly predictable, and the Chitwan safari cost guide breaks down the parts.

How Chitwan package booking works

1. Pick a length and starting pointChoose a package below or browse all our Chitwan tours. Make a note of where you’ll start: Kathmandu, Pokhara or Sauraha.
2. Send dates and group detailsBook online or send us an enquiry with your dates, number of travelers, ages of any children and room preferences.
3. Confirm the programWe confirm your lodge, transport and the order of activities. Activity times can shift with park rules, weather and river levels.
4. Travel and meet your guideYour guide or lodge meets you when you arrive in Sauraha and runs through the plan for your stay.