Bardia National Park Tour – 4 Days

• Nepal's Best Tiger Odds: Bardia holds a strong tiger population with far less visitor pressure than Chitwan.

• The Karnali Floodplain: Work a river system of braided channels and grassland that concentrates wildlife in the dry months.

• Gangetic Dolphin: Look for one of the world's few freshwater dolphins in the deeper Karnali channels.

• Wild Elephant and Rhino: See the resident herds and the relocated rhino population on the grassland circuits.

• Almost No Other Visitors: Spend the day in a park most travellers to Nepal have never heard of.

October to April is the season, and Bardia's tiger density makes the cool months genuinely rewarding. From October the floodwaters drop and the Karnali braids into channels where animals come to drink; by February and March the grass is cut and the visibility is at its best.

March and April are peak tiger months — hot enough that the cats come to water in daylight, which is when almost every sighting happens. May is hotter still and can be uncomfortable. The monsoon from June to September floods the park and closes most of the interior, so it is not offered then.

Activities run in two blocks, early morning and late afternoon, because that is when the animals move. A jeep safari covers ground and reaches the grasslands and river crossings; a guided jungle walk puts you on foot with two naturalists, which is quieter, more intense and where the smaller things — birds, tracks, sloth bear diggings — actually get noticed.

Time on the river matters as much. A canoe trip down the current drifts past gharial and marsh mugger crocodiles basking on the banks and is the best birding of the trip. Between blocks the middle of the day is deliberately empty: it is hot, the animals are lying up, and the lodge veranda is the right place to be.

Bardia is the best place in Nepal to see a wild Bengal tiger. The park holds a strong population in far less visitor pressure than Chitwan, and in the dry months the standard method is simply to sit quietly at a river crossing and wait. Sightings are never guaranteed, but the odds here are the best in the country.

Also present: greater one-horned rhino, wild elephant, swamp deer, blue bull, sloth bear and, in the Karnali, the Gangetic dolphin and gharial crocodile. More than 400 bird species have been recorded, and the far-west location means fewer jeeps and a good deal more silence than the parks near the highway.

Wear neutral colours — greens, browns and greys. Bright clothing and white are visible a long way off in the grass, and the naturalists will ask you to change. Add long sleeves and trousers for the walks, closed shoes, a sun hat and a fleece for the cold morning jeep runs between November and February.

Binoculars are the single most useful thing you can pack, and one pair between two is not enough. Also bring insect repellent, high-factor sunscreen, a refillable bottle, a camera with as much reach as you own, and a torch for the lodge paths after dark. Leave drones at home; they are prohibited in every national park in Nepal.

• Bardia National Park Guide: Nepal's Best Chance of a Tiger — The largest protected area in Nepal's lowlands, far out in the west, with a growing tiger population, wild elephant herds, Gangetic dolphins in the Karnali.

• Jungle Safari in Nepal: Every Park Compared — Nepal's Terai parks hold one-horned rhino, Bengal tiger, wild elephant and over 500 bird species.

• Vaccinations for Trekking in Nepal: What to Get and When — Nepal has no compulsory vaccines for most travellers, but several are strongly recommended — and rabies deserves more thought than trekkers give it.