Chitwan National Park Tour – 3 Days

• One-Horned Rhinoceros: See the animal Chitwan is famous for, with a population of around 700 and sightings on most drives.

• Jeep, Canoe and Foot: Cover the park three ways, each one showing a different part of it.

• A UNESCO World Heritage Site: Visit Nepal's first national park, protected since 1973 and listed in 1984.

• Over 500 Bird Species: Watch giant hornbill, paradise flycatcher and, in winter, migratory waterfowl on the Rapti.

• Tharu Village and Culture: Spend an evening with the Tharu, the indigenous people of the Terai, and their stick dance.

October to March is the prime window. The air is dry and clear, the grass has not yet grown tall, and animals concentrate around the rivers and oxbow lakes where they are far easier to see. Mornings are cold enough for a fleece on the jeep and the afternoons are pleasant.

February and March are the best of it: the park burns and cuts the elephant grass in those months, and with the cover down sightings of rhino, sloth bear and deer rise sharply. April and May are hot but productive around water. The monsoon from June to September brings heavy rain, high rivers and closed trails, and much of the park is difficult to work.

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.

Chitwan holds around 700 greater one-horned rhinoceros, and seeing one is close to routine — most visitors meet several. Also common: spotted deer, sambar, wild boar, langur and rhesus macaque, and gharial and mugger crocodiles on the river. Sloth bear and leopard are present and seen occasionally.

Bengal tiger live here in good numbers but are seldom seen in Chitwan's thick cover; treat a sighting as a gift rather than an expectation. Birdlife is exceptional with more than 500 species recorded, including the giant hornbill, paradise flycatcher and, in winter, large numbers of migratory waterfowl.

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.

• Chitwan National Park Guide: Rhino, Tiger, and the Terai — Nepal's first national park and a UNESCO site, with the world's second-largest population of greater one-horned rhino, Bengal tigers, gharial crocodiles and over 500 bird species.

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

• Best of Nepal Tour: The Complete Guide — Ten days covering the four things Nepal is known for — the medieval cities, the Himalaya from the valley rim and Pokhara, the jungle at Chitwan.

• Lumbini Travel Guide: The Birthplace of the Buddha — A UNESCO site in the Terai where Siddhartha Gautama was born in 623 BCE, with an Ashokan pillar, the marker stone, an international monastic zone.

• Nepal Adventure Activities for People Who Do Not Want to Trek — Paragliding, rafting, bungee, ziplining, safaris, mountain flights and helicopter landings — everything Nepal offers that does not involve walking for two weeks.

• 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.