A traditional Tharu village in the Terai near Chitwan

Chitwan Tharu Homestay

The park through the people who have always lived beside it.

The Tharu have farmed the edge of Chitwan for centuries, with their own language, mud-and-thatch houses, and a quiet way of living alongside the jungle. A community homestay puts you in the village, eating what the family cooks and learning how the park looks from the inside.

You still get the canoe, the guided walk, and a safari drive into the park, but the trip is culture-first, lower-impact, and easier on the budget than a lodge safari.

Highlights
  • Stay with a Tharu family
  • Home-cooked Tharu meals
  • Canoe, jungle walk, and a safari drive
  • Village cycle ride and cultural evening
A typical 3-day shape

One of several ways to do it. We tailor the days, pace, and stops to you, nothing here is fixed.

  1. Day 1By road

    Pokhara to the village

    The road south to the Terai and the village on the park's edge, welcomed with a home-cooked lunch, an afternoon cycle through the fields, and a Tharu stick-dance evening.

    Time
    4–5 hours drive
    Elevation
    150 m
    Stay
    Tharu homestay, Sauraha
    Meals
    Lunch, dinner
  2. Day 2By boat + On foot + By road

    Canoe, walk, and safari drive

    A dugout canoe on the Rapti at first light, a guided jungle walk, and an afternoon safari drive into the park for rhino and deer, back to the village by dusk.

    Time
    Full day
    Elevation
    150 m
    Stay
    Tharu homestay, Sauraha
    Meals
    Breakfast, lunch, dinner
  3. Day 3On foot + By road

    Village morning, return

    A last morning helping in the kitchen or garden and a walk to the elephant breeding centre, then the drive back to Pokhara.

    Time
    4–5 hours drive
    Elevation
    150 m
    Stay
    Back in Pokhara
    Meals
    Breakfast
Getting there

A four to five hour road transfer south into the Terai to the village. How you travel it, shared or private, follows the comfort level you choose. Village and park activities are on foot, by canoe, and by safari drive.

What is included

  • ✓ Road transfer from Pokhara, shared or private by comfort level
  • ✓ Two nights village homestay
  • ✓ Home-cooked meals
  • ✓ Park activities and a licensed naturalist
  • ✓ Cultural evening with the community

Not included

  • – Drinks
  • – Travel insurance
  • – Tips
Gallery
Thatched Tharu homes and farmland in the Terai
A one-horned rhino in Chitwan National Park
An elephant crossing a river in the Terai jungle
Good to know
How basic is the homestay?+

Simple and clean: a private room in a family home, shared bathrooms, and honest home cooking. It is about the people, not the fittings.

Do we still see wildlife?+

Yes. You get the canoe, the jungle walk, and a safari drive into the park, the same core activities as a lodge safari.

More the terai