Bardiya National Park

Bardiya National Park is in the Terai region of Nepal.

Understand

Landscape

The park has a surface of 968 km².

Flora and fauna

The park hosts dozens of mammal species and hundreds of bird species.

Climate

The best season to visit the Bardiya park is from October to March. From April to June it is the hot season with temperatures up to 42°C. The rainy season is from July to September.

Get around

You can get around by bus, jeep, and local autorickshaw.

Do

Volunteer. Ask around locally & in the guesthouses. There is a large number of schools between Thakurdwara and the highway junction at Ambassa for such a short distance and English speakers and teachers are always welcomed enthusiastically, generously and with wide, open arms.

So, basically just turn up and do the groundwork when you arrive. Shouldn't take more than a few days to sort something out.

Krishna Karmal at 'The Wild Route' Guesthouse is somebody who would be able to offer info and ideas also. Track him down and talk it over some rice beer.

• Nepal Wildlife Resort, Thakurdwara,Bardia (By Car), ☏ +977 84402017, inquiry.nepalwildliferesort@gmail.com. Jungle safari, jungle walking, elephant rides. (updated Dec 2017)

Eat

Eat and drink in town as much as you can. Some great tea shops in the 'centre' of town (i.e. the three all next door to each other) over the bridge. Reputedly the best tea in town. All much of a muchness though. Dal Bhaat around ₹100 or so. Grab a plate of chana, a chia and watch the village ramble by.

Heading down the road towards the National Park entrance on the right (about 200 m from the shops above) next to the pharmacy and little book shop is another excellent tea shop. Tea, samosas, doughnuts et al. also here. Absolutely essential is the purchase of a bowl of 'chola'. Look for the outside stove.

Drink

Local alcohol, rice wine (roxi) and rice beer (chaang).

Sleep

There are some resorts which provide tourist accommodations.

• Forest hideaway hotel & cottages Pvt.Ltd. 
• Tiger Top Karnali lodge. 
• Rhino lodge. 
• Bardia cottage. 
• recy shade. 
• Nepal Wildlife Resort, ☏ +977 1 442 6642, bsng_comp@wlink.com.np. The resort is on the bank of one of the tributaries of the Karnali River, a 5-minute walk from park headquarters. It is the only resort which actually overlooks the river and the National Park. Each room has its own balcony with nice views. 
• Bardia Wildlife Resort "Paradise", Thakurdwara village (12 km from Ambassa), ☏ +977 84 692083, bardiawildliferesort@yahoo.com. 
• Mr B's Place, ☏ +977 84 402 032 , +977 974 800 4032 (mobile). One of the few backpacker-friendly places in Bardia. Most places insist on packages; Mr. B lets you choose the activities you want to do. Free pick-up from bus station. 
• Bardia Jungle Cottage (Trekking & Tours), Bardia National Park (By bus), ☏ +977-84-402014, info@bardiajunglecottage.com.np. Highly recommended as a budget lodge and wildlife safari organizer at Bardia National Park. Ask Mr Kumar for volunteering program who will be helpful to organize volunteering program in Nepal. Ask Bardia Jungle Cottage for Trekking or any other adventure activities in Nepal as they have their own trekking company named Anu Treks International P. Ltd located in Thamel, Kathmandu. US$15.