Day 16: Chitwand National Park
The Chitwand National Park is one of the most popular parks in Nepal. Here you can find more than 60 elephants which are all well fed, exercised, and taken care of. On this day, half our team decided to do the Elephant Safari ride which consisted of taking a trip through the Terai jungle region of Nepal. On this ride we were able to spot rhinoceros, deer, peacocks, and many different type of bird species.
The ride was a little bit rough because Maruti, our elephant, was walking through the trees. I was really impressed when she recognized this and decided to hand me a stick for me to block the tree branches. Aside from recognizing my struggle, she also cleared the way by removing some pointy and dangerous branches.
I was happy that we were able to support the Elephant Research facility at the Chitwand National Park by participating on the Elephant Safari ride. The ride was excellent, but it felt so much nicer to know that this national park provides shelter, food, love and protection to so many elephants
-Jesus
Day 16:
"A visit in Chitwan, Nepal is a wildlife experience that beats any zoo you have or ever will visit. Not only did we have the privilege of viewing 'exotic' animals (rhinos, elephants, deer, monkeys, etc.) and their primitive behavior up close, but any and all artificial environments were taken out of the equation, which only amplified our experiences in a positive way. For me, this was the first time I have ever ridden an elephant and it is something that I would definitely recommend to others in the future!"
- Aaron