Night jeep safari in Sauraha

Chitwan, October 19

Targeting the Visit Nepal Year 2020, preparations are being made to start a night-time jeep safari in Sauraha of Chitwan. The new service is aimed at lengthening the stay of tourists in Sauraha and will begin soon after Tihar festival, said Regional Hotel Association Chitwan Chair Dipak Bhattarai.

The jeep safari will start from Sauraha, pass through the Kumaroj buffer community forest and end in Lothar. This is claimed to be the first night jeep safari in the country. Besides the community forest, the route of the night safari will also include the Rapti River.

The distance of the night safari is about 30 kilometres and is expected to take around 4 hours, said Bhattarai. This is expected to help attract both foreign and domestic tourists.

Kumaroj buffer community forest Chair Ganesh Kumar Shrestha said 60 per cent of the income from the night jeep safari will be used for the protection and conservation of the forest itself.

The service will give new experience for those coming to Chitwan for jungle safari, according to Shrestha.

Meanwhile, Chief Protection Officer at Chitwan National Park Narayan Rupakheti said special attention had to be paid to protection issues while running jeep safari and other activities inside the park. He emphasised the need to use electric vehicles as far as possible to minimise pollution caused by vehicles.