Visiting Bardia Wildlife Reserve on a Budget
Despite its reputation for mountain scenery, Nepal also cradles dense jungle and steamy grasslands in its southern provinces. Wildlife reserves here offer the opportunity to see some really impressive stuff (like tigers, rhinos, and even leopards) that for the most part are just wandering around uninhibited.
We set out to visit Bardia, one of the most rural reserves, on as small a budget as possible. Despite feeling a bit outclassed by some elegantly helmed retirees with binoculars, we were surprised by just how accessible Nepal’s wildlife actually is. Plus, we figured we could probably outrun the competition if any carnivores did show up.
Here’s our guide to the park and how to visit it on the cheap.
Why Go?
Personally, we wouldn't come to Nepal for the wildlife alone (the Himalaya are too damn cool), but the parks can be a great way to break up a long series of treks.
The two major reserves are called Chitwan, located about 6 hours by bus from Kathmandu, and Bardia, which is a miserable 16 hour bus from the capital. Both offer a glimpse at some seriously big wildlife, from elephants to rhinos to tigers.
Of course, being masochists, we chose to visit Bardia. The main benefit of this park is its seclusion from tourists. While Chitwan gets quite busy, Bardia only has a few stragglers with cameras, which is a huge plus in our books. The experience felt authentic and remote, and more than a little adventurous. Our guide carried a stick as protection from tigers and told us to climb a tree if we saw a rhino. Lovely advice.
Rumor has it tiger sightings are better in Bardia, but we're not sure that's entirely accurate. You do have a better chance to see rhinos in Chitwan.
Our Experience
We went in expecting an all out African safari, but these are a bit more tame. Most of your time is spent wandering through the parks, sitting in secluded places near the river and remaining very quiet. It's pretty relaxing, actually.
We saw two tigers from a pretty good distance, which really was awe-inspiring and not at all terrifying like we had imagined. Our guide, Hukum, was hilarious, and we felt relatively safe with his large, trusty walking stick.
Our biggest complaint? The bus ride. It’s miserable if you’re coming from Kathmandu, so be prepared. If you can stay awhile or break up the trip, it will make the journey a hell of a lot more worthwhile.
Planning your Trip
Getting There
Like we not-so-subtly hinted at, this was a horrific bus ride. There's just no way around it. Well, there actually is if you want to splurge for a flight. There’s an airport (Tikapur) nearby.
We started in Kathmandu, but you could also go from Pokhara, which would be marginally closer. A great idea would be to visit the park on the way in to Nepal if you're transferring by land from India. It's close to the border near Delhi and smack dab on the way.
The bus leaves Kathmandu from the New Bus Park at the north of the city. There are tons of minivans and busses heading there for 10-15 rupees from most parts of town, including the outskirts of Thamel.
To get to Bardia, you can either get a bus to Ambassa or Thakudwara. Note, they may also be called Ambasa or Thakurdwara depending on where you look. Ambassa is enroute to the Indian border and will require a short tuktuk to Thakudwara. This is where all the lodging is located and definitely where you'll be staying as you can't sleep in the park, unless you're on a special and expensive tour.
We went against all advice and showed up to the bus park the day we wanted to travel. It turned out to be fine, but we were told that there were no busses to Thakudwara, only to Ambassa. There were three tiers of bus (normal, deluxe, and AC), which cost 1100 np, 1300 np, and 1600 np respectively. Ours was scheduled for 1:00PM, the deluxe for 1:30PM, and the AC for 4:30PM.
Our experience in Nepal is that better busses are usually not that much better and thus not worth the extra price. We took the normal bus and bargained down to 1000 rupees each.
The bus we took turned out to be in horrible condition with screechy breaks that sounded like death, but the roads were better than those in the mountains. It left at 1:30PM and stopped along the way for a snack, dinner, and late night tea.
We got the dal bhat (unlimited rice, dal, and curry) at the dinner stop for 180 np. Unlike some other spots in Asia these places are a great deal and pretty yummy as well.
Our bus arrived at 5:00AM, when it was still dark, which meant it took us 15 and a half hours. The internet will tell you to figure out your transport to wherever you're staying in Thakudwara before you get in, but it seems like tuktuks usually hang around waiting for the bus to arrive. We were able to split it with locals to decrease the cost. The whole thing is 500 np for the 8 mile tuktuk. More rumors said there was a sporadic bus, but it was nowhere in sight.
Staying in Bardia
Around the entrance to the park in Thakudwara, there are heaps of lodges. The idea is to stay with one who will organize your trips into the park, so it's advisable to bargain for the whole package together.
We had contacted a few lodges beforehand, but decided to show up and see if we could bargain for a better price. The only problem with this idea is that the lodges are relatively far apart so plan to spend the first day you arrive sussing things out.
The lowest prices we were seeing was 400 np for a double room at a homestay, but we camped for free at Jungle Base Camp, which we way preferred. They had wifi and gave us access to a shower and toilet.
Most guest houses make food, but there are also some restaurants spattered in town. We had some left over trekking food, so we made our own and JBC had no issue with it.
Safari Options
There are tons of ways to see the park (Jeep, walking, elephant, rafting, etc.), but the only real budget option is the Jungle Walks.
These made headlines when an unlucky Dutch guy was attacked by a tiger and his guide saved him with the aforementioned stick. From what we saw, they were pretty mellow and the wildelife has plenty of space to go about its business. But it's still an intrepid thought.
We paid 3,250 np for each jungle walk. That includes entrance to the park, which is already 1,500 np, plus lunch. You might be able to get it down a bit without lunch, but we'd already pushed pretty hard. The walks were actually quite good value; they started at 6:00AM and lasted till 5:00PM.
Getting out
Getting back to Kathmandu was a lot more straightforward as there were lots of busses leaving straight from Thakudwara and we didn't have to flag one down on the side of the road. You’ll be able to walk from your lodge, if you want. Ask them to call the station and reserve a seat for you, cause these busses do fill up. They wanted 1300 np, but we bargained to 1100 np and got the arguably miserable seats in the back. These busses leave in the afternoon, somewhere between 12:00PM and 4:00PM. The times written on the wall at the station didn't seem to be wholly accurate.
Did you journey to Bardia? Other wilderness reserves? Let us know in the comments!
