When To Travel

It is coolest between November and February when warm jackets are definitely required on safari until the sun comes up and early morning mists are common. February until April is the spring season with the bonus of numerous wildflowers in bloom. The heat begins to build up from late March onward, dropping little below 20 deg.C overnight. Even though Himalayan Nepal enjoys a more moderate climate than India daytime temperatures can still reach up to forty deg.C by mid May in the Terai plains.

Temperatures continue to climb into the monsoon season, and as the humidity increases there are electrical storms with rain coming in steadily from June, and peaking by the middle of August. Initially the rain brings little cooling, and though it won't rain all day it can rain every day, and then the sun breaks through. With the raised river levels some areas of the National Parks become inaccessible, although the parks do not technically close the viewing methods are certainly limited during the monsoon. When the monsoon ends in September the air becomes clearer and temperatures comfortable, it can even become rather cool again at night. It is wise to pack raingear between March until early October in case of early or late rain storms.

Wildlife

Migratory birds begin to arrive at their wintering grounds in Nepal from October and the majority stay through till mid-February. This cooler time also suits the activities of many resident mammals, tigers in particular will be active for longer periods, often using park tracks to survey their territory. However with elephant grass growing up to 20ft tall in some stands many of the mammal species can easily choose to remain unseen. At Chitwan the rhino are of course large and numerous enough to be tracked reliably, but the plentiful deer species for example are more commonly sighted in smaller numbers rather than as herds. For keen birders between February and April there is an overlap of some winter and summer migrant species along with higher altitude birds.

During January at Chitwan and Bardia the grasslands are harvested by local villagers and then burnt to prevent trees establishing themselves, the new growth attracts grazing mammals and sightings are increased. The dominant Sal trees that forest the largest area of these parks also shed their leaves in February allowing easier viewing of mammals in the forest; the new leaf growth begins to show in March. February to April is considered by many to be the optimum time for mammal photography.

Wild elephant herds spend much of the year on the park fringes and are rarely seen until March when smaller water sources are gone. Along with ungulates and other prey species, the elephants are drawn closer to the remaining rivers lower in the parks from March onward.

The range of wildlife activities does change with the season to allow you to get the most from your stay; for example while river levels are higher waterborne safaris allow you to cover more ‘ground’ than by jeep, but once the tracks are dry the jeep can earn its place. Equally the raised platform and quiet progress afforded by an elephant safari allows viewing in the heart of the grasslands that is hard to match at any time. There will always be a large element of luck involved, but your length of stay and number of safaris taken at a park is a more important factor.