Scottish Rock Garden Club Forum
General Subjects => Travel / Places to Visit => Topic started by: RichardW on March 22, 2013, 06:25:28 PM
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Just got back a few days ago, had a great time though not very relaxing, lots of traveling but saw so much :)
went with a group which I've done before & really enjoy though I think when I go back I'll do it independently to have more flexibility.
started in Kathmandu which was hot, dusty and very noisy, don't like cities so didn't enjoy it, driving was a free for all :o and walking had enough hazards dodging cars, motorbikes and more in very narrow streets, it was an experience but not somewhere I would choose to spend any time.
next day flew to Biratnagar and transfered to Koshi Tappu national park, the camp was great, very basic but lovely location, big comfortable tents, food was outstanding considering the basic setup, curried everything, even breakfast ;D ;D ;D
Park is small but seemed unspoilt, had a very nice day on the river exploring in inflatables and rest of the time on foot, took a drive to the flood barrage to see river dolphins which was a highlight.
moved onto Chitwan after a few days, Machan Paradise view got some very mixed reviews on trip adviser so was a bit worried but it was a great, the issues listed weren't apparent at all, nothing was too much trouble for staff (inc serving coffee & biscuits at 0530 for a few early risers) everything was comfortable and clean, i usually get itchy feet when away so like moving around but didn't want to leave, magical place.
Park is huge with mix of grassland, rivers & forrest, explored on foot, jeep and elephant. It was full on and quite tiring but got to see a lot of the park plus plenty of crocs, mammals and birds.
Back to Kathmandu for a few days but spent most of the time in Phulchoki Forrest, up to about 9000ft in the hills SE of the city, had armed police with us which was unexpected but tourists have been robbed in the area. Great views over the himalayas and alive with birds, not the time of year for flora but still found a few interesting things, the dirt tracks and steep drops were a bit scary :-\
weather was hot & sunny all the time, coming back to snow & freezing winds not much fun!
has been a long held ambition to visit and didn't disappoint, will be going back to Machan to explore Chitwan more in a few years.
few random pics....
flight to Biratnagar, Everest on left trailing cloud
Koshi Tappu camp
Posh tent
St Andrews Cross Spider, dont like 8 legged beasties :-[ but these were fascinating
Koshi Tappu
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few more
Machan Paradise View lodge
Viewpoint on arrival, place is aptly named.
Forrest track, very dense.
Fresh Tiger print + 72mm lens cap for scale, ranger tracked them for a while along a stream, very weird experience!
typical view around the lodge.
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few more
Large (5m ish) Gharial croc
Butea monosperma - Flame of the forest flower
Trees over river
greater one-horned rhino
heading into park to look for rhino
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and more...
elephants after dawn ride (nice extra due to lodge being quiet)
10 month calf, was hilarious ;D
river road view - terrifying road with no barrier steep drops and mad drivers
tiny bergenia in phulchoki
view from flight home as we left Kathmandu
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last few..
Darter? dragonfly
Lizard
Orchid, had an awkward clamber up rocks to get this but only one i saw so was detemined :)
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Beautiful pics ! Thanks for sharing them with us ;)
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Looks a fascinating trip Richard, I'm very envious! Thanks for posting.
The size of that paw print... :o
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Thought the first one we found was big enough, one print had a nice stone in it, that came home with me :)
Forgot to mention Koshi Tappu camp was full of fire flies, amazing sight, and a jungle cat (bigger than domestic and long body) wandered through the camp most days at dawn and dusk.
Already planning another visit, sat next to a retired Gurkha on the flight home, born near chitwan and had all sorts of tips and advice for getting around and good times to visit, also very funny & made the flight go quicker 8)
Need to invest in a good lens, there was so much to photograph but camera wasn't up to it, one of the group had stunning pics of many of the birds & mammals.