Bardia Tiger Trail takes you into the least visited and most rewarding tiger territory in Nepal. While most wildlife travelers head straight to Chitwan, Bardia National Park in the far west holds Nepal’s highest tiger density relative to visitor numbers, a direct result of the park’s remoteness and the conservation work that earned Bardia a Mission TX2 Award in 2022 for doubling its tiger population since 2010. The most recent national census recorded 125 tigers using Bardia, a striking figure for a park that still receives a fraction of Chitwan’s tourist traffic.
This 6 day private trail is built around maximizing genuine tracking time rather than rushing through a checklist. You will spend three full days inside Bardia combining jeep safari through the sal forest and riverine grassland, guided jungle walks on foot with an armed naturalist guide, and a raft safari on the Karnali River, Nepal’s longest and cleanest river, where Gangetic river dolphins surface alongside basking gharial and mugger crocodiles. Beyond tigers, Bardia supports wild Asian elephants, one-horned rhinos relocated from Chitwan as part of a long-running conservation translocation program, swamp deer, and over 400 recorded bird species.
Bardia Tiger Trail also includes time with the Tharu community who have lived alongside this jungle for generations, offering a cultural dimension that pure wildlife-spotting itineraries often skip. Your guide throughout is a Bardia-based naturalist with years of tracking experience in this specific park, since reading pugmarks, alarm calls and fresh scat in Bardia’s terrain is a genuinely different skill from tracking in Chitwan’s more open grassland.
This itinerary suits travelers who have time for a full west Nepal journey, photographers seeking less crowded sightlines, and anyone who has already visited Chitwan and wants Nepal’s wilder, quieter tiger country on a return trip.
Welcome to Kathmandu. You will be met at Tribhuvan International Airport and transferred to your hotel, with a trip briefing covering your full Bardia itinerary. Overnight: Kathmandu
A short domestic flight takes you to Nepalgunj, followed by a road transfer of approximately 3 hours to Bardia National Park. Check in to your jungle lodge by late afternoon, with a briefing on the next three days of tracking activities. Overnight: Bardia | Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
An early morning jeep safari covers the park's core tiger habitat, sal forest interspersed with riverine grassland where sightings of tiger, rhino, swamp deer and wild elephant are all possible. In the afternoon, a raft safari on the Karnali River brings you past basking gharial and mugger crocodiles, with a genuine chance of spotting the rare Gangetic river dolphin. Overnight: Bardia | Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Today's primary activity is a guided jungle walk with two armed naturalist guides, tracking on foot through terrain a vehicle cannot reach, reading pugmarks, scratch marks and alarm calls along the way. In the afternoon, visit a nearby Tharu village to learn about the indigenous community that has coexisted with this jungle for generations, including their distinctive stilt houses and traditional farming methods. Overnight: Bardia | Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
A final full morning of tracking, with your guide adjusting the route based on the past two days' sign and any reported sightings, gives you the best possible final chance at a tiger encounter. After lunch, drive back to Nepalgunj for your evening flight to Kathmandu. Overnight: Kathmandu | Breakfast, Lunch
Depending on your international flight schedule, enjoy free time in Kathmandu for last minute shopping before your representative transfers you to the airport for departure.
All of our holidays are completely tailor-made and prices will vary based on things like when in the year you will be travelling (High season, Low season), how far in advance you book, the number of people travelling in your group, the level of accommodation you choose etc. Please click on the next tab (INQUIRY/ BOOKING) and send us your inquiry. We will reply you with cost and other necessary details within 24 hours.
Getaway Nepal Adventure (P.) Ltd.
Thamel Kathmandu, Nepal
Tel: +977 98510 38 908