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Chitwan Elephant Project
Chitwan Elephant Project
Nepal
Project
In Chitwan volunteers have the rare and unique chance to experience village life in southern Nepal while
working with an amazing variety of wildlife. An amazing opportunity! Volunteer work, responsibilities and
hours vary, but you'll have time to relax and explore nature and the national park too. You can also
combine this project with a teaching project.
Volunteers assist with the care of the elephants used in tourist treks (not the elephants in the Breeding
Center) and can join community­based projects in a village. The majority of volunteer work deals more
with the day­to­day aspects of working with the elephants rather than more specialized research or
veterinary based work, although you may have the opportunity to do that too if you have the expertise.
Time is split between learning about the elephants and learning to ride, control and feed them. In the
afternoons elephants are taken down to the river to swim.
We also support local community development, which includes teaching English at a local school and
helping the village develop locally based eco tourism, perhaps by developing information and activities.
Without the help of volunteers this work wouldn’t happen so you play a vital role.
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Chitwan Elephant Project
Volunteers can:
work with elephants
learn about elephant food/eating habits, prepare food and feed them
take elephants to the river to bathe and drink
learn the basics from mahouts about riding elephants
A typical day
Volunteers engage in a mix of activities as agreed between you and the local contacts. The day starts
around 6:30 am when the elephants go for safaris with tourists till 10am. After that you take the elephant
to the river to swim and drink water, then back to prepare food and feed them. At 2:00 the elephants
again go on safari till 5:00. While the elephants are on safari the volunteer prepares food and sometimes
goes along on the safari if there’s space. You may be caring further for elephants by bathing them along
with the mahouts and cleaning up the elephant enclosures.
Accommodation
Volunteers stay with a host family.
Location
Chitwan National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is famous for its nature and wildlife and is
Nepal's third most popular tourism destination. The park is located in southern Nepal, 200km from the
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Chitwan Elephant Project
capital city, Kathmandu, and is surrounded by Tharu villages and community forests (with abundant
wildlife too!) serving as a buffer zone to teh park. The city of Bharatpur is located just 10km away.
The main attraction in Chitwan is its wildlife, including many endangered species like one­horned Indian
rhinos, tigers, leopards, sloth bears, crocodiles and Ganges dolphins as well as cast, deer and monkeys.
Chitwan is also home to 450 bird species! Visitors tour Chitwan's Elephant Breeding Center and a
nearby Gahrial (a critically endangered species of crocodile) Breeding Center. Tourists come from all
over the world and go on treks into the national park and surrounding community forests riding on
elephants.
Our volunteer coordinator, Mr. Mohan, can help you make arrangements for transport from Kathmandu
for a fee. The tourist bus takes six to seven hours; the fare is Rs 300­350. The daily A/C Greenline bus
is more comfortable and costs US$10 including brunch. Ranjan or any local hotel or travel can make
bookings for your return journey. You can also arrange transfer to Chitwan by private car. The going
rate for a car and driver is around US$60 (four persons plus driver) and the journey take about five
hours.
Project type:
Ecotourism
Teach English
Country:
Nepal
Location:
Chitwan National Park, South Nepal
Accommodation:
Homestay
Incredible opportunity to work with elephants in Nepal!
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