Chitwan is the lowland end of Nepal, a flat, hot and green country of river and forest that feels like a different nation from the mountains. The park, set up in 1973 as Nepal's first, lies along the Rapti and Narayani rivers in the Terai, and UNESCO listed it in 1984. It is a home for the greater one-horned rhinoceros, once close to extinction here, whose numbers have recovered thanks to strict protection, as well as Bengal tigers, gharial crocodiles with their long narrow snouts, sloth bears and hundreds of bird species.
The landscape is a patchwork of sal forest, riverine woodland and tall grassland that can reach over your head in autumn. The Tharu people, who have lived in the area for centuries and developed a natural resistance to the malaria that kept others away, run many of the lodges and guide services, and their villages of clay-walled houses with painted decoration are interesting in their own right. Most visitors stay in Sauraha, the main gateway on the northern edge of the park, where you can take canoe trips on the river, jeep safaris or guided walks.
Riding here is not about the park itself, as motorbikes are not allowed inside, but about the road getting you there. From Kathmandu the route follows the Prithvi Highway through river gorges and then drops into the plain, with the air getting warmer and denser. Traffic is heavy and unpredictable, with trucks, buses and wandering cattle, and the road passes through dusty towns. The best months are from October to March, when the weather is dry and cool, but fog can be thick in winter mornings. From April the heat becomes intense, and the monsoon from June to September brings flooding.
For fuel, the nearest larger town is Bharatpur, about twenty-two kilometres away, which has stations, shops, a hospital and an airport. Sauraha has basic provisions, but for the bike it is better to fill up before you arrive. Drink plenty of bottled water and carry insect repellent.
Be on the river at dawn, when the mist hangs over the water and rhinos wade in the shallows. It is worth the early start.