Live from the Himalayas (4): Fair Trails Exploration

Probably no other place in Nepal combines the two world landscapes, the Himalayas and the Indian lowlands, as perfectly as the Chepang village Uppardangadhi. After all, it lies at a pleasant 1,300m above sea level on a wooded hill crowned by the massive walls of an old fortress. A fortress Nepalis are proud of, it is said to have prevented the English from crossing the Mahabharat to incorporate Nepal into their empire 200 years ago. If you look north from here in the evening, the eight-thousanders Manaslu, Annapurna and Dhaulagiri shine in the evening sun, while the haze of the endless Indian plain spreads out to the south. We now want to dive into this by descending from Uppardangadhi through an evergreen cultural landscape and shady forests to finally take a refreshing bath at the foot of the picturesque Sitli waterfall.

Always on the alert: Tiger Tops’ wildlife rangers know the most promising corners for wildlife viewing in Chitwan National Park. ® Trail Angels

The actual trek ends here, but it is far from our adventure. Because it is now time to discover the Terai, Nepal’s exciting south. The first destination is the Tharu village of Meghauli, where we stay in a lovely homestay, in the style of the traditional thatched-roof mud houses. The Tharu are the dominant ethnic group in the Terai and have developed very special skills over the centuries, especially to be able to survive in the dangerous jungle. This includes a peculiar form of fishing and we tried it out with them right away. To do this, we went into the adjacent jungle, into the buffer zone of the national park, where fishing is allowed. Under the guidance of one of the legendary “jungle men” of the Tharu and with four fisherwomen we set to work in a small jungle river: A small river area is delimited with mud dams, scooped out and then the fish in the mud are collected. For all the drudgery, the yield was modest (the fish still tasted good), but the excitement was great when a female Indian rhinoceros visited us with her offspring at the end of the fishery. Only 100m upstream the two took a bath in the midday heat and eyed us suspiciously. An unforgettable experience!

Work for dinner: Build the dam to help the Tharu fisherwomen! ® Trail Angels

What a magical moment: Like a creature from primeval times, the mighty Indian rhino strides out of the undergrowth to the jungle river to drink. Photographed with a smartphone through binoculars. ® Trail Angels

And the right foretaste of our last stop on our journey of discovery: Jack Edwards invited us to his legendary Tiger Tops Tharu Lodge on the edge of Chitwan National Park. His father Jim Edwards is the “father” of this park and the two of them have THE pioneering project for sustainable wildlife with the lodge, the elephant camp, the tiger monitoring project and their own school for their great staff, who all come from the area Tourism and nature conservation created. And the exploration tours in the national park, once by jeep in the core zone and once on foot, accompanied by two elephants in the buffer zone, provided moments of goosebumps: when the Indian rhino appeared less than 20 meters from us in the reed beds or we saw the very fresh tiger tracks while walking discovered in the mud. We were glad that our two elephants took care of us.

Nepal’s breathtaking south is definitely worth a trip! On foot across the maze of the Mahabharat mountains to the Chepang hunter people. And then further south by jeep, to the Tharu fishermen and into the evergreen wonderland of the Chitwan National Park with its magnificent wildlife. We will now work on the many details to open up a new Fair Trail in the exciting south of Nepal for you! You will find out more here soon.

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