Few thrills can compare with coming face to face with a wild tiger. In Chitwan National Park, guides still take visitors on walking tours to spot the elusive cats, but prior to 2012, odds were far better of a close encounter if you were lodging at one of the resorts inside the park. After 2012, as part of new conservation efforts, all lodges were required to move outside the park boundaries. But many of the old buildings remain, albeit ravaged by the ever-creeping jungle. Among the more prominent ruins are those of the Temple Tiger resort, which can still be visited by tourists and tigers alike.
The vistas from the resort are preserved, as are some of the murals in the old reception building. But anyone attempting to camp in one of the decaying cottages today will have to share with a host of critters unlikely to be welcoming.
The debate continues over the benefits of expelling the lodges. On the one hand, ecotourists staying within the park was an effective deterrent to poachers. But on the other hand, it is hard to argue with the conservation successes of Nepal, especially the flourishing populations of tigers, rhinos, and gharials. Time will tell whether ecolodges will once again be allowed inside the park, but until then, there are still plenty of exceptional accommodations outside the perimeter that offer opportunities to enjoy the more than 150 animal and 540 bird species that call Chitwan home.
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