Chitwan Reserve

Photos and text by Alessia, age 13, of The Bank Street School For Children in New York, NY

I traveled to Nepal's Chitwan Reserve in the summer of 1995 with my father. These are my photographs and story of the people, wildlife and environment. Click on the photographs below to see an enlarged view. Use the "Back" button on your browser to return to this page.

Women working in a rice field.
(134k)

Rice field.
(152k)

A wild rhino in the forest.
(113k)
In August 1995, my father and I rode an elephant in the Chitwan National Park, which is in the southern part of Nepal, the part which is flat and borders India. Chitwan has forests which some people call jungle, though it doesn't really look like the jungle in the movies. It is thick forest, very green, and it would be very hard to walk through it because it is so densely packed with bushes and small trees. Most people come to Chitwan hoping to see some of the tigers the park is famous for, and also to see the rhinoceroses which are native to this area. We met lots of Nepali people who had come to the park and had seen tigers, but we didn't see any. But we did see some rhinos, which was exciting. They were just grazing in these narrow fields of grass which cut through the forest, and they would look up at us when our elephant approached them, and then they would lumber off into the forest.
The most exciting part of this trip was riding an elephant through the forest. We sat on a platform on the elephant's back which was attached to the elephant with a kind of belt. The mahout, or driver, sat on the elephant's neck, with his feet behind the elephant's ears. He used his feet and his voice to direct the elephant, and sometimes a stick with which he would hit the elephant's head. I couldn't stand to see him hit the elephant, though everyone said that it doesn't hurt him, but just reminds him who is the boss. We also had a naturalist riding with us, but he just stood on the elephant's back, behind the platform. He would point out the different animals we saw, like the spotted deer or the various kinds of birds we passed.
The elephant had to lie down so we could climb aboard, and even then we needed a ladder to get up to the platform. Then we held on tight while he got up, and then we swayed and bounced around as he went down to the river we were near, and as he waded across it to the forest. Eventually, you get used to the bouncing, but it always reminds you that you are sitting on top of this giant animal. The other thing which tells you you are on a powerful animal is the way he could tear up small trees which were in our way. This is how he gets the banana stalks you see in these pictures, simply by ripping them off the plants. It is amazing to feel his power when he does this. It makes you feel safe as you go through forest, looking for tigers and rhinos. It is an amazing experience, and I know I'll never forget it.

Elephants carrying their food
- banana trees.
(141k)

Close-up of an elephant.
(126k)

Elephant carrying banana trees.
(123k)

Return to Bank Street