Away from the crowds, this new resort is ideally placed, with a wide variety of wildlife just a stone’s throw away. When you’re here, you get to work closely with the local community,making you feel almost as though you were a part of the village. The Kumal people, one of Nepal’s many smaller ethnic groups, have a rich and interesting culture that is different from what you see in the hills.
Though not luxurious, the accommodation is very comfortable and represents excellent value. It is very relaxed and offers the full range of activities you’d expect being next to Chitwan National Park: jungle safaris, nature walks, elephant rides and the chance to bathe your elephant!
With eight spacious triple-bed rooms, the resort also offers extra-comfortable tented accommodation in large twin-bedded tents. There is also a large room available for conferences, meetings or parties.
Golaghat Resort this place would appeal to anyone wanting to see a different side of Chitwan. Although outside the national park, you might just as well inside, as it’s undisturbed and you only have to walk a few minutes to be close to wildlife. The national park itself is only about a 15-minute walk across the Buffer Zone.
Set up as partnership of five friends, this resort works closely with the local village people to find ways to help them and empower them– whether by hiring local Kumal staff, buying local produce and constructing the resort from local materials, or by working with the community on local school and social projects.
Stay
The rooms have been built in a traditional style using local materials. Using the grasses and bamboo, and plastered with adobe, the thatched rooms are very spacious and airy. Furnished simply with a large double and single bed, the rooms have a ceiling fan, offering welcome respite from the heat outside. Each room has a small terrace facing the garden.
The large bathroom has a big shower area, perfect to cool down and wash off the dust. In the winter, the water is hot, but in the heat of May, the cool(ish) water was very welcome.
Additional luxury tents, furnished with twin beds, provide accommodation when all the rooms are full.
Dine
The large circular dining room in the centre of the lawn offers a good selection of àla carte meals and there is a small but adequate bar. Breakfast consists of a wide choice, from beans and hash potatoes on toast to cereal, eggs any way you like and many more spicy options. Lunch and dinner comes as you like, from soups, chow mein, fried rice or more substantial meals. The buff daal bhat (rice and curry with daal soup) was a delicious dinner choice. Ducks and chickens come from the village, and the fish is caught locally.
This is a rural area, so there’s little choice of where to eat, other than a simple local restaurant in the village that serves a variety of snacks, like chow mein.
Being close to the national park, most of the activities revolve around viewing wildlife and exploring the jungle and river. For those who fancy a night out under the stars, camping by the river can be arranged (30 USD). A programme of activities is included in the packages (depending how many nights).
Canoe (dug-out) ride – 20 USD
Elephant ride – 20 USD
Bathing the elephant – 20 USD
Ox-cart ride/walk in the village 20 USD
Jungle walk – full day or half day — 60-20 USD
Jungle jeep safari – 60-20 USD
Bird-watching – 60-20 USD
The resort is close to the confluence of the Narayan and Rapti rivers and this is a super place to walk or ride on an elephant to enjoy the beautiful sunset.
Jungle activities include services of a nature guide, park fees and for a full-day programme, packed lunch and refreshments.
Cultural programmes are available on request. Tharu dances, or localKumal dance performances can be arranged.
Cultural responsibility:
Ramu Tamang and his friends have endeavoured to develop a resort that not only provides a good place for the guests to stay and enjoy Chitwan’s diverse and fascinating lifestyle, but also provides benefit to the local community.
A conscious effort has been made to highlight the unique Kumal culture, there is emphasis on all things local.
Environmental responsibility:
Planting trees and shrubs around the resort that in the long run, will attract birds and other wildlife.
Ramu provides training and works at improving awareness of the importance of the environment, encouraging the villagers to adopt good waste management and to recognise the importance of conserving the environment to ensure that the wildlife can thrive.
Handling the conflict between farmers and depredations by wild animals is a sensitive juggling act, but Ramu hopes that by conservation and encouraging wildlife, that this can also benefit the local people and enhance tourism as an income source in this otherwise poor farming community.
Social and economic responsibility:
All things local – as far as possible, the resort uses local supplies of food, building materials, staff.
What’s Hot!
- Spacious and comfortable rooms
- Unspoilt surroundings
- Close to wildlife
- Beautiful sunset over the meeting point of the Rapti and Narayan rivers
- Elephant rides and an opportunity to bathe the elephants
- Knowledgeable and experienced nature guide to show you around
What’s Not!
- Newly built, some of the rooms didn’t quite seem finished when I visited in May 2011. That said, nothing is lacking and just the finishing touches were being worked on
- It’s outside the National Park, though it is so close as to almost be inside (the government is planning to evict those lodges inside the park eventually).
Ideal For Whom
This peaceful resort would suit anyone wanting to enjoy the wildlife and get a glimpse of the local culture, far from the crowds. Not yet developed for tourism, this area is still unspoilt. This is a spot where wildlife sightings are common given the proximity of the resort to the national park. Anyone with any level of fitness can enjoy this place, whether it’s relaxing by the perimeter fence over a beer, watching the birds, riding the resort’s elephant, drifting down the river, or spending the day on a jungle walk. Families and guests with disabilities are well looked after here, with excellent service making everyone feel at home.
When To Visit
Chitwan can get very hot. The very best time of the year to come is in February-March, as this is when it starts to get warm (but not too hot) and the grasses are not too long for the wildlife to hide in. However, from November, the winter migrant birds start to arrive, and even if it gets cold at night, by mid-day it is sunny and very pleasant.
It gets hotter through April and May, but this is when you might catch sight of a tiger sitting in the river, and the summer migrant birds also offer a lot to see.
The autumn months are also a good time to come with warm temperatures, and cool nights, with the weather dry from September.
During the monsoon, the weather is hot and rainy, and this may not be the ideal time to come if you have a choice.
How Many Days
You really need to stay at least two days, preferably three or four days, to have time to participate in all that this resort offers. The bird-watching, elephant rides and jungle walks take very different aspects in the early morning and late afternoon. You will probably fancy a siesta in the heat of the midday sun, so days can be spent relaxing in the shade between your forays into the jungle.
Things To Bring
Binoculars
Birds of Nepal book
Torch
Insect repellent
Sandals for the canoe boat ride and elephant bathing
Walking shoes for jungle walks
Cool cottons – ideally in green and brown, to blend in with the scenery
Camera
Megauli is on the north west side of Chitwan National Park. It can be reached by road from Bharatpur, taking about two hours.
By air – a short flight from Kathmandu to Bharatpur runs a couple of times a day. Much less frequent are charter flights that fly to and from Megauli (via Bharatpur), but these are irregular and not to be counted on.
By road – from Kathmandu to Naraghat, comfortable tourist buses depart from Kantipath, near Thamel at 7am every morning, taking about 4-5 hours. Similarly, tourist buses leave Pokhara’s tourist bus park at 8:30am every morning for the slightly shorter ride to Naranghat. From Naranghat (and Bharatpur), local buses take about 2-3 hours (45NRs) or a taxi will take about 2 hours (15 USD).
Ramu Tamang is a relaxed and cheerful host. Working as a security guard in the UAE, he dreamed of returning to Nepal and building something that would also help develop his country. Formerly working in the tourism sector, he was keen to return to this.
Ramu met Bhimsen, Raju, Nandu and Purna while working in the UAE. Together with his friends, they all came back in 2009 to set up the resort, away from the crowds, in a place where the local community would also be able to benefit from tourism.
Ramu spends much of his time at the resort, splitting his time between here and his family in Kathmandu. All of the partners meet up at least monthly at the resort.
