After a long stretch of Indian cities it felt good to breath in the fresh air of the Nepalese jungle and nature reserve – Chitwan National Park. Our stunning safari lodges Sapana Village are located centrally in the park – surrounded by views of the reserve, hazy mountain peaks and the animals of the jungle. As well as offering a friendly service these lodges donate all their profits to help reduce poverty in the local community. After a wild night of sitting around the fire, drinking hot honey rums and listening to house with Raj our G Adventures guide and a few others in our group we had an early start on the safari. the 4 hour journey in the rain was worth it for one thing – the rare sighting of a leopard! George did the good job of spotting the beast even before our Safari guides as it was resting up in a tree, all the staff were amazed to see it for such a long period (5minutes) as usually it’s a 5-10 second flash! Our guide also told us he does this trip 3-4 times a week and has not seen one for around 4 months! Needless to say everyone wanted a copy of our photo below… We also saw lots of peacocks, monkeys, deer, kingfisher and a quick sighting of a sloth bear. Enjoy –

Group shot on Sapana Village balcony