Tiger Tops Tharu Lodge

I had a great stay at Tiger Tops Tharu Lodge! The rooms were cool and comfortable, perfect for relaxing after a day out. The food was really good—fresh and tasty at every meal. The guides were super nice and knowledgeable, making the whole experience feel personal and informative. And the safari was a lot of fun—we got to see some amazing wildlife and enjoy the beautiful surroundings. Would definitely recommend it for anyone looking for a peaceful and exciting escape in nature!

My wife and I spent 3 nights at Tiger Tops. The good points: The staff were excellent - very friendly and efficient. Special mention for Connie, the guest host, who was great company and on top of everything we needed. Special mention also for Daniel our fantastic safari guide who has 56 years of experience in Chitwan National Park and our jeep driver, Min, who drove brilliantly for 10 hours. The 'Not so good'. We knew that it was a camp, not an up market hotel, but the room was extremely basic with a broken toilet seat, very poor lighting and not overly clean. Some of the window units were not fitted and the ceiling fan was very noisy.

Tiger Tops delivered on every dimension for us. The lodge is typical of safari lodges - rustic but with extraordinary service. The food is definitely a differentiator, as it's truly excellent, including total flexibility if you need to tailor things a bit based on preferences, kids, upset stomach, etc. From a safari perspective, we had an excellent guide and driver (Sam). The animal gods were with us, as we had excellent viewing in the park, including a high-quality tiger encounter with super clear viewing along the river. Other animals included an Indian Bison, gharial, yellow crocodile, rhinos, peacocks, monkeys, mongoose, martins, and a thousand deer. The highlight, however, even considering the tiger spotting, was definitely the elephant walk. After tracking tigers and rhinos for two days, you suddenly find yourself walking in the same heavy jungle where you watched a rhino disappear 10 feet from you and you knew a tiger was watching you without you being able to see it! With an elephant in front and an elephant behind, somehow you feel safe! We encountered two rhinos at close distance. It was pretty incredible - the elephants drew in close and came up along side the kids and starting making humming noises to establish their dominance. It was probably the most amazing animal experience I've ever had (which includes 3 trips to Africa). Tiger Tops is great value in an extraordinary part of the world.

My wife and I had an incredible trip! The food and hospitality were top notch. We both have food allergies and they were accommodated very well. We also celebrated our wedding anniversary and were surprised by the staff providing for us festivities to celebrate. Our guide (and wonderful friend) was amazing! He had so much knowledge of the area from plants, to animals, to birds, as well as the local culture. He was also very focused on ethical and sustainable tourism. We saw many more animals than we ever planned. I also appreciated the ethical and sustainable approaches to tourism that the Lodge follows. This trip will be cherished for years to come. I highly recommend Tiger Tops Tharu Lodge as a destination for seeing wildlife, local culture, and experiencing a retreat from urban life. The staff are also super friendly, accessible, knowledgeable, and fun.

I am sharing this review after my second stay at Tiger Tops Tharu Lodge and both stays were amazing. There is something magical about this place and it has earned a spot in my heart. This is not the same safari experience you have in Africa so managing expectations is important. Chitwan National Park has a lot of vegetation and available water so animal sightings, while plentiful, are not as easy as in Africa. The lodge rooms are large and very comfortable but rustic, without AC or TV, but you don’t miss them. The food is plentiful and delicious, served homestyle. The staff are fantastic, warm, attentive and very accommodating with food allergies. The elephant sandwich making and late afternoon elephant walk/sundowner are a must. Words can’t describe the thrill of encountering a momma rhino and baby, on foot, under the protection of two majestic elephants. The jungle jeep safari is thrilling and Sam is a wonderful guide, making sure we spotted almost every animal except the shy tiger and sloth bear, even though he tried very hard to locate them. He does not use a radio for animal spotting like they do on an African safari but instead relies on the warning calls of jungle animals and he seems to know them all. This knowledge netted two leopard spotting, one on each stay. I am honestly still amazed he was able to find one lazy leopard napping on a fallen tree which was covered in thick vegetation. Even though I knew where it was I still had trouble finding it again each time with binoculars. When we returned from the jungle safari we were greeted with warm smiles an ice cold towel and a delicious cold drink. Make sure to take a refreshing swim in the pool to cool down before you enjoy snacks and then a delicious dinner in the lodge.

I've done a great deal of traveling, including internationally, and this lodge was the BEST i've ever stayed in. Not quite perfect, but very few flaws, and so very, very warm and welcoming, with the kindest, most helpful staff (each and every one of them). As examples, they had not received advanced word about eating restrictions, yet we were accommodated. The manager, who is called BC (as an abbreviation of his Nepali name), should truly be called A+, and he even went out of his way to find me artificial sweetener (which is apparently not common in Nepal). They were also very accommodating about our safari requests in terms of time allotments, which was also greatly appreciated. And I am making these very positive comments about the lodge despite the disappointment of not having seen a tiger! (although we did see 2 leopards, which was very cool!) Definitely the place to stay.