2026 Trip of a Lifetime
Diana and I are middle-class, senior American women, who love watching wildlife, being in nature and learning about other cultures and ways of being in the world. We recently spent 25 days (February 15-March 11, 2026) adventuring in Nepal with Shankar Tiwari of Travel Nepal. We want to express our gratitude to him and his family for the incredible experience and offer our highest recommendation to other travelers.
Travel Nepal worked with us to create and implement a custom itinerary for two, that encompassed: all of the primary birding and wildlife watching areas in the Terai lowlands (Sukla Phanta NP, Bardia NP, Chitwan NP, Parsa Wildlife Reserve, Koshi Tappu Wildlife Reserve, and Barju Lake); opportunities to view the majestic Himalayas; walking tours of culturally and spiritually significant sites in Lumbini (Buddha’s birthplace) and Kathmandu Valley (Bhaktapur City, Pashupatinath Temple, and Boudhanath Stupa); and slow rides and walks through small villages across the country to provide us with the heart-melting opportunity to meet and interact with the beautiful, loving Nepali people.
From the moment our plane touched down in Kathmandu until it departed again nearly a month later, Shankar was with us and completely attentive to our safety, health, comfort and special interests. Shankar is an internationally recognized birding expert with decades of experience guiding in Nepal’s National Parks and Wildlife Reserves. He is an excellent naturalist, efficient organizer, proficient English speaker, and also a smart, honest, warm-hearted, friendly person that was a pleasure to spend time with throughout our magical travel adventure.
Lastly, this trip was both affordable (due to economic differences in Nepal vs the USA) and logistically very easy for us. Virtually all of the expenses were included in the trip cost: meals, accommodations, internal flights, hired cars and drivers, boat rides, jungle safaris, park fees etc. No surprises. Hotels and safari lodges were all safe, beautiful, high-end places, swankier than we would usually stay in. And again, all of these arrangements were made for us by Travel Nepal and Shankar was with us the entire trip ensuring all of our wants and needs were met.
And yes, in addition to the myriads of new bird and wildlife species that we saw…we were blessed to see two wild Bengal tigers!!
Sherri C. and Diana B.
If you are considering a trip with Travel Nepal and would like to contact us, let Shankar and Rasila know and they will connect you with us via What’s App.