Chepang is one of the indigenous ethnic groups among 103 groups in Nepal. This community still follows a nomadic life and their primary lifestyle includes hunting, foraging for wild roots, and fishing and traditional farming near jungles. They believe in the spiritual world, so Chepang witch doctor is very popular in Nepal. Their settlements, house construction, social organization, language, customs, festivals, and religion are different from other communities. Chepang Hill trail adjoins Asia’s top most beautiful Chitwan National Park which has been listed in the world heritage sites. So, it is known as Chitwan Chepang Hill Trekking also. Other attractions of this trek are the Nomadic cultural experience of the Chepang Community, jangle safari, and rafting in the Trishuli River. For Chepang Hill Trekking we need camping organization trekking but the local community provides homestay facilities. Its aim is to support the marginalized Chepang community's economy.
The recently opened trekking trail “Chitwan Chepang Hill Trail”, offers a rare combination of cultural and sightseeing experiences. The other interesting aspect of the trek is getting a glimpse of the Chepangs and other communities live hood. The warm invitation of the villagers to stay in their beautiful homes as guests and share their meals is our journey of discovery in itself. The unique culture in this area in addition to natural attractions adds to the charm of our trekking experience. The Chepang Hill Trail begins at Hugdi Khola, between Mugling and Krishna Bhir in Dhading district about 80 km from Kathmandu, and ends in Chitawan Shaktikhor. If one starts from the Chitwan National Park the trail can also be started from Shaktikhor and end at Hugdi Khola. The trek goes through rolling hills with lush vegetation, where rice fields with small houses in beautiful traditional orange colors meet the eye. The last two hours are the most difficult part of the trek as we follow the stream up the ravine to the pass. From here, we can see down the Chepang Gaun, valley and we follow the narrow path close to the mountain. On arrival in the village, the locals served us their traditional Dal Bhat. The trek to the top of the hill Sirai Chuli (2000m) offers us a magnificent view of the Himalayan range from east to west: Langtang, Ganesh Himal, Manaslu 8000+, and Annapurna 8000+ and Dhaulagiri 8000+.
Chitwan offers many adventures and other activities such as jungle safari, bird watching, canoe trips, etc. The Chitwan National Park is renowned for its dense tropical forest with a large number of wildlife and bird species. It is home to about 600 species of plants, a habitat of about 43 species of large mammals, 526 species of birds, 150 species of butterflies, 126 species of fish and 49 species of reptiles, rare one-horned rhinos, and other endangered species like the Royal Bengal Tiger, the Gangetic Dolphins, and Ghadiyal Crocodile. This park boasts grey monkeys and the common brownish-red rhesus monkeys, deer, leopards, wild dogs, various species of mongoose and cats, wild boar, porcupines, hyenas, bats, squirrels, etc. The park also boas of nearly 600 one-horned rhinos, a quarter of the species total and their numbers continue to grow. An estimated 100 tigers are in the park at present.
The Chitwan Chepang Hill Trekking finished collecting boundless experience in your life take the tourist bus to Kathmandu. We “Nepal Mother House Treks” always welcome you to the Chepang Hill Trekking. We arrange this trip shorter or longer according to your desire and holiday schedule with our experience Guide whole the year round, but September to mid-November and March to mid-May is the best time.