Royal Tiger Luxury Resort

Set behind a screen of riparian forest on the edge of Sauraha, Royal Tiger Luxury Resort keeps its tropical gardens cool even when the plains beyond Chitwan National Park run hot. Rooms are air-conditioned, with Wi-Fi, tea and coffee facilities and a private bathroom as standard. The Family Super Deluxe adds two bedrooms and its own use of the pool, useful when travelling with children. Bharatpur Airport is a twenty-five-minute drive away. A restaurant and bar serve continental dishes alongside local specialities, and there is a terrace for evenings when the Tharu dancers perform in the courtyard, their war and stick dances staged to drums. It is the main reason guests come. Nearby, Asia's first elephant breeding centre lets visitors watch calves at close range. Back at the resort, an outdoor pool and a 2,300 sq ft event hall cover both rest and gatherings of up to 200 people. It is a compact stay, built around what lies just beyond its gate.