Elephant and Tourism Festival in Sauraha begins today

CHITWAN, Dec 26:The 18th Elephant and Tourism Festival begins today in Sauraha, Chitwan. The Sauraha Regional Hotel Association organized the Elephant and Tourism Festival in celebration of the English New Year and Christmas.

The festival, which will continue for five days till December 30, will be held on the grounds of the Baghmara Intermediate Community Forest. 

The Elephant and Tourism Festival aims to attract and increase both domestic and international visitors to Sauraha. The occupancy rate of hotels in Sauraha, which is currently 40%, is likely to rise by 20 to 25% during the festival. To entice travelers during the festival, hotels in the area have stated that they will be offering 10% discounts on food and lodging.

The celebration was hosted last year near the Chitrasari Bridge, and it will be held again this year in the Baghmara grounds.

The festival will also include elephant grooming competitions, elephant banquets, elephant-friendly football penalty competitions, elephant-friendly musical walks, elephant health check-up camps, municipal-level boat competitions, B2B seminars with domestic and foreign tour and travel agencies, interactions on the potential of Chitwan's tourism, past and present, tableau performances including local costumes and art and culture, cultural performances by national and local

The Elephant Festival will feature more than 80 elephants, both private and government owned. There are 60 private elephants in Sauraha.