Sauraha & the Tharu villages of Chitwan
Also known as: सौराहा र चितवनका थारू गाउँ · थारू गाउँ · Sauraha · सौराहा · Tharu stick dance · Tharu homestay
Long before tourists came, the forests of Chitwan belonged to the Tharu. They farmed clearings, fished the rivers and built houses of wood, reeds and mud that stayed cool in the heat. Their resistance to malaria allowed them to live where others could not.
Sauraha
Sauraha was a small Tharu village on the Rapti river until the 1980s. Today it is Chitwan's main tourist base, with lodges, cafés and a sandy riverbank where crowds gather for the sunset over the park. Just outside the centre, Tharu life continues in villages such as Bachhauli.
Houses and crafts
A traditional Chitwaniya Tharu house has walls of reeds plastered with mud and dung, often decorated with painted patterns or relief designs. Inside, huge clay grain bins (dehari) divide the rooms. Look for fishing baskets, bamboo traps and the women's heavy silver jewellery on festival days.
Food and dance
Tharu cooking is rich in river food: fish, crabs and ghonghi snails, with dhikri — steamed rice-flour rolls — and rice beer. The lathi or stick dance, in which dancers clash sticks in fast rhythmic patterns, is performed nightly for visitors and at real festivals such as Maghi, the Tharu New Year in January.
Staying in a homestay
Community homestays at Barauli (east of Sauraha) and Amaltari (west side, in Nawalpur) let you stay with families, cook together and walk in community forests. Money goes directly to the village.