Namaste Bardiya Resort

Food was great, very kind and generous host, felt very at home, relaxed, and safe.

Air conditioning would have been very helpful during the heat wave, but the fans did help enough to sleep through the heat at night!

perfect location for entry to the park, staff were welcoming and very helpful, good food selection on menu, safaris were all arranged for me

Namaste Bardia Resort- along with at least 7 other "resorts"- is a short walk along the road running south of the National Park entrance. The property has a lot of open space, with cottages set well back from the road and the restaurant. It is a quiet rural area comprised largely of other "resorts" and small farms. Krishna and Kamila (the managers) and their staff (Ram and Ranju) are pleasant and friendly. Like any of the low-cost accommodation in Thakudwara, my room was spartan and basic, but very spacious and plenty comfortable enough for a good night's sleep. The included "Genius" breakfast was very good, and there is a variety of decent food for lunch and dinner...although you can easily get the much cheaper, standard Nepali fare in Thakudwara. Free (or very cheap) bike rental provides a good way to explore the surrounding area, although the bikes are old and a lot of the roads are rocky...expect your knees and buttocks to cop a pounding!

I have no complaints whatsoever about the accommodation. However, I strongly suggest you shop around for guided tours. Unfortunately I hastily took a Dalla Community Forest guided tour with the resort. It consisted of a short motorcycle ride to and from a viewpoint located 200-300m from a bend in the river. You then wait quietly all day, hoping for animals to approach the river. My guide told me that the community receives Rs300-400 and he receives Rs200 per day (another guide told me the community receives Rs500, and that guides usually get about Rs700 per day). A packed lunch, snacks and water is provided. So, based on the figures provided by the guides, the actual cost for the tour operator is somewhere in the range of Rs800-1,500 Therefore, the tour price of Rs8,000 is utterly unjustifiable...in fact, I think "rip-off" is a fair description! TIPS: it is possible to enter the community forest independently and free of charge. However, there is a caveat: tigers are often seen in the forest, and both elephant and rhino are also occasionally present, so walking or cycling within the forest comes with a heightened risk, especially if you are alone. If you want a well regarded, highly experienced guide for any forest or jungle tour, I highly recommend you enquire with Hukum (owner of Jungle Base Camp). Most of his tours are significantly cheaper than his competitors, without compromising on knowledge and experience (refer to my review of Jungle Base Camp).

Namaste Bardyia is located perfectly outside Bardyia National Park. We enjoyed all the food that was prepared from breakfast to dinner. Krishna took us on a jungle walk for half day and he took me to the community forest on motor bike. We didn't see any tigers but got to see a rhino and baby, deer and lots of birds.