Amaltari

Amaltari sits on the west bank of the Narayani in Nawalpur district, in the buffer zone around the national park. It is about 42 km from Bharatpur by road, crossing the river and turning off the highway near Kawasoti.

Two communities make up most of the village. The Tharu are the farming people of the lowland plains, known for their mud-walled houses painted with designs, their rice granaries and their stick dances. The Bote are a small community whose life has always been tied to the river: fishing, building boats and ferrying people across.

The community homestay

Since 2013 families in Amaltari have run a community homestay. Around thirty households host guests in rooms built for visitors, and the money goes to the families and to the community. You eat what the family eats, usually rice, lentils, vegetables from the fields and fish from the river.

What to do

• Walk through the village and fields with a local guide.
• Go out on the Narayani with Bote boatmen.
• Watch birds along the riverbank and in the community forest.
• See a Tharu or Bote dance in the evening.
• Visit the small village museum of Tharu household objects.

Things to know

• Rooms are simple and clean, with shared or attached bathrooms depending on the house.
• Wild animals, including rhino, sometimes come into the fields from the forest at night. Don't walk outside the village after dark.
• A little Nepali goes a long way. Most hosts speak some English, but not all.

Our Amaltari village day and A night by the Narayani both go there.