19th Elephant & Tourism Festival Begins in Sauraha, ChitwanFriday, December 26th, 2025

The 19th edition of the Elephant and Tourism Festival officially commenced today in Sauraha, a premier tourist destination in Chitwan.

The festival, held at the playground of Baghmara Buffer Zone Community Forest in Sauraha, will run until Dec. 28 (Poush 13). Chief Minister of Bagmati Province, Hon’ble Indra Bahadur Baniya, inaugurated the event.

According to the organizers, the primary objective of the festival is to increase the influx of both domestic and international tourists to Sauraha. It is anticipated that the current hotel occupancy rate in Sauraha, which stands at around 40 percent will increase by 20 to 25 percent during the festival period.

NTB CEO Mr.. Deepak Raj Joshi stated during the occasion that elephants are integral part of Nepal’s culture and identity. He emphasized that elephant conservation is deeply connected to local culture and noting population of Asian elephants exceeding 40,000, a well worthy number as compared to elephant population in other parts of the world.

He described the Elephant Festival as a powerful medium linked to tourism and announced that all measures would be taken to protect and increase the elephant population through a sustainable roadmap.

Such festivals must be evolved as “Regenerative Tourism” models to be implemented in coordination with local stakeholders, he said.

Organizers expect the festival to promote tourism in Sauraha while sending a global message regarding local culture, biodiversity, and elephant conservation.

Please follow and like us: