Bardia Eco-Friendly Homestay — Hotel in Thakurbaba

Two and a half months in Nepal and this is the best place I have stayed! 👏

Where to start…everything here is top quality at an affordable price. From the tours, to the food, the accommodation and the location!

Accommodation: Extremely modern and clean. The beds are large with an extra thick comfy mattress 👌 Spacious bathroom with great shower. The rooms are light and airy with mosquito nets on the windows so it’s never to hot at night. Also their wifi is very fast so I imagine this would be a great place to work remotely and base yourself.

Food: Fresh ingredients from the garden, all prepared with great flavour! Always something different everyone here agrees it’s probably the best food of their time in Nepal 👌

Tours: Shardul who will not only be your host but will also be your guide in the park if you wish. He is extremely hardworking and really cares about his guests having the best experience possible. I can guarantee he will do everything he can to help you find the tiger and much more. And yes we saw the tiger, in fact we saw two! Even if you didn’t stay here (as I imagine it will soon be fully booked all the time) I would recommend spending a day in the jungle with him. Even after seeing the two tigers Shardul continued to search for other animals and never lacked determination or enthusiasm. We did all our jungle treks with him and each time we were in the park for around 11/12 hours so you really get a full day with the best chance to see the wildlife. 🐅

Location: The homestay is such a relaxing place that if your not in the jungle you will want to be here. There is a friendly dog (Chelsea). Plenty of places to sit and relax. Flowers and a beautiful garden. You are surrounded on all sides by fields and can just be at peace. Sunrise and sunset are both epic but the view for sunrise is amazing 😁

Like the other reviewers I ended up extending my stay. I think that once you come here it’s hard to leave 😂

All of the family members and helpers here are very kind and welcoming. There is nothing that is to much trouble and you can’t help but feel at home. I cannot recommend this place enough there is a reason for all the 5* reviews. I am happy to be adding another. If you come to Bardia you need to stay here!

I am not being incentivised in any way to write such a long review I just think this place deserves it and I want other people to experience bardia at this homestay 😊👍

Thank you again to Shardul and the...

Overall: We had a fabulous time here at the homestay. It was one of our favourite places and experiences in our 4 months of travelling.

Pros:

The location is amazing - coming from a 12 day hike, the homestay is so quiet and peaceful. The flowers were blooming, and it felt rejuvenating being here (away from the crazy traffic and business in other parts of Nepal).

The host - everyone in the family is very welcoming, kind, and wants to make the stay perfect for you. They are accommodating to dietary restrictions, and let my sister stay in the air-conditioned room during the day of our check-out until our bus left in the evening (despite check-out technically being in the morning).

The food was home cooked and delicious! Breakfast and supper were different every day. You’re also able to fill-up your water bottles with free filtered water.

Safari - the homestay offers walking and jeep safaris. The walking safari is $50 USD per person and the jeep was $70 USD each (for 5 guests). Shardul takes incredible photos and videos, that he provides you at no extra cost. I loved both experiences and highly recommend doing both as it’s a different feeling walking in the park than being in the jeep. It should be noted though, that to see the animals, you sometimes have to wait a long time in one location (thereby walking much less). If you want to focus on walking, then you can voice this and the safari can be adjusted. The lunch on the safari is delicious (also home cooked, and seemed much better than what other tours received).

Cons:

There are no other dining options nearby (which we did not mind in the least though, as the food was incredible). I would have liked if the prices of the food (breakfast, lunch, and dinner) were more transparent or given upfront, instead of finding out at check-out. However, we also didn’t ask in advance. The price was very reasonable though, considering the location and that it was home cooked. We paid 350 NPR for breakfast and 400 NPR for dinner.

More time - we stayed 2 nights and wish we could have been there longer!! So make sure you stay...

This family makes me happy. They became family to me. We first met in 2020, but then covid happened and I suddenly had to go home. We kept in touch over the years. This March I returned to Nepal, to find some closure for the abrupt ending of my trip, and I came back to Bardia for them especially. ♥️ They all have a big heart, helping out with whatever you need. They really go an extra mile for you. Basu does important work within the community, helping and volunteering, giving education. He teaches others about the wildlife and how to live together with the wildlife, to protect both animal and human. Shardul is always there for you, stands beside you and you can come to him with any question. He's like a little brother to me and became a dear friend. Sarita is warm and welcoming. Her cooking is really the best I've had in Nepal. She now teaches this to Jyoti and Sumitra, two sweet girls they have in employment. And lets not forget their puppy Chelsey 😍 I've stayed 2,5 weeks this time. I went into the jungle for 8 days in total, jungle walks and twice jeep safari. I saw tigers more than once, a leopard, an elephant herd, single male elephant, rhino's, otters, the great hornbill bird (very rare to see), crocodiles, mongoose, many dear, golden jackell, river dolphins, monkeys and many birds. We even had a very special sighting of a tiger very close by (less than 100m on eye level). Their guide Santos is great; you can tell that he's connected to the jungle around him and highly values your safety. My other days I spend in their garden with many flowers, to write and read and do my yoga practice. I slept in a treehouse in the community forest (part of the jungle) for one night (heard the tiger roar!) and Basu took me on a village tour to see the Tharu culture. All in all I can highly recommend this homestay! You'll be taken good care off and have everything you need for a comfortable time in Bardia. You can ask...