Lake Twenty Thousand Farm & Retreat (LTK)- destination for typical Nepali experience in Chitwan

Posted on Jan 4, 2018 by NepalTravel under Tour

Tags: Chitwan, LTK, Lake Twenty Thousand, Farm Retreat, Ecofriendly

Lake Twenty Thousand Farm and Retreat (LTK), situated in Devnagar, adjacent to the Chitwan National Park, and 9 km South of Bharatpur, is one of the best places to stay, if you are looking for a full Chitwan experience. This is a family owned farm-based resort located on the outskirts of the famous Bis Hazari Taal (meaning Lake Twenty Thousand). Surrounded by lush green farm, LTK is very close to all Sauraha and Chitwan National Park yet, is very peaceful and tranquil. The resort serves organic fresh fruits, vegetables, livestock and Fish produced in the farm, for the visitors to enjoy a healthy and happy meal. If you are interested in experiencing a typical Nepali eco-resort, this is the right place to be. The resort has 22 self-contained bed rooms, and highly trained staff and experienced Chefs, making it truly a beautiful amalgamation of Nepali lifestyle and farmhouse experience.

The place is also famous locally in western Chitwan as Haweli.

How to get there?

Chitwan is one of the most popular tourist destinations in Nepal. With easy connectivity and myriads of travel options, this place caters to domestic and foreign tourists all year round. Chitwan is a valley in the inner Terai (flat plain), located some 150kms South-west of Kathmandu. Bharatpur is the district capital and is an educational and commercial hub these days.

via Air: The resort is almost 10kms and takes 20 minutes from Bharatpur Airport, which has daily flights to and from Kathmandu and Pokhara.

via Land: With improved road conditions it is about 4-hour drive from Kathmandu on the East-West Highway. It is almost 4hrs drive from the Pokhara too. Tourist bus charges Rs.500 per person. These buses leave from Jamal/Thamel early morning around 7AM. Micro buses charge somewhere between 400-450 from Kathmandu to Narayanghat and are available almost all-day long. Read our post on how to get to Chitwan from Kathmandu. You will find local buses to Sitamai which stops in front of LTK from Narayanghat bus park/Pokhara Bus Park. They will charge around NRs. 35 per person. A taxi from Pokhara Bus park also called Paras Buspark charges somewhere from NRs. 300-500, depending on the time you reach there.

You can call the resort, if you want a pick up service.

Thing to do

Jungle walk/Wildlife Safari on the Chitwan National Park. This is the oldest National Park and listed as World Natural Heritage Site by UNESCO. The park is very popular for wildlife safari. Take a day to walk around the park. Ask for in-house certified jungle guides at the resort.

Tharu Cultural Program: The resort has its own band of local tharus, performing their traditional dance. Tharu are the local farming communities, with rich culture, delicious cuisines and traditional attires.

Bis Hazari Taal: Listed in the UNESCO World Ramsar site, the lake is home to some of the most exotic birds and crocodiles. You take a boat ride and go for fishing on the lake. It is very famous for bird watching as Migratory Siberian birds folk around this lake in the winter season. On a bright sunny day, number of gharials/crocodiles bask in the sun on the shores of the lake. The entrance fee to the lake is NRs. 25 per head, Bikes/Motorbikes cost NRs.25 each. A motor vehicle costs around NRs.500 for entry to the Lake area. The road to the lake passes through the dense forests, home to one horned rhino, Royal Bengal tiger, wild elephant, wild boar, deer, and other wild animals.
Boating in the nearby Rapti River

Ropain: The resort organizes Ropain (rice planting) festival every summer (July/August) in their farm. Enjoy the traditional agricultural rice planting practice with the locals within the farm.

Cycling around Bis Hazari Taal and surrounding areas.

Enjoy the scenic view of Sunrise and sunset over the Himalayas from the roof.

Go for fishing on in the pond withing the resort premises.

Go for a walk in the nearby Tharu village

Campfire and barbeque with friends and family in the evening.

Bird watching in and around the farm. The farm is home to a lot of birds (Eagles, Parrots, Pigeons, Woodpeckers, Common kingfishers, Storks, Owls,….) (Check our post on Bird watching in Nepal)

Sleep in the small huts made in traditional style

Elephant Bathing

Try the farm fruits (mango, litchi, avoacdo, Guava, star fruit, grape fruit and more...)

Cook a delicious Nepali meal with the Chef

Facilities at the Resort

Tharu Cultural Cottages, conference hall, Bars, Yoga Hut, Fishing Ponds, Free Wifi, hot showers, art center, jungle safari, certified guides.

What other activities we can do at LTK?

Jungle walk, Wildlife Safari, Bird Watching, Fishing, Photography, Home stay option, Bull cart ride around the village, cultural shows, BBQ, Camp Fire, Live Sports show on big screen, Seminars, Team Building events, Parties, wedding, meeting, seminars, picnics and many more.

Normal rates (as of today)

Room charges NRs.2500 per room

Breakfast/Lunch/Dinner NRs.1500 for 3 meals

Recommended Stay

3-5 days

Contact: Lake Twenty Thousand Farm and Retreat (LTK)

Haweli, Devnagar/Champanagar, West Chitwan, Bharatpur

Phone: 056-692376, 974-1448314, 984-3282172

www.facebook.com/visitltk

Do refer MyHolidayNepal and get the best deal at LTK.

My Story

I had been planning to visit Chitwan since a long time. I had travelled past Narayanghat many times but never had stayed in Chitwan. The owner (Mr. Lohani), used to be my former boss and has been a good friend since a couple of years. As a plan to meet each other, we decided to enjoy the New Year at LTK with some of our mutual friends. I could not find a flight to Bharatpur for Saturday (30^th Dec.), and also missed the early morning bus. I, then booked an A/C microbus from Kalanki to Narayanghat at 11AM. Due to construction on the Muglin-Narayanghat section, it took almost 7hrs to get to Narayanghat. I got down at Pokhara Bus Park/Paras Bus Park. LTK is around 8kms from the bus park. Since it was already late in the evening, local buses were hardly available. When asked, the local shop owners recommended taking a Magic/Auto-Rickshaw which would charge somewhere between NRs. 250-300. I called LTK and they arranged a taxi for me to get to the resort. The taxi asked for NRs.1000 (too much for almost 30 minute drive). I would recommend taking a Magic/Auto-Rickshaw.

When I reached the place, Tharu cultural program was going on. Local Tharu group dressed in their ethnic attires, danced to some traditional music. The cultural performance was an amazing welcome after a tiresome road trip for me. I joined a couple of families staying there for Dinner. The dinner was sumptuous Daal Bhat Tarkari (Rice, Lentil Soup and Vegetable curry) served with Ghee and tomato pickle. I took a single bed room. The room was well decorated with oil paintings depicting Nepal and Nepalese life.

Next morning, I woke up with the chirping of birds. Took my camera and walked around the resort. It was foggy in the morning, though it was not very cold. Captured some beautiful views of Sunrise through the fog. At around 7:30 am, 100s of Parrots flew away from the bamboo trees within the compound. I had never seen so many parrots at a time. After breakfast, Mr. Lohani drove me to the nearby Batul Pokhari (small pond), driving through the local tharu village. I spent the afternoon by the fishing pond, tried Guava from the farm, went around the farm where they had Chicken, turkey and cow sheds. In the evening, one of the in-house guide took me the Bis Hazari Taal on his motorcycle. The reflections of trees on the lake were some of the amazing shots that I took that day. We did see a lot of wild chicks and some crocodiles around the area.

Since it was the New Years Eve, there were a lot of groups of young girls and boys enjoying barbeque and campfire. The evening was lively with great music and dance in the resort. Since I had to leave early morning the next day, I had my Daal Bhat and slept at 10pm. The room, despite being within the same compound of the campfire ground, was so quite and peaceful. I got back to Kathmandu on a Tourist bus the next day.