Nepal's Supreme Court Just Ruled on Elephant Safaris in Chitwan — What It Means for Your Jungle Trip

For as long as most travellers have been visiting Chitwan National Park, the signature photo has been the same one: tourists swaying on an elephant's back through tall grass, scanning for rhinos. Nepal's Supreme Court has now put that tradition on notice.

In a 62-point order issued on 17 December 2025, a bench of Justices Hari Prasad Phuyal and Tek Prasad Dhungana ruled on a wider wildlife-welfare case that reaches directly into Sauraha, the village that acts as Chitwan's tourism gateway. Point 48 of the order states that allowing tourists to ride elephants must be reconsidered from an animal-welfare standpoint, and that alternatives should be adopted. Point 51 goes further, directing the government to draft clear legal policy transitioning Nepal toward ethical eco-tourism, citing international models like elephant bush walks and fixed-distance observation platforms.

The ruling has put private elephant owners in an uncomfortable spot. According to United Elephant Operation Cooperative chairman Dipendra Khatiwada, most owners say they are open to shifting toward ethical alternatives — but argue a sudden ban would gut a local economy that has depended on elephant tourism for decades, while doing nothing for the animals already living in captivity. Their ask is a phased transition with real financial support, not a court order that changes the rules overnight.

There are already signs the market is moving on its own. Some Sauraha operators have introduced 'elephant bush walks' — guests walk alongside the elephants at a distance rather than riding them — and report the walks cost more than a traditional ride and are drawing a positive response, particularly from European visitors who no longer want to ride at all. Community forests around the buffer zone are also being asked to accept replacement revenue from jeep safaris, guided walks, canoe trips and wildlife photography permits, to offset what an eventual reduction in elephant-riding income would cost the local area.

What this means for your Chitwan trip

Chitwan's tourism board is watching the same numbers Sauraha's mahouts are: elephant numbers already roughly halved since before the pandemic, and a Supreme Court that has now put the practice on the record. Whatever the government's transition policy ends up looking like, the direction is set. The debate now is how fast, and who pays for it.

Source: The Kathmandu Post.

Cover photo: Yogwis via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0).