Elephant safaris at crossroads as Chitwan weighs ethical tourism shift

A video posted by nature guide Samjhana Tiwari, showing a long queue of tourist vehicles heading towards the Baghmara Buffer Zone Community Forest, highlighted growing concerns over crowd management in Nepal's largest wildlife tourism hub.

However, a recent Supreme Court order has shifted the focus from managing crowds to questioning the future of elephant safaris, a signature attraction in Chitwan.

The court's directive, published on December 17, 2025, calls for alternatives to elephant rides, citing animal welfare concerns. This has ignited a debate among tourism stakeholders, conservationists, and elephant owners about transitioning to more ethical models and the potential economic consequences for local businesses that have relied on this activity for decades.

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There are so many vehicles. You would not even see this many at a bus station.

Animal rights advocates filed a petition on September 14, 2021, seeking an end to practices deemed cruel to elephants, including prolonged chaining and their use for rides, arguing they should primarily be used for viewing.

While the court acknowledged the economic importance of elephant safaris in generating income, promoting tourism, and creating employment, it emphasized reconsidering the practice from an animal welfare perspective. The full implications for Sauraha, a town heavily dependent on this tourism, are yet to be determined.

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allowing tourists to ride elephants must be reconsidered from an animal welfare perspective and that alternative approaches should be adopted.