Elephant Breeding Centre

This centre, about 3km west of Sauraha on the far side of the small Bhude Rapti River, is a must-see sight in Chitwan. Providing many of the elephants for elephant safaris at Chitwan, it's fascinating watching the interaction between mother and baby elephants, as well as the multitask use of their trunk (which has a staggering 40,000 muscles), such as covering themselves in dust to ward off mosquitoes or scratching their backside with a bamboo stick. The elephants spend much of the day grazing in the jungle, so come before 10.30am or after 3.30pm if you want to see the cute baby elephants. As adorable and harmless as they may seem, treat baby elephants with caution as most have a naughty streak and are surprisingly powerful units.