Elephant Picnic Celebrates in Chitwan

The Elephant Picnic was organized on Wednesday, August 12, 2026, in Sauraha, Chitwan. The event was organized by the United Elephant Management Cooperative Limited in coordination with various agencies and organizations. For the past several years, elephant owners and conservation organizations in the Sauraha area have marked the occasion by bringing elephants together for a communal feast.

This year, 56 elephants participated in the Elephant Picnic. The special feast featured around 20 varieties of food, providing a unique opportunity for tourists and local residents to observe the elephants enjoying their favorite foods. The food spread included paddy, chickpeas, jiggery, carrots, sugarcane, salt, and their regular feed known as kuchi. Sweet rice pudding prepared with jiggery was also served. The elephants enthusiastically picked and ate the different foods while visitors gathered around the venue to watch the celebration.

The Elephant Picnic has now gotten its 15th year and has become an important annual event in Sauraha. The United Elephant Management Cooperative Limited, which was formed by private safari operators, organizes the event with support and coordination from various organizations working in tourism and conservation.

Elephants are one of the major attractions of the Chitwan safari experience. They have traditionally played an significant role in tourism activities in the area, although the use of elephants in tourism and wildlife management has also received increasing attention from conservation groups.

There are different categories of elephants associated with Chitwan and the surrounding area. Some elephants are privately owned and have historically been used for tourism and jungle safari activities. Others are used by Chitwan National Park for activities such as patrolling, wildlife monitoring, and research. There are also elephants associated with the National Trust for Nature Conservation (NTNC) and government-supported conservation programs.

The Elephant Picnic provides an opportunity to celebrate these magnificent animals while also reminding visitors and the local community of the importance of elephant welfare, responsible tourism, and wildlife conservation in Chitwan.