Our stay at Tharu lodge was part of a tour, together with the Tiger Tops Tented Camp and the Tiger Mountain Pokhara Lodge (both also excellent). All the lodges are different, with their own unique characters, but the quality of service, commitment to sustainability and support for the local community was uniformly excellent. Tharu, apart from being a superb spot for seeing birds (and the occasional rhino) is located next to a delightful village. The Tiger group supports the local school, provides a regular clinic for local people, and uses its excellent organic farm to collaborate with local people, helping them introduce new crops and sources of revenue.

The accommodation is in a block of traditional construction (reed, mud, plaster & thatch) using local materials & labour. The spacious if relatively simple rooms are equipped with all the basics, including private facilities, a comfortable 4-poster bed with mosquito net (+ a spare single bed), wardrobes, tables & chairs. (You won't want TV, trust me). The hotel has a nice (unheated) pool, a lovely open air dining area on the lawn, extensive grounds & pleasant, traditional style public rooms. The food (as at every Tiger lodge we stayed in) is excellent - pre-dinner snacks were a particular delight, and the hotel management dined with us every evening. It felt like a select houseparty rather than a hotel.

The guides who work there are dedicated and excellent. Whilst the wildlife spotting was not as spectacular as at Tiger Tops Tented Camp (Tharu is, after all, outside the main park and next to a village), it was a nice place to unwind after a few days of frenetic activity.

A real gem - go NOW and support the Nepalese people when they need us. Please note - almost all of the tourists, now and in recent years, are Brits. Keep up the good work; if like us you've ever had the privilege to meet a Gurkha in the UK, you'll surely want to go and meet more of these wonderful people in their homeland. Yanks please note - it's a lot more dangerous going to Miami. Every day in Nepal is crammed with amazing new experiences, and we found the Tiger group lodges to be an excellent way of enjoying them to the full. So stop being wusses and go and experience this fantastic country, culture and people at first hand.