The Asian Safaris

No poor cousin of African safaris, the highly affordable Asian safaris offer equally thrilling adventures from forest excursions and river rides to land expeditions, plus exotic animals like Royal Bengal tigers and four-horned antelopes – from just $500 a person.

- Hayley Tai 

Venture To The Jungles Of NEPAL

An eight-day safari tour with Tourradar costs $3,000 with full accommodation and transport.

The spectacular Chitwan National Park lives up to its status as a World Heritage Site – and Nepal’s first national park is home to 68 mammal species. The park also shelters numerous bird species such as the giant hornbill and Asian openbill stork.

Safari lover Lauren Calbeck, who went to Chitwan National Park last year, describes her experience: “The park is huge, so try to spend at least two days exploring the place. I didn’t see any animals on my first afternoon, but on the second day at 3pm, I spotted a herd of 10 rhinoceroses basking in the water holes!”

Tourists will get a chance to see the onehorned rhinoceros that’s native to Nepal during the warmer months from October to December.

To improve the chances of spotting these endangered creatures, the national park provides a 90-minute guide service on an elephant. This lowers the chances of a rhinoceros attack (at the sight of a much larger animal).

Instead of ferrying up to four passengers, the elephant only carries a maximum of two people, including the mahout.

Where to stay

Meghauli Serai

The 30-room luxury lodge made its debut along Nepal’s Rapti River last year, opposite the Chitwan National Park that is home to some of the world’s most endangered cats, as well as rhinoceros and wild gharials. The lodge offers comprehensive guided tours and park activities. From $500 a night. www.tajhotels.com

Venture To The Night Safari Of VIETNAM

A two-day tour costs $500 by Natural World Safaris.