Tharu Culture at Chitwan: Stick Dance, Villages and Food

Last updated 4 October 2026. Facts on the Tharu people come from the Nepal Tourism Board and the Department of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation, and I say which in the text.

The short answer: the Tharu are the largest ethnic group of Nepal's Terai plains, and Chitwan is one of their historic homelands. On a Chitwan trip you will most likely meet their culture in three ways: an evening stick dance with drums, a walk through a village of mud-walled houses, and a Tharu-style meal with dishes such as ghonghi (a freshwater snail) and dhikri (steamed rice dough). The dance you see as a visitor is a staged version of a tradition that, is mainly performed at Dashain, so it is worth knowing what you are watching and how to be a good guest.

I am not Tharu, and I would rather say that plainly than write as if I were speaking for the community. What follows is what the official sources say and what is in our own tour itineraries. If you want to book a Chitwan trip, message me on WhatsApp at +977 9810351300.

Who are the Tharu people and where do they live?

The Nepal Tourism Board (NTB) says the Tharu "constitute the largest ethnic group of the Terai", spread along the plains of Nepal and extending west into the Kumaon foothills, and that they are "probably the oldest and original inhabitants of the Terai". NTB's Chitwan page adds that the valley takes its name from Chitrasen, a Tharu king "who once ruled here", and that "Chitwan" literally means "heart of the jungle".

Tharu is not one single community with one single culture. There are regional groups, among them the Chitwan Tharu of Makwanpur, Chitwan and Nawalparasi districts, and since 2020 the Government of Nepal treats the Rana Tharu of the far west as a separate ethnicity. The Chitwan Tharu speak Chitwania Tharu, with roughly 250,000 speakers in and around the Chitwan Valley. So what you see in Sauraha or Meghauli is Chitwan Tharu culture, not "Tharu culture" everywhere. Some of the traditions in the sources below, such as the long houses of the Rana Tharu, belong to the west and not to Chitwan.

The Chitwan 2011 and 2021 figures measure different things (ethnic group and first language), so please do not subtract one from the other.

What is the Tharu stick dance?

The stick dance is called Lathi Nach in Nepali, and it is the performance most visitors to Chitwan see. NTB's Chitwan page describes ending an evening "next to campfire at the end of the watching the Tharu stick dance and listening to their soothing folk songs". In our own package text, the Day 5 evening of our Kathmandu, Bandipur, Pokhara and Chitwan tour describes a stick dance by firelight with madal drums, performed by "the indigenous people of the Terai".

Here is the part I think you should know. Lathi Nach "is mainly performed during the Dashain festival", and a second Tharu dance, Sakhiya, is performed at Dashain and Tihar by unmarried young girls and boys. A show put on in the evening for guests is therefore a presentation of a festival tradition, not the festival itself. That does not make it fake. It does mean you are watching a performance, so clap, thank the performers, and do not expect it to match what happens in a village at Dashain. If it matters to you, ask the lodge how it organises its show, how often it runs and how the performers are paid.

The dance is also not the whole culture. If it is the only thing you do, you have seen about ten minutes of something that is much larger.

What happens on a Tharu village visit?

NTB describes Chitwan as a place where you can visit a Tharu village "where you will be welcomed inside their traditional mud houses and treated as valued guests". NTB's village tours page says community homestays let visitors stay with a family and eat with them, and that some also include cultural programmes with songs and dances by local youth.

On what you might notice, NTB's Tharu culture page says Tharu huts "have wattle walls and the thatch roof is usually covered with gourd creepers", that utensils include gourd containers, earthen pots and mats woven from paddy straw, and that walls are decorated with floral and animal motifs. Our Chitwan photography tour describes Day 2 as a guided walk through a traditional Tharu village with "mud-and-straw houses, geometric wall paintings, and communal cooking fires".

A note on the wall paintings. There are two named Tharu painting traditions: Mokha, painted on outer walls and verandas in eastern Nepal, mostly by women, and Ashtimki, drawn on the day of the Ashtimki festival in western Nepal. Chitwan is in the middle, so ask your guide which style, if either, you are looking at and what the paintings mean.

NTB also notes that the traditional Tharu religion centres on spirits, "particularly of the forest", that the village shrine is called the bhuinhar and that the tribal priest is known as the Guruwa. Tharu deities live in the forest and are asked for support before people enter it. Treat any shrine as a religious place, not a photo stop.

What do the Tharu eat?

NTB's local cuisine page for Chitwan lists "Tharu delicacies" for "an adventure of the palate". Tharu cuisine varies by region. Put together:

NTB also lists barbecued pork and field mice among Tharu delicacies. I mention it so nobody is surprised. If you are vegetarian, or simply do not fancy snails, tell us before you travel. I can't promise what a particular village kitchen will cook, and I say nothing about Tharu rice drinks. For wider Nepali food, our Nepal food guide and our dal bhat guide cover the rest.

When is the best time to see Tharu culture in Chitwan?

There are really two answers, one for the park and one for the festivals.

For the park, NTB gives October to March as the best season, about 25 degrees Celsius on average, with April to June hot (up to 43 degrees Celsius) and July to September rainy. A village walk is far more comfortable in those cooler months.

For festivals, three matter. The Tharu celebrate Maghe Sankranti, the first day of the Nepali month of Magh, as the start of their new year, and it "generally falls on 14 January", one of the few festivals fixed to the solar calendar. It is also called Maghi, Tila Sankranti, Kichhra or Khichdi, and festive foods include chaku, ghee and sweet potatoes. Check a Nepali calendar for the exact date in 2027. Dashain and Tihar, when the stick dance and the Sakhiya dance are performed, move each year; our festival calendar for 2027 has the dates.

One honest trade-off: a festival is not a performance for tourists, and you cannot book a seat. If your dates happen to fall on one, an invitation from a local family is a privilege, not a service we can sell. For more on how to behave at festivals, see our festival etiquette guide.

How should I behave in a Tharu village?

None of the official sources gives a Tharu-specific code of conduct. What follows is our own practice, drawn from guiding in Nepal, and I label it that way. For general Nepal manners see our Nepal etiquette guide.

• Ask before you photograph a person, a home or a religious site. Ask the person, not just the guide. If they say no, put the camera down and smile. Do not offer money to get a picture. Our practice, not an official rule.
• Dress modestly. Covered shoulders and knees. Our practice.
• Take your shoes off if you are invited into a home, and follow what your host does. Our practice.
• Do not walk into a shrine area or touch ritual objects. NTB describes the bhuinhar as the village shrine and the Guruwa as the priest, so treat them as you would a temple.
• Do not photograph children without a parent's agreement, and do not hand out sweets or pens. Our practice.
• Eat what you are served, in small amounts if you are unsure, and say if you cannot eat something. Refusing politely is better than leaving a full plate.
• Buy crafts directly from the maker where you can. Sikki grass baskets and earthen grain vessels are part of everyday and ritual life, so ask what an object is for.

I would also be cautious with the idea that the Tharu live "frozen in time". NTB's village tours page uses that phrase for rural life in general, and it is not a fair picture of any community today. Talk to people as people.

How did Chitwan National Park change Tharu life?

You will not find this on a lodge brochure, but I think a respectful visitor should know it. Chitwan was a malarial forest that the Tharu lived in for generations. Research found an incidence of malaria nearly seven times lower among the Tharu than among other groups nearby, and their immunity was "limited, not complete". After malaria was brought under control with DDT in the 1960s, settlers from the hills moved in. According to published accounts, when the protected areas were established, Tharu communities "were forced to relocate from their traditional lands", were denied the right to own land, and ended up landless and poor. It is also stated that soldiers destroyed villages inside the park. I cannot check that against an official source, so I attribute it to published accounts and no further.

The DNPWC itself describes the park's history differently: it gives 1973 as the founding year, 952.63 square km as the area, and notes that the park is opened for at least one week every year so that local people can collect thatch grass and similar materials. The two accounts are not in conflict, but they are not the same story either.

A second history is the Kamaiya system of bonded labour, which was practised in the western Terai and especially affected Tharu people. The Government of Nepal banned it on 17 July 2000, and many freed families were left without land or support. That mostly concerns the west rather than Chitwan, so I mention it for context, not as a description of the villages you will visit.

Why does this matter to a traveller? Because the cultural evening you enjoy sits on a real history, and it is a good reason to listen more than you photograph.

How do you see Tharu culture on a trip with us?

Three of our packages include Tharu content. I quote only what the package text says.

• Kathmandu, Bandipur, Pokhara and Chitwan tour: 8 days. The Chitwan stay is two nights, and the package lists "jeep safari, dugout canoe ride on the Rapti River, and Tharu cultural village walk". The Day 5 evening is "the Tharu cultural dance" with torches and madal drums.
• Kathmandu, Pokhara and Chitwan tour: 8 days, also two nights in Chitwan. The highlights list a traditional Tharu cultural dance performance, and the Day 5 evening is a stick dance by firelight with bamboo staves and madal drums.
• Chitwan photography tour: 6 days. Day 2 is a guided walk through a traditional Tharu village and an evening Tharu dance performance.

If it matters to you where the Day 5 dance takes place, in a village or at a lodge, message me and I will confirm the plan for your dates. On the photography tour, the same rule applies as above: you ask, and you accept no.

The Chitwan days in these packages use a jeep, a dugout canoe and a Tharu village walk. We do not offer elephant rides, and I explain why in our ethical jungle safari post. If you want the full picture of a Chitwan visit, see our complete Chitwan jungle safari guide, our best time to visit Chitwan and the safari cost breakdown. Prices for each package are on its page.

Check before you go

• For an exact Tharu population figure, check the census office's own figures.
• Maghe Sankranti is generally 14 January. Check a Nepali calendar closer to the time for the exact 2027 date.
• I say nothing about any Tharu rice drink made or sold for visitors, so ask your lodge.
• Ask your lodge how any dance show is organised, how often it runs, and how the performers are paid.
• Ask your guide which wall-painting style, if any, you will see in a Chitwan village.
• The etiquette above is our own practice, not an official Tharu code, so follow your guide's advice in the village.
• The Nepal Tourism Board lists homestays across Nepal but has no Chitwan list, so ask your lodge or guide which community homestays are run by Tharu families.

Sources: Nepal Tourism Board (ntb.gov.np), pages "Tharu Culture", "Village Tours", "Homestays", "Local Cuisine", "Chitwan" and "Chitwan National Park" (Tharu culture, village tours, local cuisine, Chitwan overview, Chitwan National Park fees and best season); Chitwan National Park Office page on dnpwc.gov.np (park history, area and World Heritage year). Population, language, festivals, dances, food, Kamaiya and park history also draw on published reference works.

Written by Shreejan Simkhada, CEO of The Everest Holiday, from a family of three generations of family guides. TAAN Member #1586.