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Elephant Conservation Volunteer Program in Nepal

Elephant Conservation Volunteer Program in Nepal

Are you interested in volunteering your time and effort to protect elephants? International Volunteer HQ’s Elephant Conservation project gives you the opportunity to support a local elephant sanctuary in Chitwan. Elephant Conservation volunteers will assist local caretakers look after rescued, neglected, old and sick/injured elephants. Volunteers who are practicing vets or veterinary students may also have the opportunity to assist with medical treatments and minor surgeries.

Highlights:
  • Programs start every first and third Monday of the month
  • Affordable fees from CA$679 for 1 week
  • Includes accommodation, breakfast and dinner, airport pick up, orientation and 24/7 support
  • Care for rescued elephants in need at a sanctuary in Chitwan

  • Discover Nepal’s abundant natural beauty

  • Stay with at a local hotel in Chitwan

Key information

Protect & preserve elephant populations
Based at an elephant sanctuary in Chitwan
Local hotel accommodation
Volunteers aged 18+ and families
Fully hosted experience from CA$679 for 1 week
Durations from 1 - 12 weeks
Discover Nepal's natural beauty
Up to 5 hours volunteering a day

This program is ideal for:

Active volunteers who love animals and want to be part of a conservation project that genuinely cares for the wellbeing of elephants. No experience is needed as you’ll be working closely with placement staff.
Who is this program suited to?

What to expect and how you'll make an impact

As a volunteer on the Elephant Conservation project, you will be helping local veterinarians and staff ensure the wellbeing of the animals in their care is the best. Located on the outskirts of Chitwan National Park, the elephant sanctuary takes in elephants that have medical issues and require care.

The elephants move freely around and they have a big barn where they sleep at night and can rest during the day. The elephants have free time to do what they want and can go with local staff to graze and eat in the jungle.

On this project, the main role of volunteers is to provide exceptional care to the elephants who have been given a second chance to live. Before coming to the sanctuary, elephants who require medical care are generally considered ‘worthless’ by their owners who only use them to make money for elephant rides. The sanctuary offers to purchase the elephants and they are then placed in the sanctuary to live out their days in a safe and comfortable environment.

Your main role on the Elephant Conservation project will be supporting the staff at the sanctuary in providing care to rescued elephants. The tasks may include:

  • Cleaning the barn and the land where the elephants live
  • Cutting and preparing the elephants’ food
  • Planting the food for the elephants’
  • Help with a variety of building projects on site

As you will be working closely alongside the staff at the shelter, you are not required to have any qualifications to join this project; however, it is a great chance for volunteers within the animal care or veterinary field to gain hands-on experience and offer their skills.

Contributes to United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goal #15: Life on Land

Contributes to United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goal #15: Life on Land

Human activity has altered almost 75% of the earth’s surface and around 1 million animal and plant species are threatened with extinction. Nature is critical to our survival. We must promote kindness to animals and use regenerative techniques to combat deforestation, conserve biodiversity and protect wildlife.

Why do Elephant Conservation volunteering in Nepal with IVHQ?

When you volunteer at an elephant sanctuary in Nepal, you’ll be adding value to the local community, while also developing personally and professionally by:

  • Helping care for abandoned elephants
  • Developing your communication skills
  • Gaining experience caring for elephants
  • Exploring Nepal’s beautiful Chitwan National Park

Volunteer requirements

  • Volunteers under the age of 18 must be accompanied by a parent or guardian to participate in this program
  • All volunteers aged 13+ are required to provide a criminal background check to IVHQ prior to departure. Those aged 13-17, if unable to obtain a criminal background check, can provide two character reference letters instead
  • All volunteers are required to have adequate volunteer travel insurance
  • All volunteers must speak fluent English.
Are you eligible to volunteer?

Submit a free application so we can confirm your eligibility and check availability for your preferred dates.

Apply For Free

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What recent volunteers said about their IVHQ experience

AM
Alex Morris
20 Mar 2024

Very well organised and great communication with my IVHQ Program Manager. The team in Nepal and in Chitwan were terrific. It was great to work with the elephants daily: hard work, early mornings, long days but with a break during the day. Great to work with the Mahouts and a very humbling experience. Highly recommend,.

...
DD
Dawn Douglas
15 Feb 2024

I think the online resources were very thorough in preparing for my trip, and my IVHQ Program Manager was always easy to communicate with to get questions answered.

The local team were always available to answer questions and assist with travel between locations. They even went above and beyond to make sure my last day and departure went okay.

It was a lifelong dream fulfilled to work with elephants and it was even better than I imagined it would be. I feel that I was able to make an impact by sharing the conservation message and what I learned with my friends and followers back in the US, and I feel like I made a difference in the local community by being a part of the program and shopping local. Don't hesitate to go! You may experience normal difficulties of traveling and being in a different country, but the experience on the program is well worth any inconveniences.

...
NF
Nadja Fritz
10 Jan 2024

My IVHQ Program Manager was the most helpful person!! The local team were just the nicest people and we are still in contact checking on each other! They are all trustworthy people and you can talk to them. You don’t have to worry about anything! It’s all planned and they are available all the time. You can reach to them whenever so it’s super safe.

...
HH
Holly Huckstadt
13 Dec 2023

Do not hesitate to join this program - you will not regret it! Everyone in Nepal was friendly and welcoming, from the local staff to people I met on the street and in the neighborhoods. I loved volunteering at the elephant sanctuary. I felt like I was able to help make a difference in the livelihoods of the elephants residing at the sanctuary. Just getting to be around the elephants every day made an impact on me. They are amazing, intelligent, and emotional beings full of resiliency, and I would highly recommend this opportunity. The project itself was a lot of hard work and physical labor, but it was very rewarding and totally worth it.

...
JE
Jo Edmonds
29 Nov 2023

Amazing experience you will never forget, just do it!

...
KB
Kerem Babaoğlu
09 Aug 2023

I think that the local team was great and they supported me a lot throughout my journey. I really feel content that I collaborated with the local community to leave a small but positive impact on this project.

I think completing a volunteer program contributes to a person in many ways. The most prominent one is about exploring yourself. By doing a project abroad, one can observe the shift in their behaviours and feelings when they are out of their comfort zone. After a week I started to feel adapted to my environment and tried to focus on positive things around me so that I can get used to this new environment I am in. Moreover, this experience was awesome in terms of exploring new cultures because you are in a new space and you are working with people all around the world. Therefore, you learn a lot about how other people around the globe lives and behaves. Thus, you gain just as much as (or even more than) you give to the environment you are conducting your volunteer work. My only advice would be to enjoy the ride and be open to newness :)

...

To read all reviews, visit our reviews page.

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Volunteer Abroad in Nepal with IVHQ

Location

Land-locked in the middle of South Asia, Nepal is known for its astonishing alpine scenery and breathtaking mountainscapes. But this diverse country offers much more than its remarkable natural environment. Among Nepal’s 28 million people, there are more than 100 different ethnic groups speaking as many languages and following a large number of religious and cultural traditions. It also faces the challenges associated with a history of civil war, natural disasters, political corruption and a lack of resources and infrastructure to support its population.

Volunteers can have a meaningful impact on Nepalese communities by providing assistance with a wide range of activities that help make life, and the future, better for local people. IVHQ has a number of volunteer projects in Nepal. Some are located on the outskirts of the capital city of Kathmandu in rural and urban areas, while others are in Chitwan 150 kilometres away, in the middle of Terrai - a flat fertile plain that borders India and stretches right across Southern Nepal. Pokhara is located in mid-western Nepal and is a popular tourist destination, renowned for its amazing mountain views.

Arrival and orientation

The program orientation begins on the first and third Monday of each month, and volunteers need to arrive in Kathmandu on the Sunday before orientation.

After you have registered for the program, please book your flights to arrive at Tribhuvan International Airport (KTM) in Kathmandu. Your airport pick-up is included in your Program Fee.

When you arrive, you will be greeted at the airport by a member of the local team and transported to the volunteer accommodation in Kathmandu. Your accommodation is covered by your Program Fee and includes the night before your program orientation.

If you are traveling in Nepal prior to your volunteer program, we can arrange for you to be picked up at a prearranged destination in Kathmandu on the day before your program orientation.

Orientation is hosted by our Nepal team in Kathmandu and runs over the course of two days. Orientation begins on the morning of your chosen start date and covers everything you need to know for your volunteer program in Nepal – an introduction to Nepal, Nepalese customs, language training details, rules and expectations, safety, travel opportunities in Nepal, and an introduction to your project and placement. The orientation will also give you a chance to visit local temples, sample authentic Nepali food, meet other volunteers and swap contact details for weekend travel and socializing.

If you are placed in Pokhara or Chitwan, you will travel to your placement location on Tuesday afternoon and you will begin work on Wednesday. If you are located in Kathmandu, you will begin work on Wednesday.

Volunteer schedule example

First Day:

On your first day of volunteering, you will be escorted to your placement by a local coordinator and introduced to the placement staff you will be working with.

Weekdays:

While a volunteer daily schedule will vary depending on the specific placement, a typical day is as follows:

7:30 AM Breakfast at the homestay.
8:00 AM Volunteers leave home and travel to their placements. There is usually a tea break and a lunch break.
2:00 - 5:00 PM Work at the placement usually ends. Volunteers are free to travel back to the volunteer house, go sightseeing, or do some shopping.
7:00 - 9:00 PM Dinner at the homestay.

Weekends:

During the weekends, volunteers have spare time and usually relax or take the opportunity to explore other parts of their local town and Nepal. Known for being home to the world’s tallest mountain, Mt Everest, Nepal is an adventurer’s paradise. It has a vast selection of exceptional hikes in the Himalayas with arresting views in every direction, white-water rafting, canyon swings, paragliding and scenic flights. It also has a rich multicultural heritage and a huge collection of temples, pagodas, shrines, carvings and ancient architecture, not to mention an astonishing array of wildlife and an interesting cuisine influenced by its many ethnic groups and cultures.

Accommodation and WiFi

Volunteers on the Elephant Conservation project are accommodated in a local hotel that is close to the placement for the whole duration of their volunteer program.

Please note that you should expect to share a room with up to one other volunteer, of the same gender.

Meals

The staple meal for most Nepali families is dal bhat, which consists of lentil soup (dal), rice (bhat) and vegetables in curry (tarkari) and/or meat (masu) with a side of pickle/sauce (achar).

Food in Nepal is heavily influenced by the country’s Indian and Tibetan neighbours and includes plenty of curries, breads and potato-based dishes. Volunteers are served two meals per day at their homestay and can purchase additional food to supplement this if they wish.

Bottled water is readily available in Nepal and volunteers should budget approximately CA$7 per week for two liters a day. If you have any special dietary requirements, please let us know when you apply for the program so we can make arrangements for you. However, we need to stress the point that you should not expect to eat as you normally do at home. We will do our best to see that you are well taken care of, but there is a need to be flexible.

Pricing

  • USD
Duration
Program Fee
Due 30 days before you start, or within 48 hours if you register inside of 30 days. Covers the cost of hosting you.
  • USD
1 week CA$679 Equivalent to CA$97/day
2 weeks CA$1359 Equivalent to CA$97/day
3 weeks CA$1960 Equivalent to CA$93/day
4 weeks CA$2561 Equivalent to CA$91/day
5 weeks CA$3162 Equivalent to CA$90/day
6 weeks CA$3763 Equivalent to CA$90/day
8 weeks CA$4966 Equivalent to CA$89/day
10 weeks CA$6168 Equivalent to CA$88/day
12 weeks CA$7370 Equivalent to CA$88/day
  • Accommodation
  • Breakfast and dinner
  • 24/7 in-country support
  • In-country program orientation
  • Pre-departure support from your Program Manager
  • Airport pick-up
  • Personalized preparation tools, guides and check lists
  • Access to IVHQ’s preferred insurance and flights partners
  • Discounts on travel and tour add-ons
  • Certificate of International Volunteer Service

Learn more about what's included in your IVHQ Registration Fee and Program Fee.

  • All programs attract a Registration Fee of US$329 (approximately CA$470) in addition to the Program Fee. This covers all pre-departure support services. IVHQ fees are priced in USD but you may elect to pay in CAD.
  • A 5% international banking fee is added at point of payment.
  • Additional things to budget for include: Visa, flights, travel insurance (mandatory), vaccinations, criminal background check, lunches, public transportation to and from your placement each day and return to the airport when your program finishes.
  • Recommended spending money: Volunteers in Nepal generally find US$30 per week to be sufficient for expenses, such as lunches, and local tours and activities.

Free-time experiences & tours in Nepal

Take your volunteer experience to the next level with IVHQ's affordable activity and tour add-ons in Nepal! Explore your options below and learn how to book them once you've been accepted onto the IVHQ Nepal program.

Chitwan Jungle Safari (2 nights/3 days)
Chitwan Jungle Safari (2 nights/3 days)

Embark on an unforgettable jungle safari to witness Nepal’s captivating wildlife in its natural habitat.

CA$257
Everest Base Camp Trek (14 days)
Everest Base Camp Trek (14 days)

This iconic expedition is the most popular trekking route in the Himalayas and is unlike any other in the world.

CA$2110
Hatha Yoga and Meditation Retreat (1 week)
Hatha Yoga and Meditation Retreat (1 week)

Reconnect with tranquility and mindfulness during a rejuvenating one-week yoga and meditation retreat, leaving behind the hustle and bustle of the Western world.

CA$751
Everest Base Camp Trek (14 days)
Everest Base Camp Trek (14 days)

This iconic expedition is the most popular trekking route in the Himalayas and is unlike any other in the world.

CA$2110
Hatha Yoga and Meditation Retreat (1 week)
Hatha Yoga and Meditation Retreat (1 week)

Reconnect with tranquility and mindfulness during a rejuvenating one-week yoga and meditation retreat, leaving behind the hustle and bustle of the Western world.

CA$751
Chitwan Jungle Safari (2 nights/3 days)
Chitwan Jungle Safari (2 nights/3 days)

Embark on an unforgettable jungle safari to witness Nepal’s captivating wildlife in its natural habitat.

CA$257

Check what's required to visit Nepal

Safety and support with IVHQ

Safety and support

IVHQ follows best practice and industry-leading health and safety procedures, which are regularly reviewed and optimized as part of the B Corporation recertification.

  • All volunteers encouraged to complete our interactive pre-departure training.
  • All local teams trained on best practice volunteer management & First Aid.
  • All IVHQ programs are required to adhere to IVHQ's Risk Management Policy.
  • All volunteers have access to 24/7 in-country support from our local team.
Learn more about IVHQ's safety

Essential country information

Capital Kathmandu
Population 28 million
Languages Nepali
Currency Rupee (NRs.)
Time zone UTC+05:45

Weather and climate: The climate in Nepal varies largely due to the variations in geography across the country. Spring and autumn are the most pleasant seasons with dry weather and moderate temperatures. The Kathmandu Valley and other areas of high altitude experience summer temperatures of up to 28°C (82.4°F) and in winter, temperatures range between 2°C (35.6°F) and 20°C (68°F). The summer temperatures in Chitwan can reach up to 35°C (95°F) and in winter they range between 7°C (44.6°F) and a mild 23°C (73.4°F). The climate in Pokhara is similar to that of the Kathmandu Valley, with slightly warmer temperatures.

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How to get started

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