Manas is a fine excuse to make the detour to northwestern Assam. According to these stats, only a couple of hundred foreign tourists make it to the park in a good year. I went there by car+driver from Kaziranga (6.5 hours) and stayed for 2 nights in a homestay amidst the tea fields close to the Bansbari park entrance. All was calm, friendly and very low-key. It reminded me of rural Thailand, the area where I stayed to visit Huai Kha Khaeng. 

The scenery is dominated by the massive “wall” of the Himalayas which lie north of the flat lands of Manas. Another characteristic is the presence of a lot of dense forest. There are other park entrances as well, Bhuyanpara and Panbari, which lie more to the east and west respectively: the east is where you can find the most special mammal species of Manas, the pygmy hog (although they are “almost never seen”).

I did two jeep safaris in the park from the Bansbari gate: one from 6-9 a.m. and the other from 2-5 p.m. The early morning one seemed to be the most fruitful as it delivered about one specimen of each of the common species (Indian rhino, Asian elephant, Asian water buffalo, Malayan giant squirrel, Sambar deer, Capped langur), plus numerous Indian peacocks. That was until we ended our afternoon tour at 4.30 with a visit to the Bura Burithai Watchtower: at its clearing we saw 2 gaur and 5 rhinos simultaneously and close by. It gave me the best views of gaur (very pretty, wild cows) I’ve ever had, and the rhinos put on a display as well as 2 of the males were fighting (headbutting) over a female. The unhappy threesome can be seen in the lower photo.

Big cats like tiger and leopard are also seen more often nowadays, since the Bodo insurgents have laid down their arms, anti-poaching efforts have been successful and the park overall has been on the mend. The drivers & guides here have developed a strategy to stop at an intersection of two roads, turn off the engine and then wait for 10 minutes to see whether something interesting crosses one of the roads. Unfortunately, it didn’t work for us…

A recent change to the park also has been the addition of a Heritage Center. This is located at the Beki River View, where you can look across the river towards Bhutan. A sign says that you’re only 360m away from the border. The Center, inaugurated in July 2023, has displays about important events in the park’s history and its wildlife. For example, you can find the stuffed version of the tiger here who killed 11 people in 1986.

Practicalities: I arranged transfers from-to Guwahati, 2 nights in a simple but clean and friendly homestay and 2 safaris via this. Be aware that the jeep safaris in this park don’t come cheap and there is no other way to enter. I paid 7,000 rs (ca. 80 EUR) all-in (car, driver, guide, foreigner entrance fee, camera fee) per safari. You can also fully organize it yourself, via the booking module on the official park website.