Kaziranga National Park

Kaziranga is the site I looked forward to the most on this India trip, and it certainly did not disappoint. I splurged on staying for 2 nights in the upmarket Diphlu River Lodge (335 EUR p/n all-in). They offer safari packages similar to the lodges in African national parks, including all meals and activities. Its location turned out to be a bit noisy (it lies close to the main road Jorhat-Guwahati) and the somewhat stiffish service didn’t quite reach the African Safari Lodge level, where understated elegance and convivial atmosphere often appear effortless. On the plus side: I had my private car and guide who took me on generously long (4-5 hour) game drives and steered away from the crowds. The food and the room were excellent as well.

The park is only open from November to April, as the rest of the year the area suffers from the effects of serious flooding covering up to 80% of its surface. Markings on park buildings show how high the water reached in certain years. Both man and animal flee to higher-lying areas such as man-made “islands” called chapories and the main road. This also means that the park has to redo all the (unpaved) roads every season, sometimes creating new roads and bridges as the old ones were swept away or the whole riverbank moved.

Included in my safari package were three game drives which brought me to different parts of the park. The first one was the Western …

This huge 430km2 National Park in the northeastern State of Assam has as its great attraction its daily elephant rides at dawn.Visitors mainly flock here to view the park's wildlife, mostly the Indian unicorn rhinos numbering now almost 3000 pieces.Their horns are so precious that just in 2013, 37 rhinos have been killed by poachers.The powder of the horns is then sold to China and Vietnam for medical purposes.Its worth more than gold.better to arrange a safari with the second slot around 7am.Not only because of the morning fog and higher temperature, especially in winter, but also the spots where the rather shy rhinos are hiding in thick grass, has already been discovered by the earlier groups.Other animals are the Wild Buffalos, the King Cobra and Pyton snakes, the Swamp and Hog deers, Bengal tigers and migratory birds from Siberia, all very much appreciating the waterways of the wide Brahmaputra river.In fact the grassy lowlands are mostly flooded during the rainy season in summer.Best time to visit is from december to april when temperatures are low.

Whilst it was perhaps unsurprising that Manas had not previously received a review on this Web site I am amazed that, to date, neither has Kaziranga! It can surely only be that relatively few “WHS enthusiasts” make it up to NE India - a shame as it provided us with some truly world class wildlife viewing experiences.

Kaziranga is far more developed for tourism than Manas (which is around 7 hours west by road). Indeed at Kohora a significant “tourist village” has grown up with a wide range of hotels. The “Central” park entrance is situated there but the Western and Eastern entrances are also worth considering c 15 and 25 kms away respectively so a Gypsy hire costs more) We gave the park 2 full days and had morning and afternoon game runs by Gypsy (jeep) on both and an elephant ride on one morning (bookings required!!). Unlike at Manas, the Jeep rides are limited in time to around 2.5 hours with the morning one starting at around 7.30 after the 2 morning elephant rides are complete (they start at c 5.30 and 6.30 am and last up to an hour – but usually less!!). If you are not mobile you can go to the Central HQ, pay your fees (including 500 IR for a camera if you are a non-Indian) and rent/share a Gypsy there – you would also need a short Gypsy hire to get to an elephant booking as this starts some way from the …