Kaziranga National Park, Assam

A World Heritage Site covering an area of 430 square kilometres on the southern bank of the Brahmaputra, the magnificent KAZIRANGA NATIONAL PARK, 217km east of Guwahati, occupies the vast valley floor against a backdrop of the Karbi Anglong hills. Its rivulets, shallow lakes and the semi-evergreen forested highlands blend into marshes and flood plains covered with tall elephant grass. A visit here, especially in the early morning, is an exhilarating experience and you will likely see elephants, deer, wild buffalo and the park's famous one-horned rhino - numbering around 1500, the largest concentration in the subcontinent. Though its estimated eighty tigers are very elusive, driving through the park's landscape of open savannah grassland interspersed with dense jungle is a wonderful experience. The abundant birdlife includes egrets, herons, storks, fish eagles, kingfishers and a grey pelican colony.

Kaziranga celebrated its centenary in 2005. Sadly, with grasslands bordering onto cultivated fields, and domestic cattle encroaching on the sanctuary and introducing epidemics, the wild animals are under increasing threat. The authorities say that poaching is now under control, though rhino horns still fetch astronomical prices as aphrodisiacs. The rhino is best seen from the back of an elephant, first thing on a winter's morning. They seem oblivious to camera-clicking tourists, although like the unpredictable wild buffalo, they're equipped with lethal horns and are potentially ferocious. Jeeps will take you deeper into the forest than elephants but they cannot get nearly as close to the rhinos.

Kaziranga is open from November to early April. Try to avoid visiting the park on Sundays, when it gets busy with noisy groups of Indian tourists. During the monsoons (June-Sept), the Brahmaputra bursts its banks, flooding the low-lying grasslands and causing animals to move to higher ground within the park.

Kaziranga is easily accessible by bus, with services from Tezpur (80km), Jorhat (97km), Guwahati (220km) and Dibrugarh (220km) in Assam, Itanagar in Arunachal Pradesh and Kohima in Nagaland. ASTC and private buses from all directions stop at Kohora, the main gate, on the NH-37 (AT Road), with Network Travels serving as the pick-up and drop-off point - you can arrange transport to and from the park here, and there's an inexpensive restaurant. The nearest town is BOKAKHAT, 20km east, which is good for shopping and has Internet facilities.

For information on the park, visit the Directorate of Tourism (Telephone03776/262423) in Bonani Lodge, or contact the Field Director (Telephone03776/268095). Visiting Kaziranga is expensive because of the two-tier price system, with different entry costs for Indian nationals (Rs20) and foreigners (Rs250), plus camera fees (Rs 500 still, Rs10,000 video [Rs250/Rs 2500]). Both Jeeps (Rs500 plus Rs150 tax, Rs50 compulsory guard fees and Rs20 "viewing" fees) and one-hour elephant rides (5.15am, 6.15am & 7.15am; Rs750 plus Rs250 viewing fee [Rs120 plus Rs20]) can be booked in advance via hotels or the park offices in Kohora, as can guides. All vehicles also have to pay an extra toll of Rs300. Elephant rides take place in both the Kohora and Baguri ranges of the park.

Kaziranga now has a good range of places to stay and eat. Some of the best and inexpensive places of accomodation are :-

• Aranya Tourist Lodge
• Bonani Lodge
• Bonhabi Hotel
• Bonoshree Lodge

If you are planning to visit Kaziranga National Park you can refer the Kaziranga Accomodation Guide

Its a paradise for wildlife lovers !