Situated in North eastern part of India, Assam,
Kaziranga National Park is a world heritage site, globally recognised for the Great Indian one horned rhinoceros.
Kaziranga is one of the well preserved and most gorgeous national parks in India. Located in tropical climate environment; winter is the best time to visit Kaziranga. With a comfortable temperature, ranging between 5°C – 25°C, you can indulge in multiple activities. Here's a comprehensive guide before planning for your exciting Kaziranga forest trip.
Kaziranga has two nearest airports: Guwahati International Airport and Jorhat Airport, located at the distance of 217 km and 97 km respectively. If you are planning to go by train, you can reach Guwahati station and you will get well maintained connecting roads from there.
There are at least 30 different species of mammals located in Kaziranga national park. Following are some of most observed animals apart from one horned rhinoceros: elephant, indian wild boar, pangolin, indian gaur, sambar, barking deer, white browed gibbon, sloth bear, small indian civet, mongoose, and so on. You can also observe dolphins in Brahmaputra river, protected by local authorities at national park.
Due to proximity with the National Highway 37, if you are lucky enough, you can observe rhinos and wild elephants near the highway.
Overall, Kaziranga consists of four zones. Let's start with eastern zone or Agoratoli, famous for elephants and birds spotting during the morning. The central zone is known as Kohora, which is great site for tigers and rhinos spotting. As per forest officials, tigers roam in all four zones, but the central zone has the highest number of spotting incidents. The western, regarded as Bagori zone is good for rhinos spotting due to presence of a larger grazing area. This zone is often considered as best for rhino photography. If you are lucky, you may also spot tigers here. The far west or Burapahar zone is good for spotting gibbons and capped langurs.
Apart from Jeep and Elephant Safari, there are some other exciting things to participate in Kaziranga. There is a variety of natural getaways existing in and around the Kaziranga, like Bird Sanctuaries, Tea Estates, Waterfalls, and so on.
Start with Orchid & Biodiversity Park, wn area encompassing over 6 acres with a vast range of wild orchids, leafy vegetables, bamboo, and many other plants along with numerous local fishes.
Travel the mini Kaziranga forest, the Orang National Park, located nearby to observe tiger, one-horned Rhino, leopard, elephant, deer, sambar and so on.
As Assam has the largest tea plantation area on the world, you should not miss visiting a tea garden. The panoramic view of lush green tea plants fluttering into the hill slopes are a sight to behold. Some of the most famous tea gardens are Methoni, Difalu, Hathkhuli, Behora, and Borchapori gardens.
If you love waterfalls, do visit Kakochang waterfall, a famous tourist attraction or picnic spot here.
The massive open area of the Kaziranga forest is the home to the numerous exotic wildlife species attracting thousands of global wildlife buffs every year. Apart from big animals, it is a great place for bird photography. As per recent data, over 450 species birds are seen here. Some of them are White-fronted Goose, Black-necked Stork, Ferruginous Duck, Asian Openbill stork, Lesser Adjutant, alongwith many exotic birds migrating from Central Asia during winter.
The national park remains open for the safari between 05:30 AM to 04:00 PM everyday. The most famous Elephant Safari starts at 05:30 AM and Jeep Safari begins at 7:30 AM. You should the reach the starting point at least 30 minutes before the scheduled safari time. For any safari, strictly follow the instructions of the guide.
With so many places to explore, never visit Kaziranga with time constraints to get the once-in-a-lifetime experience. Do carry proper winter clothes and good pair of boots if you are planning for trekking.
