Kaziranga National Park

Being the most enchanting abode for natural lovers, the Kaziranga National Park is included in World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1985. Spanning over an area of 430 sq.km , Kaziranga national park is situated in Jorhat Nawgaon district. Lying amidst the Mikir Hills on the South and Brahmaputra river on the north, the park, declared a Wildlife sanctuary in 1950 and accorded the status of a National Park in 1974. Kaziranga national park divided into central, eastern and western sectors consists of semi- evergreen forested highlands, rivulets, marshes and extensive plains covered with tall elephant grass up to 6 metres high.

Location of Kaziranga National Park :
Jorhat is the nearest airport, 97 kms. away. Approach is also possible from Guwahati airport (240kms) by road via Nowgong. The nearest convenient railhead is Jorhat. Kaziranga is on National Highway 37 and the roads are in very good shape. Public Transport (by luxury bus) is cheap and comfortable.

Wildlife at Kaziranga Rhino Reserve :
Popular for housing the famous Indian one horned rhinoceros that attains a height of over two metres and weigh more than two tonnes. The area was declared a game reserve in 1908 to save the one-horned rhino. Kaziranga rhino reserve houses around 70 percent of the total population of one horned rhino species in the country as there are more than thousand rhinos in the park.

Kaziranga national park is also home to elephants, swamp or wild buffalo, swamp deer, hog deer, barking deer, sambar/ Hoolock gibbon, pythons, civet cat, wild boar and tigers. There is a rich variety of fresh water fowls, over 450 species of woodland and grassland birds of which 18 species are globally threatened.

Chirpy Birds!
It is easy to locate birds like the egrets, pond herons, river tern, black necked storks, pelican, partridges, Bengal florican stork, pied horn bill, fishing eagle in the park. The river here, has the gharial (fish eating crocodile) and dolphins.

Safari at Kaziranga Rhino Reserve :
There are different ways you can cover the the Kaziranga national park. You can opt for trained elephants for seeing the rhinos at close range. Elephant rides which last around one hour, should be booked the previous evening at the park administrative Centre in Kohora. Elephant rides between 0500 - 0600, 0630 - 0730 and 1530 -1630. Jeep drives are also available. The rides at dawn are best to see the animals.

Mapping the Road :
Basically there are three road routes that head towards the park and they open at around 0800 - 1100 and 1400 - 1630. The first route begins at central range - Kohora, Daglang, Foliomari, the second rote is the Western range, this route is best to view rhinos and buffaloes, Baguri, Monabeel, Bimoli, Kanchanjuri and the third is the Eastern range - Agortoli, Sohola, Rangamatia. The observation towers are situated at Sohola, Mihimukh, Kathpara, Foliamari and Harmoti. Other attractions here are the coffee and rubber plantations of the nearby Karbi Anglong and the tea gardens of Hatikhuli, Methoni, Difalu, Behora, and Borchapori.

Best Seasons :
Kaziranga's visiting season is from mid-November to early April months. During the monsoons, the Brahmaputra River bursts its banks, flooding the low-lying grasslands and causing animals to migrate from one area to another within the Kaziranga National Park