Safari to Kaziranga

a unique and pretty riverine location

Kaziranga National Park is located in the remote state of Assam, 750 km northeast of Kolkata.

The reserve was established way back in 1905, upgraded to national park status in 1968 and became a tiger reserve in 2006.

Extending over a relatively modest 884 sq km (341 sq mi), the reserve lies on the south bank of the Brahmaputra River. It is largely composed of seasonally-flooded grasslands, with an extensive network of rivers, channels and lagoons, largely surrounded by tall elephant grass.

The wetlands are punctuated by slightly elevated islands known as chapories, which are often covered in dense tropical evergreen forests, to where the wildlife can retreat when the water levels rise.

To the south lies a vast tract of upland forest known as the Karbi Anglong Hills, about twenty times the size of the national park, which serves as a seasonal feeding ground for much of the area’s wildlife. Wildlife corridors between the two areas have been established through the surrounding tea plantations.

Kaziranga is best known for its population of Indian rhinos (great one-horned rhinos). With a population of around 2500 animals, this represents a very significant proportion of the wild population.

According to census counts, the reserve is also home to around 100 Bengal tigers, 1000 Indian elephants, 1500 Asian water buffalos and 500 eastern swamp deers.

Unfortunately the conditions, especially the dense elephant grass thickets, can make wildlife viewing extremely challenging. Sightings of tigers, in particular, are remarkably rare given how many there are around.

Other interesting sightings include jungle cats, fishing cats and Asian leopard cats, hispid hares, Indian gray mongooses, Indian civets, Bengal foxes, golden jackals, sloth bears, Chinese pangolins, Chinese ferret badgers and particoloured flying squirrels.

The reserve is home to an impressive nine primate species, including Assamese macaques, capped langurs, golden langurs and the only apes found in India, hoolock gibbons.

Over 400 recorded bird species include greater adjutant storks (very rare), lesser white-fronted geese, ferruginous ducks, Baer’s pochard ducks, black-necked storks, Asian openbill storks, Blyth’s kingfishers, white-bellied herons, Dalmatian pelicans, spot-billed pelicans, Nordmann’s greenshanks, black-bellied terns, Pallas’s fish eagles, grey-headed fish eagles, lesser kestrels, Indian vultures, slender-billed vultures, Indian white-rumped vultures, swamp francolins, Bengal floricans, pale-capped pigeons, Jerdon’s babblers, marsh babblers, common baya weavers, Finn’s weavers, Hodgson’s bushchats, bristled grassbirds, black-breasted parrotbills and rufous-vented grass babblers.

Amongst the reptiles there are two of the largest snakes in the world, rock pythons and reticulated pythons, plus the longest venomous snake in the world, the king cobra.

The primary activity is vehicle safari inside the national park. There is also a selection of viewing towers from which to look out for wildlife.

In contrast to many conservation areas in India, Kaziranga continues to offer elephant-back safaris. This is largely due to the fact that the terrain (especially the areas of elephant grass) are very difficult to explore safely in any other way.

Unfortunately safari into the reserve is largely operated by the park authorities. The lines of vehicles at the park gate before each drive can be really distasteful, as can the clustering of visitors around important sightings, even when on elephants.

Some of the better properties around the periphery of the reserve are permitted to use their own guides and vehicles when out on safari, which can massively improve the experience. Unfortunately the elephant-back safaris cannot yet be done in a more private way.

Other activities in the area include boat rides out on the main river in search of rare Ganges dolphins, as well as visits to local villages, tea and rubber plantations. A real highlight is a visit to the local domestic elephant stables, where you should be able to join them in their daily bath.

The best time of year to visit the Kaziranga area is generally considered to be during the Nov-Feb dry season.

October is the transition period between the end of the monsoon rains and the start of the cool dry season. During October the daytime temperatures usually rise to around 30C/86F, whilst the nighttime low temperatures hold up around 22C/72F. The rainfall is much lower, but is still up around 125mm (5”) during the month. Sunshine is around 6 hours per day (around 60% of daylight hours), meaning that skies are quite often overcast.

Nov-Feb is the main cool dry season. During Nov-Feb the daytime temperatures usually rise to around 25C/77F, whilst the nighttime low temperatures plunge to around 18C/64F. Rainfall is quite low, at around 25mm (1”) per month. Sunshine is around 8 hours per day (around 70% of daylight hours), meaning that skies are usually clear. During this season the water levels recede and at least some of the foliage dies back, so wildlife visibility should improve slightly.

Mar-Sep is the hot monsoon season and is generally considered to be the least favourable time to visit. During Mar-Sep the daytime temperatures are up around 38C/100F, whilst the nighttime low temperatures remain up at a stifling 26C/79F. Rainfall climbs to a very high 300mm (11”) per month. Sunshine drops to around 4 hours per day (around 35% of daylight hours), meaning that skies are very often heavily overcast. During this period the water levels can rise considerably, making large parts of the park inaccessible. Much of the wildlife may migrate to the hills outside the reserve.

Getting there

The Kaziranga area can be accessed in a number of different ways…

By air

The closest main airport to Kaziranga is at Guwahati, around 200 km to the southwest, which has regular connections from many locations around the country, including Kolkata, Delhi, Jaipur and Mumbai.

From there it is necessary to continue by car or boat.

By boat

If you fly into Guwahati, then it is possible to join a live-aboard boat cruise up the Brahmaputra River, usually for three nights, to reach Kaziranga. That’s rather an attractive option, which can extend an exploration through Assam nicely.

By train

The nearest train station to Kaziranga is at Furkating, around 75 km to the east. However getting there from Kolkata is a major undertaking and not something we tend to recommend.

By road

Very few international visitors connect in or out of the Assam region by road, the distances are just too great.

However, once you have arrived into the region by air, it’s quite common to explore by means of a private-guided overland safari, typically travelling the route Guwahati, Kaziranga, Jorhat, Dibrugarh.

Where to stay

The choice of accommodation in the Kaziranga area is really rather limited. The element to look out for is lodges which operate their own private vehicles into the reserve. You will find them at the top of the list, in terms of both rating and price.

combine with boat journeys on the Brahmaputra River