Diphlu River Lodge

a strong location for tigers, rhinos and elephants

Set on the south side of Kaziranga National Park, Diphlu River Lodge is a reasonably authentic and high quality lodge.

The property was established in 2008 by husband and wife team, Ashish and Jahnabi Phookan, who have life-long connections with the area, his father having built a pioneering lodge here during the 1970s.

The camp has a pleasantly natural feel, being built of natural materials and carefully tucked away amongst the foliage. The main building sits in the shade of a giant jujuba tree and contains lounge and dining areas, elevated from ground level, leading out to deck areas and with further seating areas distributed around the grounds, looking out across the water to the national park.

To one side there is a slightly elevated area known as The Hilltop, where barbeque dinners are accompanied by local tribal dancing and singing.

In April 2016 the lodge hosted the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, William and Kate, on their state visit to India.

Rooms

Guest accommodation at Diphlu River Lodge is in 12 rooms.

They take the form of traditional bamboo structures, elevated off the ground to take advantage of any evening breezes and to provide better views (although they do also have air-conditioning).

Four of the rooms are arranged in pairs, for families or two couples travelling together.

Activities

Diphlu River Lodge offers a range of guided activities …

• vehicle safari
• elephant-back safari
• village visits
• elephant bathing

The Assam province of northeast India is relatively little-visited. The two main reasons to visit are to safari in the Kaziranga area and to undertake small boat cruises on the Brahmaputra River.

Stays in Kaziranga are usually 3-4 nights. Safari and cruise combinations typically extend over 8-10 nights.

Seasonality

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 the month 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 this period 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 this period 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 city of Guwahati is almost exclusively accessed by air.

The main airport is surprisingly well served, with regular connections from many locations around the country, including Kolkata, Delhi, Jaipur and Mumbai.

There’s also a handful of smaller airports further upstream, which can be used to connect to cruises.

often combined with multiple night river cruises