Kaziranga National Park
Kaziranga lies on the southern banks of the mighty River Brahmaputra, which drains a large part of the Himalayan Mountains, and crosses a number of smaller rivers. The terrain and vegetation of the park is very varied and includes floodplains, water holes, areas of tall elephant grass and forest clad hills and mountains. The fauna that can be found here is accordingly varied, and is relatively easy to see here. Kaziranga itself, which has been designated as an UNESCO world heritage site, covers an area of around 430km2, and the buffer-zone that surrounds the park covers a similar sized area.
The park’s major claim to fame is its outstanding population of the large Indian one-horned rhino. This area was first given protected status more than 100 years ago, in order to help save the last 12 remaining individuals of this nearly prehistoric looking giant that lived here. Today the population here has increased to around 2,400, which is equivalent to around two thirds of the global population. Truly an amazing success story that shows that nature conservation works!
The population of Indian elephants here has also steadily increased over recent years and today there are nearly 2,000 living in the park. Kaziranga is also one of the few places where it is still possible to see wild water buffalo, and is home to almost 60% of the global population of approx. 3,000 individuals. The huge gaur ox, which is sometimes referred to as the Indian bison, is another of the parks giant mammals. It can weigh up to 1 tom and is considered by some as the fifth member of India’s “Big Five” instead of the water buffalo.
The park is also reportedly home to the world’s most dense population of tigers – approx. one tiger every 5km2. Prey animals here include various species of deer, such as the large sambar deer, an animal that resembles red deer, the rare Barasingha deer, hog deer and the tiny muntjac deer, as well as wild boar. Leopards are also very common in the park, but like the tiger, they are very hard to spot in the long grass where they spend much of their time. In Kaziranga it is also possible to find a number of smaller predators, including a number of smaller wild cat species and mongooses.
A total of nine species of primates live in the park, the most commonly seen of which are the Assamese macaque and the capped- and golden langur. If luck is on your side you might see the rare Ganges dolphin, your best chance of seeing this endangered animal is to take a boat tour on the River Brahamaputra. The park’s rich bird life includes many species of storks, herons, kingfishers, hornbills, eagles and vultures. Amongst the reptiles that live here the most commonly seen are the turtles, with luck on your side it is also possible to see monitor lizards, the rare narrow snouted gharial crocodile, and Asia’s biggest snake, the reticulated python.
It is possible to drive around large parts of Kaziranga along narrow tracks in small 4WD vehicles and sail along the Brahmaputra close to the park’s river banks.
Highlights:
- See the world’s largest population of the large Indian one-horned rhino
- Big populations of Asian elephants and wild water buffalos, as well as a few gaur oxen
- Dense populations of tigers and leopards, and plenty of prey animals such as deer and wild boar
- Ganges dolphins in the river Brahmaputra and many primates, birds and reptiles on land
High Season: November to April
