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Location |
Assam, Northeast India |
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Best time |
November – February |
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Area |
430 sq. km. |
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Major Animals/Birds |
One-horned rhinoceros, wild buffalo, Indian elephant, royal bengal tiger, indian wild boar, Kingfishers (Blyth’s kingfisher), herons (white-bellied heron), pelicans (Dalmatian pelican, spot-billed pelican), shanks (spotted greenshank), and terns (black-bellied tern), Eastern imperial eagle. |
Kaziranga National Park is located in Assam. Area of Kaziranga National Park is 430 square kilometers, best time to visit Kaziranga National Park is between November – February (winter season).
Kaziranga National Park is one of the remaining unaltered natural places in India’s north-eastern region. It is the single biggest undisturbed and representative region in the Brahmaputra Valley floodplain, covering 42,996 acres and located in the state of Assam. Kaziranga is more than simply a national park; it is also one of India’s top biosphere reserves.
Those who thought Indian one-horned rhinoceros existed only in the Jurassic period should make a trip to Kaziranga. Kaziranga National Park’s 430 square kilometer tract studded with elephant-grass meadows, marshy lagoons, and deep woods is home to more than 2200 Indian one-horned rhinoceros, accounting for almost two-thirds of the entire world population.
The park, established in 1908 on the proposal of Mary Curzon, is situated on the outskirts of the Eastern Himalayan biodiversity hotspots of Golaghat and Nagaon district. The park was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1985. It is believed that when Mary Curzon, the wife of Viceroy of India Lord Curzon of Kedleston, visited the park in search of Indian one-horned rhinoceros, she was unable to find even one. Then she urged her husband to take immediate action to safeguard the declining species, which he accomplished by commencing conservation plans. In 1905, the Kaziranga Proposed Reserve Forest was established with an area of 232 km2 (90 sq mi) following a series of meetings and documents.
Along with the famed Greater one-horned rhinoceros, elephants, wild water buffalo, and swamp deer reproduce in the park. The tiger population in Kaziranga has expanded over time, which is why it was designated as a Tiger Reserve in 2006. In addition, BirdLife International has designated the park as an Important Bird Area for the conservation of avifaunal species. During the winter season, birds such as the smaller white-fronted goose, ferruginous duck, Baer’s pochard duck, and lesser adjutant, larger adjutant, black-necked stork, and Asian Openbill stork migrate from Central Asia.
Undoubtedly, the park is well-known for its large animal population, but it is the park’s wildlife conservation programs that are more well-known. With its incredible animal conservation efforts, the park has effectively increased the population of the Greater one-horned rhinoceros, an endangered species.
The huge expanse of tall elephant grass, marshes, and deep tropical moist broadleaf forests make the park appear attractive, but it is the presence of the Brahmaputra river that makes it appear mysterious.
Kaziranga Park remain closed from 01 May till 31 Oct every year for the visitors.
Major Attractions in & Around the Park
A jeep or elephant ride would be ideal for seeing the finest of the area, but what other choices are there? Fortunately, there are other natural retreats around Kaziranga, such as wildlife sanctuaries, bird viewing parks, and hill stations. So, if travelers have some additional days, they should visit the attractions listed below to make their vacation even more unforgettable. Below are some places to visit around Kaziranga National Park:
If on an extended trip to Kaziranga, tourists can visit:
Kaziranga is one of the few places across the glove which has a breeding population of three big cats outside Africa- namely- A clouded leopard, a Royal Bengal Tiger, and an Indian leopard. Other than this, mammals found in the Kaziranga National Park are one-horned rhinoceros, wild buffalo, Indian elephant, royal bengal tiger, indian wild boar, eastern mole, pangolin, Indian gaur, swamp deer, sambar, barking deer, white browed gibbon, hog deer, capped langur or leaf monkey, rhesus macaque, assamese macaque, leopard, sloth bear, indian porcupine, fishing cat, jungle cat, large indian civet, small indian civet, indian gray mongoose, small indian mongoose, bengal fox, golden jackal, common otter, chinese ferret badger, hog badger, Ganges and Indus river dolphin, orange-bellied Himalayan squirrel, Asiatic black bear
A large number of raptors are found inside the park, and this is considered a good sign for a healthy ecosystem. Birds inside the Kaziranga Park include- Kingfishers (Blyth’s kingfisher), herons (white-bellied heron), pelicans (Dalmatian pelican, spot-billed pelican), shanks (spotted greenshank), and terns (black-bellied tern), Eastern imperial eagle, more incredible spotted eagle, white-tailed fishing eagle, Pallas’s fish eagle, grey-headed fish eagle and the lesser kestrel, red-headed vulture, and Eurasian black vulture, Indian vulture, slender-billed vulture, and the Indian white-rumped vulture, partridges (swamp francolin), bustards (Bengal florican) and pigeons (pale-capped pigeon), wreathed hornbill, great Indian hornbill, Jerdon’s babbler, marsh babbler, Finn’s weaver, baya weaver, Hodgson’s bushchat, Old World warblers, rufous-vented prinia, and black-breasted parrotbill.
Black krait, bengal cobra (naja kaouthia), banded krait (bungarus fasciatus), common kukri snake (oligodon arnensis), checkered keelback watersnake (amphiesma stolata), common or long-nosed vine snake (ahaetulla nasuta), copperhead trinket snake (elaphe radiata), common krait (bungarus caeruleus), king cobra (ophiophagus hannah), pit vipers (trimeresurus spp.), rock python (python molurus), russel’s viper (vipera russellii), reticulated python (python reticulatus), rat snake (ptyas mucosus), striped keelback (amphiesma stolata).
Assam greyish-brown gecko (hemidactylus garnotii), assam olive-brown skink (mabuya multifasciata), assam greyish-brown gecko (hemidactylus garnotii), common bengal monitor (varanus bengalensis), common indian skink (mabuya carinata), dotted garden skink (lygosoma punctata), indian water monitor (varanus salvator), light-olive assam garden lizard (calotes emma), ticticky house gecko (hemidactylus frenatus), tuckto gecko
Assam roofed turtle (kachuga sylhetensis), brown roofed turtle (kachuga smithii), brown hill tortoise (manouria emys), gangetic or indian softshell turtle (aspideretes gangeticus), indian roofed turtle (kachuga tecta), indian tent turtle (kachuga tentoria), indian eyed turtle (morena petersi), indian peacock softshell turtle (aspideretes hurum), indian flapshell turtle (lissemys punctata), indian black turtle (melanochelys trijuga), keeled box turtle (pyxidea mouhotii), malayan box turtle (cuora amboinensis), narrow headed softshell turtle (chitra indica), spotted pond turtle (geoclemys hamiltonii), oldham’s leaf turtle (cyclemys oldhami).
