“Kaziranga Wildlife and Culture Tour” by Prarthana Gogoi

Family Photo

Being Assamese, or inhabitants of Assam, my family has a great fascination for the Kaziranga National Park and Tiger Reserve, one of the world heritage sites of Assam housing the famed one-horned rhinoceros. Located in the middle of Assam in the lush green valleys of the mighty river Brahmaputra, Kaziranga draws the attention of tourists across the globe. Each time I visit Guwahati, the capital of Assam, we drive past the Park, sometimes spotting herds of rhinoceros grazing in the grassland. Once, I visited Kaziranga Elephant Festival and explored the festivities of that festival. Kaziranga occupied a special place in my mind though I am not a diehard wildlife lover. 

Last year in December during the Christmas holidays, we planned a three-day tour to Kaziranga. My husband planned the itinerary and booked a resort in Kohora Range, the heart of the park. Our two kids were excited! They are animal lovers, which is quite natural for children their age. They dreamed and talked a lot about their coming Kaziranga tour. They felt mesmerized thinking of their dream visit to Kaziranga, which is about 300 kms away from our hometown. 

Two days before Christmas, my husband, our two kids, and I started our journey in our private car packed with our bags and baggage. The kids got ready with their stuff, including sports shoes, clothing for safaris, and a handbook of Kaziranga. They did not forget to carry their backpacks and hats too. 

On the way to Kaziranga, we had tea at Sivasagar, one of the famed historical towns of Assam, which has monuments and artificial lakes from the Ahom Kingdom. The kids were thrilled when they saw the first amphitheatre of Asia, Rongghar, which was used by the Ahoms kings to watch sports, games and other cultural events. Then we stopped for a short break at Dergaon, a bustling town of Golaghat. We enjoyed roti and lip-smacking madkai chicken in a small roadside restaurant. 

Family Photo

Around 2.30, we entered Kaziranga, nestled on the low hills and on the edge of the mighty Brahmaputra River. A World Heritage site, Kaziranga has a long story to tell. It spans a total of 430 square kilometers, divided into four ranges by the Forest Department. It is said that Wife of Lord Curzon-then Viceroy of India-was disappointed not spotting any one-horned rhinoceros while visiting a friend at Naharjan Tea Estate and persuaded Curzon to declare it as a protected area. Kaziranga’s journey from a protected reserve in 1908 to a game sanctuary, and from a wildlife sanctuary to national park (1974) and then finally to a world heritage site (1985), spans a period of more than a century. 

Kaziranga National Park occupies a respectable mark in world wildlife tourism because it has the largest population of one-horned rhinoceroses as well as large numbers of elephants, tigers, birds, various species of deer, wild buffaloes, and reptiles, just to name a few. Over the years, efforts by conservationists and forest officials have helped to increase the rhino population from just a few dozen to over 2,400 today. Birds found here include the endangered Bengal florican, the great Indian hornbill, the black-necked stork and the lesser adjutant stork.

Checking in at our pre-booked resort, we freshened up and had a cup of tea at the adjacent resort restaurant. It was a peak tourist season. All the hotels, resorts, and homestays were fully booked with domestic and international tourists. 

I felt Kaziranga awaited us with its abundance of natural beauty and engaging local flavors. It has a great deal to offer a wildlife enthusiast or a culture buff. The resort we booked is in Kohora Range, which is very near the Kaziranga National Orchid Park, an orchid research and breeding center run by a cooperative society engaging local artisans. I asked the manager of the resort, “Dada, should we go to Orchid Park or the Silk and Dye Festival now?” The man suggested with a pleasant smile, “It’s good time to visit the Silk and Dye Festival. You can visit Orchid Park tomorrow at noon after the jeep safari.”

Silk and Dye Festival

We headed towards Iora Resort, located in the Kohora or Central range on the left side of the NH 37. The Silk and Dye festival is organized by the Iora Resort to showcase the natural silk products of Assam as well as their natural dye process. Entering into the venue, we were struck by the cool ambience. The place was decorated beautifully and artistically with a stage and some vendors selling their handmade wares, including silk products of Assam. An announcement came from the organizers: a ramp walk by the models to showcase the Muga and Eri silk of Assam was upcoming. In the meantime, we had masala tea and the kids had pasties.

There was a display of the traditional silk production process and the life cycle of silkworms. Assam’s climate is suitable for Muga, Eri silk, and mulberry silk. A video was tuned to display the complete process of silk production from silk worms. The silkworm in its stage of caterpillar eats some leaves (the Muga silk worm eats Sum Paat, Eri silk worms eat Erapaat and mulberry silk worms eats mulberry leaves) and spin themselves into cocoons.  The cocoons are boiled to extract silk fibres, then dyed, spun and woven in traditional handlooms. The kids loved watching the caterpillars eating leaves. They were mesmerized to see a real caterpillar because in their science textbook they read about the life cycle of a butterfly. 

We explored the vendors. Such a plethora of unique items could not resist a shopaholic like me. Still, I recall a suggestion by the famed fashion designer of India, Tarun Tahiliani, who said, ”Buy less, buy quality.”  I purchased two eri scarves and home decor things, my husband purchased some dry flowers and other stuffs, and the kids purchased some bamboo products. The muga silk and eri silk products of Assam are too expensive in comparison to other clothes because silk production is work intensive.

We did not miss the ramp walk. Each model flamboyantly flaunted the eri and muga silk mekhela (traditional attires of Assamese women) along with other products like shawls. Manyntourists relaxed there, sipping Assam tea. We all enjoyed an evening full of music, tea, shopping, and the ramp walk. The first day ended with a sumptuous dinner at the resort itself. We will will cherish this time forever.

Jeep Safari 

We got up early and got ready by 6:30. At 7 am, the jeep we booked took us to the safari in the Kohora Range. I preferred the front seat with the jeep driver. My family sat in the back seat. Having completed the formalities at the entry gate, our driver entered the jungle. Lines of jeeps were moving together for the safari. A cool winter breeze was blowing. I told the kids to put on their mufflers and caps. It was a sensation for the kids going on a jeep safari inside Kaziranga. At first, they saw a herd of domesticated elephants taken by mahouts near the road. We preferred the jeep to the elephant safari as our kids might have felt scared riding on the back of an elephant. 

Family Photo

When our jeep ventured deeper inside, we spotted a one-horned rhinoceros lazing around in the morning sun. Our jeep guide told us several times that March is the best time to explore Kaziranga as the herds of rhinos come out for grazing in the newly sprouted grasslands after pre-monsoon rain. The kids took the first photograph of the Kaziranga tour. They shouted in joy. Our son asked so many times–“Is a rhino lazy animal?” Our jeep driver replied, “No, a rhino can run very fast.” The jeep driver, a jovial young boy, suggested we keep silent inside the jungle because the animals will not appear when people shout or create noise. 

After traveling one or two kilometers, we spotted a herd of hog deer with several horns. Our guide said, “A few species of deer are found in Kaziranga.” Then we gradually spotted wild buffaloes, lots of birds, tortoises, and two more one-horned rhinoceros. The most exciting discovery was seeing a big lizard-like colorful reptile sitting lazily on the branches of a broken tree. The kids hoped to see a Royal Bengal tiger but we did not have that luck. 

Besides a hotspot of one-horned rhinoceros, Kaziranga is known for its high tiger population. During the tour, a Golden Tiger was seen in Kaziranga by the forest workers, and the photograph of the majestic creature went viral. 

For three hours, we explored the Kohora range. Not only is Kaziranga a must-visit spot for the wildlife lovers. This national park of Assam also has a pristine beauty with its swamps, grasslands, rivers, streams, and wetlands.

We reached our resort around 1 pm and after freshening up and having lunch, we moved towards Orchid Park. 

Beyond Wildlife, the Orchid Park 

Our entire Kaziranga tour was enriched by our visit to the Kaziranga National Orchid Park, which houses a cultural stage along with many vendors, a museum, and a flower nursery. Entering into the orchid garden, we were surprised to see a wide variety of orchids nurtured in the park. A tour guide came forward and explained each orchid available there. Some orchids were blooming. Our daughter got excited by exploring the insectivorous orchid varieties and took some photographs for her friends. 

Visiting this orchid park, one may catch a glimpse of the culture of Assam. Some folk dances of Assam were performed by the artists to showcase the rich folk dances of various ethnic tribes of Assam. Because we are inhabitants of Assam, these dance forms were quite familiar to us, but the international tourists found  the rich cultural diversity of Assam mesmerizing. The museum too houses many artifacts, folk instruments, various other examples of Assamese cultural life. A restaurant there served pure Assamese thali, a staple diet at a very low price. 

The location of the park is in a low hills adjacent to a village.  We took a short drive to Mandu Resort, which offered a variety of activities like trekking, bonfires, and angling. We only explored the beautiful attractions on the outskirts of the resort. If we plan another tour to Kaziranga, we won’t miss a stay there. 

In the evening, we dined in an outdoor restaurant. As the whole day exhausted us, we went to bed early. The next morning, we started our return journey. 

Why should Kaziranga be included in the bucket list of a wildlife lover? A treasure trove of nature, culture and wildlife, this national park can soothe an aficionado of both art and culture. Kaziranga also has a great deal to offer from the scenic beauty of the Assamese countryside to one-horned rhinoceros. Kaziranga houses 68 percent of the Greater One-Horned Rhinoceros. It is incredible to watch these prehistoric-looking beasts grazing by the wetlands or lazing around in the midday sun. Though rhino sightings cannot be guaranteed, the probability is extremely high. An elephant safari is better than a jeep safari as elephants can enter the swamps and grasslands. One needs to book the elephant safari earlier. Kaziranga National Park can be reached both from the Guwahati airport or Dibrugarh Mohanbari Airport. 

Copyright © 2024 Prarthana Gogoi. All Rights Reserved.

Prarthana Gogoi is a writer hailing from Assam, a state of India known for the rich tea heritage and biodiversity. She writes non fiction on various socio-cultural themes exploring the rich cultural diversity of Assam. She is a teacher, a mother, and a coordinator of Uplift Libraries. She works passionately to inculcate reading habits among the rural students. She can be reached at prarthanagogoi269@gmail.com. 

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