Kaziranga - Abode of Great Single Horned Rhino

Posted by Nbhat

It was much awaited trip(there were many yes and no but thankfully no run outs at the end) and anxiety to see the Rhinos. Though I was told that probability of sighting the rhinos was high, thoughts of many a wild safaris where I had to come back without sighting was making me think about the worse again and again.. Much to the relief we had a wonderful jeep safari in the first afternoon. That was followed by a Elephant safari which took us close to the rhinos. Next was another jeep safari though there were not many wildlife sightings but then that was made up by the cloudy weather, some drizzle and plenty of bird sightings. Prize bird sightings included - Grey Headed Eagle and Bar Headed Geese(its migratory bird and flies so high at which petrol cant catch fire to the scarcity of oxygen). Overall it was a great experience.

Getting there
Kaziranga is 5 hours from Guwahati. Plenty of transport options available from Guwahati. Kingfisher operates daily flights to Guawahati to from Bangalore.

What to expect
One can get into the park between 9:00 AM to 3:00 PM on a jeep.
Kaziranga has three regions
Western region - Where density of Rhinos is high and this where you can see elephants among the elephant grass! Good option for a afternoon safari. Morning elephant safari operated from here will take close to the rhinos.

From Captured during elepahant safari at Western region, Kaziranga

Central region - Has good density of big two and good place to sight greay headed eagle. When we went in weather was not on our side, it was cloudy and drizzled but it was a very pleasant drive. Due to the weather we could not see any rhinos. But managed to see grey headed eagle and bar headed geese.

From Grey headed eagle captured at, Central Region, Kaziranga

Eastern region - Has many "Bheel"s. Bheel is a water body and has good concentration of birds. This is good region to go for the bird watchers.

Where to stay

Bon Hobbi and Wild Grass are the good options to stay. We stayed on Bon Hobbi - good food, good accommodation and they arranged our safaris very well. Wild grass is also good and they see your needs and customize the itinery per your needs.

Souverniers
Guwahati is a good place to buy wooden carved rhinos in different sizes.

Kaziranga