Place Details:
Located in Assam at a distance of 194 km from Guwahati, the Kaziranga National Park is a world heritage site and arguably India’s finest wildlife sanctuary. The wildlife park is famous for its one-horned rhinoceroses. In fact, two thirds of the world’s rhino population can be found here. Kaziranga is also home to the Indian tigers and is also a tiger reserve.
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The Kaziranga Proposed Reserve Forest was created in June 1905 with an area of 232 sq km. In the next three years, the park area was extended by 152 sq km on the banks of Brahmaputra River. In 1908, Kaziranga was designated a Reserve Forest. In 1916, it was converted to a game sanctuary, The Kaziranga Game Sanctuary. In 1938, hunting was prohibited and visitors were permitted to enter the park.
The government of Assam passed the Assam (Rhinoceros) Bill in 1954, which imposed heavy penalties for rhinoceros poaching. Fourteen years later, in 1968, the state government passed ‘The Assam National Park Act of 1968’, declaring Kaziranga a designated national park. In 1985, Kaziranga was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO.
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A few tips:
- The park remains closed for visitors from mid-April to mid-October due to monsoon rains.
- Take binoculars and warm clothing along.
- There is an interpretation centre at the Bagori range of Kaziranga to help visitors learn more about the park.
- Hiking is prohibited in the park to avoid potential human-animal conflicts. However, observation towers are situated at few places for tourists to enjoy the beauty of the park.
- It is fun to take the one-hour elephant-back rides, and watch when a team of elephants makes pincer movements, surrounding the rhinos without frightening them off.
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November to May is the tourist season and so the rooms here are generally fully booked during that time. Most of the hotels are located close to the park. Budget rooms are available at Rs 1,000 and provide reasonably comfortable accommodation. Deluxe rooms cost less than Rs 3,000 and offer air-conditioned rooms and also coffee shop facility.
Suites in luxury hotels and wildlife resorts are available in Kaziranga, ranging from Rs 3,000 to Rs 5,000. These hotels offer state of the art facilities like pool, bar, safety vaults, currency exchange and health club, multi-cuisine restaurant. Royal treatment is offered to guests and one can also avail rooms with an aesthetic view of the sanctuary here.
BEST TIME TO VISIT GUWAHATI
The average minimum and maximum temperature of Guwahati is as given below. The best time to visit Guwahati is also specified.