Assam is perhaps
best-known for two things; tea and the one-horned
rhinoceros, which is found in large numbers at
Kaziranga National park.
Kaziranga, is one of the most visited wildlife
reserves of India and figures quite often on the
itinerary of the discerning tourists from around
the world. There are several ways of getting to
Kaziranga: you can either fly to Jorhat and then
drive to Kaziranga or rent a car or take a bus
from Guwahati. The route to this national park,
which is full of wetlands and some forests apart
from the tall elephant grass, is scenic.
One will find and women fishing in the bells
or ponds, children diving into the inviting water
on a warm day, coconut sellers hawking their waters
by the roadside and boys on buffalo back in paddy
fields, in the near distance, the blue hills of
Arunachal Prdesh beacon you will passé
the town of Jagiroad, where the Assam has an outlet
and the town of Nagoan.
14 kms from Nogaon is Boroda, the birth place
of the Assamese saint and reformer, Sankardeva,
who led a 16th century revival movements of Vaishnavism.
Kaziranga is spread over more than 430sq. kms
and is the place where one of the last creatures
of the prehistoric age, the rhinoceros lives.
The lumbering beasts are easy to spot even from
the National Highway, which passed by the sanctuary.
They are best viewed from atop an elephant and
there are early morning elephant rides for tourist,
which must be booked in advance at the tourist
center in Kaziranga.
There are jeep safaris as well, and these can
be organized at the center. At the sanctuary,
you can sight, herds of wild elephants, the massive
wild buffalo, huge numbers of deer-the hog deer
the bara singla or twelve antlered and the large
and stately sambhar. Wildboar abound as do many
water birds as well as migratory species, including
hombills, strocks, such as the great Adjutant
Strok cranes.
Places to Visit in Assam
Guwahati,
Kaziranga,
Tezpur
|