Kaziranga National Park

Kaziranga National Park

wildlife park · Assam

Kaziranga covers over 430 square kilometres of alluvial floodplain along the southern bank of the Brahmaputra in Assam.

State
Assam
Type
Wildlife Park
Best season
Winter
Things to do
3+

Kaziranga covers over 430 square kilometres of alluvial floodplain along the southern bank of the Brahmaputra in Assam. It is marsh country, thick with towering elephant grass, shallow reed swamps and stands of open sal forest. More than two-thirds of the world's surviving one-horned rhinos live here. The park is divided into four safari ranges and run under strict rules. Bagori is the popular one for early-morning elephant-back safaris, which get you close to rhinos grazing in the mist without disturbing them.

A short history

Declared a reserve forest in 1908 on the initiative of Mary Curzon, wife of the Viceroy, after she reportedly failed to see a single rhino on a visit — the area then held only a handful. It became a national park in 1974 and is now credited with bringing the greater one-horned rhinoceros back from near-extinction.

Why Kaziranga National Park matters

A UNESCO World Heritage Site, home to two-thirds of the world's one-horned rhinoceros population.

How many people come

4 lakh

national park in 2023 · Assam Forest Dept (park statistics)

When to go

Safaris run 1 November to 30 April, and November to February is the cool, dry stretch of that.

Why visit

Kaziranga holds roughly two-thirds of the world's one-horned rhinos, and you will see them; this is not a park where you hope. Shut through the monsoon, open around November to April, and the Bagori range in the west has the highest density.

Cultural notes

Kaziranga was declared a protected forest in 1905 after Baroness Curzon took up its cause in person, and UNESCO inscribed it as a World Heritage Site in 1985. The fragile riverine habitat it preserves now carries a high density of Royal Bengal tigers as well as Asian elephants and rare migratory birds.

How to reach

The closest airport is Jorhat Airport (97 km away), though Lokpriya Gopinath Bordoloi International Airport in Guwahati (220 km) is widely used. The nearest railhead is Jakhalabandha station, 20 km from the core gates, reached by National Highway 715.

Kaziranga National Park guide & itineraries

Popular attractions

The places in Kaziranga National Park most people come for.

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