NATIONAL PARKS OF INDIA

Situated along the banks of famous Brahmaputra River in the Nagaon and Golaghat districts of Assam, Kaziranga National Park is the oldest national park of the state. It covers an area of about 430 Sq kms.

Brief History
The park was first established in the year 1905 by the initiative of Lord Curzon, then Viceroy of India. The area was finally deemed a national park in 1968 and a tiger reserve in 2006. The UNESCO declared it a World Heritage Site in 1985.

Flora
The vegetation covers of the national park include tropical semi-evergreen forests, tropical moist evergreen forests, long thickets of elephant grasses and short grasses. Rattan Cane, lotus, water hyacinth and water lilies are some of the important floras of the park.

Fauna
Around 70 percent of the country's total one-horned Indian rhinoceros population is found here. The other animals of the park include tigers, wild buffalo, elephants, panthers, Barasingha, Otters, Hoolock Gibbons, Monitor Lizards, Pythons, etc.

Avian-fauna
The park is also a birding paradise. Myriads of colourful and rare bird species such Pallas's Fishing Eagle, Oriental Honey Buzzard, Himalayan Griffon, etc can be sighted here.

How to get there
The main gate of Kaziranga National Park is located at Kohora which falls on Guwahati-Jorhat route. Most local and ASTC buses stop here during their trip to and from Tezpur, Guwahati and Upper Assam. The nearest airport is at Jorhat which is about 97-km away and Guwahati 217-km away. The airport has direct flights to Kolkata. The nearby railhead is at Furkating (75-km away).

Accommodation
Lodging is available in the Government Tourist Lodge. Certain private hotels and guest rooms are also available at Jorhat, Furkating and Guwahati.

Tourist information
Kaziranga National Park, National Highway 37, Bokakhat, Golaghat, Assam - 785609, India.
Phone: 03776 268 007
Email: info@kaziranga-national-park.com
Ideal months to visit: November -April
Closed: June to September
Visiting hours: 5:15 am to 3:30 pm; the closing hours are subjected to seasonal deviation in climate.