Down Memory Lane: To wilderness in Kaziranga National Park

Kaziranga National Park, Assam, India

I am writing this post as I think of my young travel days with family.

All Images from Google and Parent Company Websites

Winter, 2002 in Kaziranga, Assam

I was born and brought up in a small town of Sibsagar, in the tea producing state of Assam, India. The distance from Sibsagar to Kaziranga National Park is about 4 hours.

Kaziranga is the home to the one-horned rhinoceros. It hosts about two-thirds of the world’s great one-horned rhinoceroses and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site (as of 1985)

We started in the morning, about 10 am from Sibsagar. My dad was in the driver’s seat and we drove all the way to Kaziranga, crossing Gaurisagar and Jorhat.

Map of Kaziranga National Park (Image from nagaon.nic.in)

We reached there by afternoon – around 2:30 pm. We had reservations at the Wild Grass Lodge. This lodge is one of the oldest of its kind, with remnants of colonial days. Gazebos, furniture and decor all reflecting the nuances of the British Raj.

We had lunch at the lodge’s restaurant. Very regal and rich array of Assamese food – all a-la-carte. The menu had description and a little history for each of the food items.

At 5:00 pm, we checked in to the rooms for some rest.

Wild Grass has lodge towers that housed a few rooms, some buildings also had stand-alone cabins for bigger parties

At 7:00 pm, evening entertainment began. There was bon-fire, finger-food and Assamese song and dance (Bihu)

Dinner was served at 8:30 pm.

The next morning – elephant ride to the National Park.

It was chilly. Foggy. We had our long johns on, head and ears covered in monkey caps.

Too afraid to sit on the elephant’s back, clasping on to my mom’s hands.

But once the ride began, it was all too serene ~ on to a different land.

Tall grasses, so green, so pure, so serene

Elephant Ride (Image from www.northeasttoday.in)

There! Rhino…………………………………and deer and another rhino

One Horned Rhino (Image from zeenews.com)

Its beautiful.

The trip ended with lunch at the restaurant (in Wild Grass) and then we drove back home.

I recommend a visit to the Kaziranga National Park to enjoy the wildlife and Assam’s amazing nature.

Know more about Wild Grass Lodge and its National Park Packages here

How to get to Kaziranga National Park

Closest international airport to Kaziranga is Guwahati (Lokpriya Gopinath Bordoloi International Airport). From Guwahati, its a 3.5 hours drive to the National Park.

Here is a picture of the Royal Couple visiting Kaziranga