Rhino Spotting in Kaziranga National Park

Expanding over 858 square kilometers on the southern bank of River Brahmaputra, Kaziranga National Park is home to approximately 2000 unique, intriguing and rare one-horned Indian Rhinoceros, which is two-third’s of the world’s total population of this species. The national park has been a preserved wildlife sanctuary since the 1940s and was declared a Tiger Reserve in 2006.

Spotting Rhinos in Kaziranga National park is the most famous activity in Assam and one of the most prominent attractions in North East India which attracts the majority of tourists to this region. The best time for rhino spotting is from the beginning of November until Early/mid-April after which the national park remains closed to tourists due to the monsoon season. Although riding on elephant back is considered the best way to tour the national park, you can also take a jeep ride to do the same.

Apart from the one-horned Rhino. the national park is home to a great diversity of flora and fauna. Kaziranga is home to 25 Globally endangered and 21 Near imperiled species of birds. It contains significant breeding populations of 35 mammalian variety, of which 15 are endangered as per the IUCN Red List. In addition to being the dwelling to the major chunk of world’s one-horned rhinos, Kaziranga National Park also houses world’s largest population of Wild Asiatic Water Buffalo and Eastern Swamp Deer. Kaziranga is one of the rare wild breeding territories outside Africa for varied species of large cats, such as leopards and Indian tigers (like the Royal Bengal Tiger).

Entry to the park is INR50 for Indians and INR500 for foreigners. The nearest places of accommodation include 3 tourist lodges inside the national park and four such lodges in Kohora. There are many tourist lodges in and around the area that you can book if you plan to spend a few nights in the wilderness. It’s totally worth it!