Kaziranga National Park

Kaziranga National Park lies on the southern bank of the Brahmaputra River in the Indian state of Assam, spread across Golaghat, Nagaon, Sonitpur and Biswanath districts. It covers about 430 square kilometres in its core, with later additions enlarging the protected area. The main entry point is Kohora, on the national highway between Guwahati and Jorhat.

Kaziranga was proposed as a reserve forest in 1905 to save the dwindling rhino population, declared one in 1908, became a wildlife sanctuary in 1950 and a national park in 1974. UNESCO listed it as a World Heritage Site in 1985, and it was declared a tiger reserve in 2006.

The landscape is a mix of tall elephant grass, marshes, shallow lakes called beels and patches of tropical forest, renewed each year by the Brahmaputra floods. The park is home to about two-thirds of the world's greater one-horned rhinoceroses, along with Asian elephants, wild water buffalo, eastern swamp deer, hog deer, tigers and many birds, including pelicans, storks and raptors. It is recognised as an Important Bird Area.

Visitors explore by jeep safari in four ranges, Central (Kohora), Western (Bagori), Eastern (Agaratoli) and Burapahar, and by early morning elephant safari in some ranges. Lodges and resorts stand along the highway outside the park.

The park is open to visitors from about October or November to April and closes during the monsoon floods. Entry permits, vehicle fees and camera fees are paid at the range offices, with higher rates for foreign visitors.

How did Kaziranga come to be protected? Mary Curzon, wife of the Viceroy of India Lord Curzon, visited the area in 1904 and saw no rhinos. She persuaded her husband to act, and the Kaziranga Proposed Reserve Forest was created on 1 June 1905, covering 232 square kilometres. The origin of the name is uncertain. Local stories link it to a couple named Kazi and Rawnga who vanished into the forest, while another theory traces it to Karbi words.

The park counts about 2,400 greater one-horned rhinos, the largest population in the world, and about 1,940 Asian elephants. Annual rainfall is about 2,220 mm, most of it falling between June and September, when floods spread across the grasslands and animals move to higher ground. Highlands built inside the park and crossing points over the national highway help them escape the water.

Safaris and seasons. The park opens to tourists after the floods recede, usually in October, with the Central (Kohora) and Western (Bagori) ranges opening first. Jeep safaris run in morning and afternoon slots, and permits are booked through the Assam forest department or local lodges. Entry, jeep, guide and camera fees are charged separately, with higher rates for foreign visitors, and safari prices differ by range. Jorhat airport is the nearest to the eastern side of the park, and Guwahati has the main international flights to the region.