UIET,’ SAYS NATURALIST
Subash Sawsa, as he stops his
4x4 and steps onto the trail,
scanning the brush beside the
track. It’s half an hour after
dawn, and a hush has fallen
over the plains of Kaziranga.
Across the river, a shrill bark with an edge of
panic pierces the silence.
‘Deer’s alarm call,’ Subash whispers, eyes
shining in the half-light. ‘Tiger is nearby.’ He
drops to one knee and peers into the gloom,
scanning the landscape for movement. And
then, as quickly as it arrived, the moment
passes. Birdsong breaks the silence. A water
buffalo emerges along the riverbanks, horns
nudging out from the head-high reeds.
Kaziranga is one of India’s most important
tiger strongholds. The last census estimated
the population at between 100 and 110,
giving Kaziranga the highest tiger density
of any of India’s national parks.
‘Usually, you feel a tiger long before you
see one,’ Subash says, as his 4x4 judders
along a trail in the park’s western range.
‘But sometimes they appear out of nowhere,
so we must be careful.’ He looks over to the
ranger sitting in the passenger seat, a rifle
butt wedged between his knees. ‘Insurance
policy,’ Subash says, with a toothy grin.
Tiger sightings are rare, even in Kaziranga,
but there’s a wealth of other wildlife to see.
- Kaziranga National Park
Spot rhinos, water buffalo, wild elephants and, with luck,
perhaps even a tiger, in Assam’s biggest nature reserve
From Kaziranga, head east, following the Brahmaputra
River upstream for three hours towards Jorhat, then
hop aboard the ferry to Majuli.The park is split into three ranges – West,
Central and East – each with a different
habitat: some marshy and wet, others flat
and savannah-like, cloaked in grassland and
trees. It’s a haven of wildness, and home to
some of India’s most endangered species,
including the one-horned rhinoceros,
Asiatic water buffalo, swamp deer, Indian
muntjac and clouded leopard.
Kaziranga owes its origins to hunting. But
in 1904, Mary Curzon, wife of the Viceroy of
India, visited and failed to spot a single rhino.
She lobbied her husband to protect the park’s
dwindling wildlife. It was designated as a
game reserve in 1905, becoming a national
park in 1974, a Unesco World Heritage site
in 1985, and a tiger reserve in 2006.
Happily, the rhinos have since staged an
impressive comeback. There are now some
2,400 inside the park, accounting for two-
thirds of India’s entire population. Although
poaching remains a problem, conservation
efforts have allowed them to flourish.
‘Rhinos often come here for salt,’ Subash
says, stopping beside a salt lick near an
elephant apple tree. As if on cue, a mother
rhino lumbers out from the undergrowth,
tail swishing, ears twitching. Moments later,
a baby rhino pokes its head out from the
grass, nudging against its mother’s legs.
Later, at dusk, Subash parks his 4x4 at one
of his favourite hides. It’s a creek fringed byreeds and overhanging trees, leading out
into a broad, silver lake. Mist is drifting off
the water, tinted pink by the setting sun.
‘Tigers like to drink here,’ says Subash,
scanning the shoreline with a pair of
binoculars. He watches for another
half-hour as the sky shifts from pink to
purple to black, and stars sprinkle the
darkening sky. Then he coaxes his vehicle
into life, grinds it into gear and rattles off
towards the park gates.
‘Sorry,’ Subash says ruefully. ‘No tiger
today – but there is always tomorrow.’Kaziranga’s elephant
population is growing year on
year. RIGHT To stay safe from
wild animals, visitors may only
explore the park by 4x4Borgos Hotel is opposite the gates for
Kaziranga’s Central Range, making it perfect
for an early-morning safari. Rooms are huge,
with gargantuan beds and views over lawned
gardens. Indian, Western and Chinese cuisine
is served in the restaurant (rooms from £85;
kazirangaborgos.com).
4x4 safaris run into Kaziranga from 7am–3pm
daily (fee £8 per person, £3.60 toll per vehicle,
£2.40 per camera; kaziranga.assam.gov.in).Essentials