Kaziranga National Park & Tiger Reserve, Assam - A UNESCO World Heritage Site

About Kaziranga National Park

Assam is unarguably the epitome of natural beauty because of its exceptional wildlife and exquisite heritage. If you want to witness this Indian state's pinnacle magnificence, you cannot miss out on the Kaziranga National Park. This national park is spread across an area of 1,090 km², covering the Golaghat, Sontipur, Biswanath, and Nagaon districts of Assam. Surprisingly, this park hosts two-thirds of the world's Indian rhinoceroses and is noted as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Read ahead to explore more vital information about this national park, such as the top tourist spots, most-visited restaurants, etc., making your trip much more easily manageable.

The Best Time to visit Kaziranga National Park

First and foremost, the most crucial component when planning a trip, which most travelers neglect, is the travel season. People underestimate the significance of the travel month on their journey and select any time without contemplating much. The travel season influences whether you will receive affordable flight fares, congested crowds, and many other factors. So, choosing the appropriate duration for your tour is highly crucial. Below is a segregation of Kaziranga National Park travel season:

• Peak Season: The peak season to visit the Kaziranga National Park is November to February because the weather is pleasant, offering the best conditions for the birds and animals. This provides the best travel experience compared to other months, which is why the passenger volume is so high during this duration. However, it would be best to actively avoid this time period if you are looking for budget-friendly flights because the flight tickets and hotel rates are over the roof.
• Off-Season: Unlike the peak season, the off-season offers affordable flight fares, hotel accommodations, and dine-out places. The tourist crowd is extremely low during this season, which massively reduces travel and accommodation prices. The off-season for this park is from April to May. These months are closer to the closure date of this park, which is why the tourist crowds are fewer.
• Shoulder Season offers inexpensive flight fares and fewer crowds because it does not feature numerous visitors and also does not have highly-priced flight fares. The shoulder season of the Kaziranga National Park is from October to November. The weather conditions are pleasant during this season, with temperatures between 10 °C and 30°C. 

Places to visit/nearby Places

Choosing the best places for your trip is crucial to ensuring you get the most out of your journey within a limited duration and with minimal effort. However, tourists generally find selecting the locations to visit challenging, especially when visiting destinations that house numerous tourist attractions. Here's the solution for such travelers. Below are some recommendations of the best tourism spots in Kaziranga National Park that you must include in your plan to make your trip the most memorable and remarkable:

• Kakochang Waterfalls: One of the major tourist attractions of the Kaziranga National Park is the Kakochange Waterfalls. It is ideal for all kinds of visitors, including family, couples, friends, or solo trips. This is renowned primarily for being an excellent picnic spot surrounded by clear, gushing, and long waterfalls. Besides the riveting waterfalls, you will also witness massive greenery and diverse wildlife.
• Panbari Reserve Forest offers a wide variety of rare species of wildlife and birds. It is a must-include place when visiting because you can spot some endangered and rare species of animals, such as the Indian Hornbill, Pied Falconet, Speckled Piculet, and many others. In addition to the diverse animals, this forest also features lush vegetation.
• National Orchid Park, officially called the "Kaziranga National Orchid and Biodiversity Park," is a perfect place for flower admirers. It houses an adobe of more than 600 species of wild orchids, primarily from north-eastern India. To provide you with the utmost natural ambiance, this park is placed amidst a wild state, offering the most real and remarkable experience of getting close to nature.
• Manas National Park is another exceptional national park; without it, your trip will be incomplete. It is a renowned national park, Project Tiger Reserve, and an Elephant Reserve in Assam. The primary reason for its tourism is that it hosts some of the most endangered and rare species of animals, such as the Assam-roofed turtle, golden langur, wild water buffalo, etc. Furthermore, it houses the only known population of pygmy hogs in the world. 

Important things to remember

"A mass of ants can kill an elephant" is a very renowned saying, symbolizing the significance of ting things. This is why when planning the trip, focusing on the minute and negligible factors is highly crucial to ensure you do not spoil your tour and make the best trip ever possible. Here are some suggestions that you must consider regarding your Kaziranga National Park trip. Please review all the mentioned pointers individually to ensure you make the most secure, convenient, and comfortable tour without compromising with the adventures.

• Kaziranga National Park opens every year, allowing visitors from October 1 to May 30. For the rest of the months, from June to September, this park will stay closed due to heavy monsoons.
• Please contact their officials before your journey because they conduct different tour sessions throughout the day. This will help you to learn about their tour timings and types, such as Jeep Safari and Elephant Safari.
• Respect the wildlife and maintain a safe distance from their animals and other creatures to ensure you do not disturb their natural habitat. Please read their policies and protocols before you head on your trip.
• The Kaziranga National Park offers captivating views of greenery and surrounding wildlife. So, make sure to carry a camera on your trip so that you can capture this mesmerizing beauty.
• Remember to carry essential medications on your trip, such as Insect Bite Relief and sprain sprays. You may require these in the forest in case some insects bite you or you may injure yourself while traveling.

Famous Food

One of the most interesting specialties of India is that each state has its own uniqueness in terms of culture, tradition, and food. So, planning a trip to Kaziranga National Park and not tasting their cuisine would be the biggest blunder. The Assamese culinary offers some of the most flavorsome dishes you will ever taste in your life. Though their cuisine offers a wide variety of foods and beverages, the below are the most prominent and palatable ones.

• Masor Tenga
• Aloo Pitika
• Bamboo Shoot Fry
• Assamese Thali
• Paror Mangxo
• Duck Meat Curry

Famous Restaurants

Even though Assamese cuisine is unquestionably one of the most scrumptious cuisines of India, if you want to take your gastronomical experience much higher, you must select the best dine-out places. Kaziranga National Park is not only the hub for natural tourist spots but also houses myriad restaurants. If you are confused about which place to choose for your dine-out, here are some suggestions, including some of the best restaurants in Kaziranga National Park. Go through their reviews and pick the most suitable one.

• Maihang Restaurant Kaziranga
• Scarlet Flame, Iora, The Retreat, Bogorijuri
• Bbl Palace Resort Cum Restaurant
• Hornbill Restaurant
• Curry in Hurry
• Highway Cafe

Things to Shop

Going on a trip and coming back without shopping for anything kills one of the most vital, exciting, and fun elements of your journey. Shopping is a must, especially when visiting a place like Assam, home to some of the most precious and captivating products and items, including garments, eateries, decor items, and more. The below pointers discuss some of the most prominent items that you can buy from the Kaziranga National Park:

• Bamboo and Cane Furniture
• Assamese Silk Sarees
• Assamese Jewelry
• Tea Leaves
• Handicrafts and Handlooms

How to reach Kaziranga National Park

First-time visitors who are new to this place may find transportation quite a big challenge. Moreover, the Kaziranga National Park attracts tourists from all over the world, so relying on one transportation medium is not ideal. Therefore, knowing about all the varied conveyance facilities to reach this destination would be best. Below are the different transportation mediums to reach this place, which also offer connectivity to the major cities and tourism spots around this park.

• Flight Connectivity: Almost all major airlines, including Air India, Jet Airways, Air Asia, and many others, provide flight connectivity to the Kaziranga National Park. The nearest international airport to this park is Lokpriya Gopinath Bordoloi International Airport (185 km). Multiple domestic airports are also near this location, including Tezpur Airport (41.4 km), Jorhat Airport (139 km), Lilabari Airport (215 km), etc.
• Railway Connectivity: The most commonly used medium to reach this park is railway transportation. The nearest railway station to the concerned park is situated at Furkating (75 Km) - Furkating Junction Railway Station. Besides this station, various other stations provide connectivity to this park, located at Helem (30 km), Jorhat (90 km), etc. All the major Indian railways offer rail connectivity to this park.
• Bus Connectivity: The Kaziranga National Park can also be accessed via road through the bus services. You can easily find both private and government bus services for this route. It can be reached through multiple national highways, such as NH 37, NH 27, NH 715, NH 27, and others. The nearest bus stops to this park are available in Tezpur, Dimapur, Guwahati, and other cities in Upper Assam.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

What are the operating hours of the Kaziranga National Park?

The answer to this question is not straightforward because their operating hours depend on the type of tour package you have selected. For instance, the Jeep Safari morning timings are from 7 a.m. to 9:30 a.m., whereas the afternoon schedule is from 1:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. Please note that the Kaziranga National Park opens each year from October 1 to May 30, and for the rest of the months, it does not allow visitors.

How much is the Kaziranga National Park visiting fee?

Knowing the park's visiting fee is as crucial as knowing its operating hours. The Kaziranga National Park entry fee per person per day is Rs. 650. In addition to the entrance charge, you are also required to pay the cost of the tour session you want to enjoy. For example, the seat charges for Elephant Safari per trip per day are Rs. 1,250. Please get in touch with their technical team or visit their official website to know the precise rates for their trip sessions.