Assam boasts two out of India’s five UNESCO environmental World Heritage sites, and we have devised this 7-night package to provide visits to both these sites, Manas and Kaziranga National Parks, together with a short cruise on the mighty Brahmaputra River and an exploration of the little-visited Or

Highlights:

Assam boasts two out of India’s five UNESCO environmental World Heritage sites, and we have devised this 7-night package to provide visits to both these sites, Manas and Kaziranga National Parks, together with a short cruise on the mighty Brahmaputra River and an exploration of the little-visited Orang National Park. Manas enjoys stunning scenery, backed by the jungle-covered hills of Bhutan, while Kaziranga boasts a wide range of easily seen wildlife, the many rhinoceros being the outstanding f

Day wise breakup:

Day 01: Manas
Met at Guwahati airport or at Samdrup Jonghkar ( Bhutan border) and driven for 4 hours/3 hours to Manas National Park, on the border with Bhutan , checking in to the simple ABN Bansbari Lodge. This Project Tiger reserve is now recovering well from earlier unrest – the tiger count is now estimated at around 30, and wild elephant number some 500. At extra cost we can arrange transport from the Bhutan border crossing further west at Phuntsoling

Day 02: Manas National Park
We take an early morning elephant ride through grassland, hopefully seeing several different species of deer and monkeys, as well as some of the park’s 380 different species of birds, perhaps including the rare Bengal Florican or the Great Hornbill. After breakfast, we walk through a local village, visit the nearby tea garden and see Bodo tribal handweaving. If time permits, we will see working elephants bathing in the nearby Beki River before carrying on by jeep to Mothanguri Lodge to see th

Day 03: Guwahati
We drive back to Guwahati this morning via Hajo, a place sacred to Hindus, Moslems and Buddhists. We visit a Moslem shrine with extensive hilltop views over the surrounding rural landscape, as well as the simple hindu temple with its frieze of elephants and its sacred tank full of great carp, catfish and turtles. After lunch at an idyllic private estate, we reach Guwahati and are taken on a short sightseeing tour of the city. Drive up Nilachal Hill to see the holy Kamakhya temple. With its tantr

Day 04: In Cruise (Guwahati)
The day is spent cruising upstream, with hills rising on either side. Battling against strong currents, we reach an idyllic stop at Ganesh Pahar, where we can explore on foot a delightfully serene hinterland lying under jungle-covered slopes.

Day 05: In Cruise
Leaving the hills behind, we enjoy our first taste of the wilderness experience, sand banks like icebergs on either side. We may make a short stop to visit a bankside village, creating a sensation as we do. We moor for the night in a lunar landscape of sand islands, with hopefully the Himalayas in view and providing a contrasting backdrop in the distance.

Day 06: Kaziranga National Park
Rising early, we say goodbye to our ship and take to our country boat for a cruise up a side stream into the Orang National Park. Here in this rarely visited park we mount elephants or take jeeps and ride through forest and grassland looking for rhino, deer and other wildlife. We then rendezvous with our transport and are driven to Tezpur, where we visit the 6 th century Da Parbatia temple ruins with a beautifully carved portal, before carrying on across a seemingly endless new bridge to Kaziran

Day 07: Kaziranga’s Central Range
We rise at dawn and drive for a few minutes to Kaziranga’s Central Range for an early morning elephant ride, the best way to get really close to the rhino and other animals. After breakfast back at the lodge, we walk through terraced tea gardens and past a Karbi tribal village, then drive to a Mising tribal village, with their distinctive houses raised on piles. After lunch we take a jeep safari in the Western Range, and scan the wilderness from an observation tower..

Day 08: Guwahati
An early start for the 4 hour drive back to Guwahati airport, or 2 ½ hr transfer to Jorhat airport. Alternatively prolong your stay at Kaziranga, subject to availability.