Kaziranga National Park (ASSAM)

Kaziranga National Park is a national park in the Golaghat and Nagaon districts of the state of Assam, India. A World Heritage Site, the park hosts two-thirds of the world's Great One-horned Rhinoceroses. The Kaziranga National Park area consists of 429.93 Sq.Km. with an additional area of 429.40 Sq.Km. The total area of the park within Nagaon district is 175 Sq.Km., out of which 135 Sq.Km. falls under Bagori Forest Range office and 40 Sq.Km. falls within Ghorakati Forest Range office. Located on the edge of the Eastern Himalaya biodiversity hotspot, the park combines high species diversity and visibility.

It is one of the significant natural habitat for in situ conservation of biological biodiversity of universal value. The values and criteria made Kaziranga National Park to get inscribed in the World Heritage Site List 1985. The park is home to large breeding populations of elephants, wild water buffalo, and swamp deer. Kaziranga is recognized as an Important Bird Area by Birdlife International for conservation of avifaunal species. Kaziranga is one of the few wild breeding areas outside Africa for multiple species of large cats, such as Indian Tigers and Leopards.Kaziranga was declared a Tiger Reserve in 2006 and has the highest density of tigers in the world (one per five km²), with a population of 86, as per the 2000 census.
Attractions

Elephant Festival at Kohora: Conceptualized in the year 2003, it is held every January end and entails some enticing activities like adventure sports, procession of decorated elephant, cultural shows, food festival etc.

Sightseeing in Kaziranga: You can enjoy a leisurely walk through the lush rubber and coffee plantations of Karbi Anglong, and the tea gardens of Hathkhuli, Methoni, Difalu, Behora Borchapori. A trip to the nearby Karbi or Mising Villages and acquainting with their living style in the hills can also be very interesting. The Kakochang waterfalls are about 13 km from Kaziranga.

TIMING AND FEE

Park charges are Entry Fee : Rs. 20 (Indians) & Rs. 250 (foreigners), Vehicle Entry : Rs. 200, Still Camera : Rs. 50 (Indians) & Rs. 500 (foreigners), Video Camera : Rs. 500 (Indians) & Rs. 1000 (foreigners), Safari : Rs. 120 (Indians) & Rs. 750 (foreigners).

Park Timings are 7:30 AM to 4 PM

The forest guard (can be hired at Baghori & Agaratoli) traveling with you on a safari doubles up as a guide. There are no fixed charges and you can tip him anywhere between Rs. 50-200.

HOW TO REACH KAZIRANGA NATIOAL PARK

AIR:Nearest airports are at Jorhat (97 km) and Guwahati (217 km). Jorhat is well connected by air to Kolkata which has the International Airport. The airport at Guwahati has regular flights to all major cities of India (including Kolkata).

RAIL: The nearest railway station is Furkating, 75 km from the Kaziranga National Park. Furkating is connected to Delhi through the Brahmaputra Mail and Chennai through the Dibrugarh Exp. Another option would be to travel to Guwahati and board trains for the metros and other important cities in India. For further details, you can log on to the official Indian Railway site (http://indianrail.gov.in).

ROAD: The Kaziranga National Park main gate is at Kohora on the NH-37. It is connected with the major cities like Guwahati, Tezpur, and Upper Assam through a network of private buses. Taxis and buses can be hired from Jorhat and Guwahati.

ACCOMMODATION
The southern fringe of the park has lots of good and affordable accommodation for the visitors. Kohora and Baghori have the major accommodation facilities. You can choose from various types of accommodations like Inspection Bungalows, forest rest houses, hotels and lodges.

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RAJAJI NATIONAL PARK

RAJAJI NATIONAL PARK

The park has been created in 1983 by amalgamation of three sanctuaries- Rajaji sanctuary(estd. 1948) Motichur sanctuary (estd. 1964) and Chilla sanctuary(estd. 1977) after the name of renowned statesman and freedom fighter Sri C. Rajgopalachariya - The first and last Governor General of independent India popularly known as "Rajaji". The park is spread over an area of 820.42 sq. km. in three Districts- Dehradun, Haridwar & Pauri Garhwal of Uttaranchal State, India. The majestic Ganges flows through the National Park for a distance of 24km .
The forest ecosystems of the Rajaji National Park are quite varied and diverse.It offers ample opportunities to nature lovers to enjoy the captivating landscape and wildlife.

WILDLIFE ATTRACTION

The park is home to the Tiger, Leopard, Himalayan Bear, Cheetal, hog deer, barking deer, Sambar deer, wild boar, antelopes such as the Nilgai, Goral , Jackal, Hyena, Jungle Cat, Leopard Cat, Civets, Himalayan Yellow-Throated Marten, Sloth Bears, Pythons, King Cobra, Common Krait, Indian Cobra and the Monitor Lizard and above All the Asian Elephant.

Inhabiting the dense green jungles that form the park are an impressive array of creatures - 23 species of mammals - including tigers, leopards, elephants, deer, jungle cat, wild boar and sloth bear - and 315 species of birds are found in Rajaji . The most prominent avian species include pea fowl, woodpeckers, pheasants, kingfishers and barbets, supplemented by a number of migratory species during the winter months. Besides that, the rivers which flow through the park harbour fish such as trout and mahseer.

HOW TO REACH RAJAJI NATIONAL PARK

Rajaji Park, which has several gates, is accessible from Dehradun, Kotdwar and Haridwar: the Ramgarh Gate and Mohand Gate are within 25 km of Dehradun; the Motichur, Ranipur and Chilla Gates are about 9 km from Haridwar; Kunao Gate is 6 km from Rishikesh; and Laldhang gate is 25 km from Kotdwar. Saharanpur, which is conveniently linked by train to other parts of India, is another attractive point to reach the Mohand area of the Park, in nearly an hour by road.

ACCOMODATION

A range of tourist accommodation is available at Rajaji's main campsite. There are Forest rest houses in the surrounding areas of the park. Accommodation is also available in private lodges and resorts outside the Park.

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Jim Corbett National Park (PROJECT TIGER)

Jim Corbett National Park

Jim Corbett National Park, the first wildlife reserve of India, extending over an area of more than 500 sq km in the Himalayan foothills. Corbett national park was established in 1936, as the Hailey National Park. In 1955-56 it has changed to Ramganga National Park and finally Jim Corbett National Park in the honor of legendary hunter-turned- conservationist, best known for hunting man-eating tigers and leopards in the Kumaon and lower Garhwal in the 1920s.

 Corbett National park is known for its varied wildlife, and as the site for the launching of Project Tiger. Corbett National Park was one of the nine tiger reserves created at the launch of the Project Tiger in 1973. The original area of the Corbett National Park was 323.75 sq. km. to which 197.07 sq. km. was added later. In 1991, an area of 797.72 sq km was added as buffer area of the Corbett Tiger Reserve.

The Main wildlife animals found in the Corbett National Park include the tiger, elephant, chital, sambar, nilgai, gharial, King Cobra, muntjac, wild boar, hedgehog, common musk shrew, flying fox, Indian Pangolin, and nearly 600 species of birds.

Visiting Season:
November-Mid June, The best period being February-April.

Timing

Winter Timings:
Entry:
Morning Safari: 0730 hrs
Evening Safari: 1500 hrs
Exit:
                                                                Morning Safari: 1030 hrs
                                                                Evening Safari: 1700 hrs

Summer Timings:                                             
Entry:
Morning Safari: 0630 hrs
Evening Safari: 1600 hrs
Exit:
Morning Safari: 0930 hrs
Evening Safari: 1800 hrs

HOW TO REACH CORBETT NATIONAL PARK

By Air

Phoolbagh, Pantnagar at a distance of 50-kms is the nearest airport. Delhi at a distance of 300-kms is the nearest international airport.

By Rail

Ramnagar(21 kms) is on the broad gauge track from where one can reach the park. For faster trains and connections to other parts one can avail form Moradabad.

By Road

Dhikala is 300-kms from Delhi, 145-kms from Lucknow and 51-kms from Ramnagar. The route from Delhi spans Hapur-Murababad-Ramnagar. The turn off is some 7-kms beyond Muradabad to the left, marked by a small board. The route from Lucknow spans Bareilly-Kichha-Rudrapur-Doraha-Kashipur. Ramnagar is served by frequent buses to and from Nainital and Ranikhet, 112-kms north

Accommodation and facilities:

The forest department and other agencies have their hotels, lodges, rest houses, log huts for the visitors.

Forest rest houses, log huts etc at Dhikala, forest rest houses at Sarapduli, Bijrani, and Ghairal offer some of the best stay in the region. There are many resorts along the periphery of the park which take the load off the governments accommodation facilities. To stay at the government hotels, rest houses etc make sure that reservations are done well in advance as the pressure is really high during the tourist seasons.

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