Assam : Day 3-4 Kaziranga

 

This was originally posted in a saree group on November 5th. Travel was on November 4th and 5th

Friday morning we were on the road by 7 am as it was going to be a 6 hours drive from Shillong to Kaziranga. We had to make it on time for an afternoon safari . Our driver took a diversion off the national highway. This route gave us a neat glimpse of rural Assam. There were long stretches of rice fields. Small villages filled with abundant banana plants, hibiscus bushes, coconut and betel nut trees. As we got closer to Kaziranga tea plantations started to make an appearance. Also seen flanking the road were several stalls selling goods made out of bamboo and wood. 

We reached our hotel around 1 pm. Freshened up in our room and found a restaurant on the premises that served Assamese food. A vegetable thali gave a good sampler of familiar vegetables cooked in an entirely different style from what I am used to. It was simple yet very refreshing. There was use of wasabi and mustard oil which are not used in Maharashtrian cuisine. 

 Our guide arrived promptly in his jeep to pick us up for the afternoon safari. Here began the wonder. Kaziranga is recognized as a UNESCO Heritage Site. It has 4 entrances or gates. Our first safari was from the West gate.Just a few minutes into the park we spotted the star member that we had come to see. The one horned rhinoceros! It’s two horned counterpart we had seen earlier in Africa. The one horned rhino had not too long ago become a threatened species. Thanks to the intervention by animal loving groups and the government’s strict anti-poaching laws that were enforced, this species has made a remarkable come back in numbers in recent years. The program to protect the rhinos has a two pronged approach. On one hand there are efforts to create alternative sources of income for the people who resorted to poaching. Home stays and craft training are some of the ways to earn them a living. On the other hand there is deterrent policy. The surveillance team has orders to shoot poachers on the spot. As a result every subsequent year the number of poaching incidents have been dropping. Last year they had a single incident which is a big victory for the team. Current estimates are about 2600 rhinos in Kaziranga. There are some found also in Nepal. 

As we drove further into the park we saw more and more of these rhinos grazing in the grasslands. The landscape was covered with marshes and ponds filed with water hyacinths. A few of the  rhinos soaked themselves in the mud in these ponds amidst the flowers. It amazed me how sharp the eyes and ears of our guide/ driver were to spot these “hiding” rhinos as well as water buffaloes, elephants and birds in the distance. We saw many species of herons, storks and other birds like kingfisher, wagtails, neelkanth and eagles in those 3-4 hours. 

The next morning safari was from a different gate. The landscape had more elephant grass and Arjun trees than the water hyacinths seen the day before. Also there weren’t much rhinos or elephants seen in the open. The birds mostly stole the show. Got a glimpse of a pair of asiatic otters crossing the road, a barking deer and several hog deer. A tiger calling raised hopes of many like us but the sighting proved elusive. 

No tiger, no problem! The safari ride concluded with a stop at the Hathikuli tea estate and shop as well as some vendors selling carved wooden rhinos, bamboo crafts and textile goods. 

Saree for the visit to the site was an Assamese cotton celebrating some of the inhabitants of the forest.

Unfortunately couldn’t get good pictures focusing on the saree. One taken at the tea estate and other in the gardens of the resort we stayed. Felt like a child again on the swing.