A World Heritage Site, Kaziranga is famous for its sightings of India’s one-horned rhino. The park is recognised as a unique biodiversity treasure because of its incredible range of fauna and flora and varied habitats. Grasslands, marshes and tropical forests cover the vast expanse that stretches from the Brahmaputra River to the forested Mikir Hills. The thriving population of one-horned rhino is 1800-strong and represents over two-thirds of the world’s total population.
In addition to these archaic beasts, Kaziranga also offers exceptional sightings of wild Asian elephant and Asiatic wild buffalo, as well as barasingha swamp deer, sloth bear, wild boar, the Hoolock gibbon (India’s only ape), langurs and macaques. The dense vegetation is the ideal habitat for many species of large cats, and there are rare viewing opportunities of tiger, leopard and jungle cat. The highly endangered Gangetic dolphin can be found the Brahmaputra River, and in its tributary, the Dipholu, there are also smooth-coated otters. To cap it all, the reserve is a birdwatcher’s paradise, with almost 500 species of resident and migratory species.
A rhino-spotting safari on elephant-back | The everyday sounds and sights of one of India’s last great wildernesses
− The modern day population of Indian one-horned rhinos (1800) is up from just 200 in 1904
− The Hoolock gibbon is India’s only ape