Kaziranga, Nameri and Hoollongappar: Information & Tips

 

See my photo-essay from Kaziranga, Nameri & Hoollongappar here

Travelled in: February 2012

 

Overall Itinerary:

Bangalore – Guwahati - Nameri (3 nights) - Kaziranga (5 nights) - half-day trip to Hoollongappar –Guwahati - Bangalore. The total trip was for 8 nights / 9 days.

Overall trip cost:

The 8N / 9N trip cost me INR 20,500 (all expenses, every penny I spent) excluding flights from & to Bangalore. This cost was on a 4-sharing basis for safaris and twin sharing basis for rooms. Individual break-ups for Kaziranga, Nameri and Hoollongappar are mentioned in the respective sections. This cost is for the travel date of Feb 2012.

Kaziranga

Getting to Kaziranga:

Kaziranga can be accessed via Guwahati, Assam’s capital. Guwahati is well connected by flights from most major cities. Guwahati is also accessible via a long train journey from many parts of the country. Most early morning flights to Guwahati, except from Delhi or Kolkata, have 1 stop and land there by noon. There is a restaurant serving basic food right opposite the airport and is a convenient place to eat lunch before you drive on. Budget for a 5-hour drive, to reach Kaziranga by evening (though we did manage it in 4.5 hrs on one of the drives). You can begin your safaris the next morning onwards.

 A tip - Definitely hire an air-conditioned vehicle, even in winter. Most of the Kaziranga-Guwahati road is extremely dusty. We made the mistake of hiring a non-AC vehicle and reached our destination looking like we'd emerged from the earth.

When to go:

Jan & Feb are the best months as the forest is filled with winter migrant birds. The park is closed during the monsoon period from approx. May till October. Carry woolens for early mornings in winter.

The safari arrangement:

Safaris can be arranged through your hotel. It is advisable to book the safaris weeks or months in advance, when you book your room. Last minute permits may be difficult to arrange for, especially during peak season.

Wildgrass's (where I stayed) USP has to be its guides. Most of them have worked here since they were young and are passionate about wildlife. Our guide was Nekib and he was fabulous - excellent spotting skills, ID skills and information about flora & fauna. He could also anticipate our camera angles and guide the driver to stop accordingly. Other guides with good recommendations (who guided our friends): Palash & Kunwar. Actually, all guides at Wildgrass are known to be good so there should be no worries on that front.

The worry is the gypsy. Wildgrass gypsies have seats facing sideways. Also, they're too small for 4 people with large cameras. After our disastrous experience in it on our first safari, we hired a gypsy with front-facing seats from an external agency, for our other 9 safaris, at a marginal extra cost (Rs.300 extra per safari). Wildgrass helped arrange for this gypsy.

Our Gypsy driver was Nando. He was from the external agency from which we hired the Gypsy with front-facing seats.

The safaris: 

The Eastern zone is very good for birding and has fewer mammal sightings in comparison to the sheer variety of bird-life you see. Visit this zone in the morning, for good light. The Western zone is good for safaris in the evening light. The Central zone has areas where you can watch ‘murmurations’ at sunset which leave you spellbound, if you care to spend some time waiting for it without scouting around for other mammals & birds.

Wildgrass and most other resorts are close to the Central Zone. To visit other zones, plan to leave early.

Morning safaris – 6 am to 11:30 / 11:45 am

Evening safaris - 2:30 pm to 5:30 pm

(Check with the guides & authorities about the latest timings)

Elephant safaris are available at Kaziranga, for which you can purchase tickets beforehand. That is advisable as the tickets get sold out quite quickly. Arrange for some transport from your hotel to drop you & pick you up from the elephant safari. This safari allows you to experience the forest while moving through the tall ‘elephant grass’, so known as it is tall enough to conceal elephants. Gypsies never venture into these paths and have to stick to a road network cleared of the grass.

Accommodation:

I stayed at Wildgrass, close to Kaziranga’s central zone. They have a reasonably large property with beautiful trees which are labelled for guests' benefit. If you enjoy birding, you'll enjoy ambling around the property as the trees attract a lot of birds.

Our room and external bathroom

View of the room

Wildgrass has a few rooms with 3 or 4 beds in them, with a bathroom outside the room (but, for exclusive use by the room; not shared with any other room). These rooms are very spacious & economical and make for a great option for groups. They are like cottages, a little away from the main building. Since we were a group of 4, we opted for one such room. It was extremely spacious, with 4 beds that were almost the size of double beds. Besides, we had seating arrangements within the room itself. Despite being non-airconditioned, the room was comfortable. I would highly recommend staying in one of these rooms. The lighting in the room was a little dim, though. The external bathroom was as large as a bedroom and had towels, toilet paper & hand-soap. But, when you have many people sharing a bathroom, the hot water runs out pretty quickly so budget for time between baths. Both the room and the bathroom were clean. Wildgrass also has regular double rooms (air-conditioned, I think) in a building near the main building. 

The tariff includes breakfast. Lunch & dinner is a set menu based on your preferences, indicated at the beginning of your stay (veg/non-veg, Indian/continental). Though meals here seem expensive, they are reasonable value for money as food options are varied and portions are large. Complimentary tea & snacks are also served when you return from your afternoon safari. Food service at Wildgrass is slow so budget for that before your afternoon safaris or if you plan to have breakfast before your morning safaris. We always had breakfast boxes packed, to carry with us, to eat at designated points within the park. The leisurely dinners are enjoyable, though.

The staff is courteous and helpful. Not gregariously friendly, but, friendly in a quiet & efficient way.

Airport transfers & vehicle hire: 

We had Wildgrass drop us at Guwahati airport. The vehicle & driver were both satisfactory. We also had Wildgrass arrange a car for a half-day visit to the gibbon sanctuary at Hoollongappar. It was hassle-free.

To summarise, I would highly recommend Wildgrass as a stay option in Kaziranga, for wildlife enthusiasts.

Trip cost - Kaziranga:

For a 5-night stay, cost = INR 12,500 per person (on a 4-sharing sharing basis for the room & the safaris). Includes travel from Nameri by car, travel to Guwahati airport by car, 8 jeep safaris, 1 elephant safari, food, accommodation & tips.

Hoollongappar Gibbon sanctuary

About the park:

India's only ape, the Hoolock Gibbon, is found here. The forest here is a rainforest and is also home to other primates like the Pig-tailed macaque, Stump-tailed macaque, Assamese macaque, Capped langur & Rhesus macaque. This park is also good for birding. Another primate, the Slender Loris, is also found here. Camping in the night to try & spot the Slender Loris is possible, with permission from the Forest department. The permit is extremely difficult to obtain, though & is usually given only to researchers.

The forest has leeches so go prepared with leech socks or just pluck the leeches off you when they crawl.

Getting to Hoollongappar:

Hoollongappar gibbon sanctuary is easily accessible from Kaziranga. The roads on this route (via Jorhat) are good. The drive takes 2 to 2.5 hrs each way. Set aside about 3 hours to spend in the forest. Leave before dawn to return to Kaziranga in time for lunch and the afternoon safari.

Guide & permit:

Gibbon sanctuary guide: Mr. Deven Baruah

Phone number: 096139-29595

Call a couple of days beforehand to check if he is free & to book him. An advance permit is not necessary. It can be obtained when you get there.

Cost - Hoollongappar:

For a half-day trip from Kaziranga, cost = INR 1000 per person, on a 4-sharing basis. Includes travel from Kaziranga by car, forest entry fee, camera fee, guide charges & tips.

Nameri

Getting to Nameri:

Fly into Guwahati by an early morning flight. This allows you to reach Nameri by evening. My 7:40 am flight from Bangalore landed in Guwahati at 12 pm, after a halt at Kolkata.

For lunch, there's an airport restaurant outside the airport. This restaurant serves reasonably okay food. Another lunch option is a dhaba on the national highway, called NH52 dhaba. This dhaba makes for a good bathroom break too. This is about 1.5 hrs away from Guwahati airport.

Allow for 5.5 hrs to reach Nameri from Guwahati airport, with a short break. It usually takes 4.5 to 5 hrs of driving time, without breaks. The route is via Tezpur (on a road which leads all the way to Tawang in Arunachal Pradesh). The roads are good till Balipada. Beyond that, they are abysmal. Tip - Definitely hire an air-conditioned vehicle (even in winter) and a vehicle with good suspension and ground clearance. The road is very dusty and filled with pot-holes and craters.

When to go:

Jan & Feb are the best months as the forest is filled with winter migrant birds. The park is closed during the monsoon period from approx. late April till end October. Carry woolens for early mornings, late evenings & the rafting trip. Afternoons are quite warm even in Jan & Feb.

Accommodation & contact details:

I stayed at Kanyaka lodge near the haathi gate within the national park. When approaching from Guwahati, drive about 500 mts beyond the gate to see a board for Eastern planters to your right. Turn right at the board to enter the lodge premises.

Care-taker: Mr. Sarat Sarmah.

Phone number:  094353-81990, 3712-220093 or 3712-220091.

The caretaker is not very tech-savvy & hence, e-mail exchanges are not possible. Call to reserve your room. He's reliable & will note down your reservation. Call a few days before your trip to re-confirm.

Caretaker's wing (left) & Main wing (right)

The lodge has 1 building with 3 rooms. 2 of the rooms have small double beds with attached bathrooms & western WCs. But, there is no hot water provision in the bathrooms. These rooms cost approx 800 INR per night. The other room is a deluxe room with hot water available in the attached bathroom & a TV in the room. This room too has a double bed. The room costs approx. 1000 INR per night. The caretaker lives in another building in the lodge. This building also has 2 rooms for rent. These rooms have two separate double beds each. But, all the 3 rooms in this wing share a single bathroom. This bathroom has a geyser, though. The rent for these rooms is INR 800.

Other options for stay at Nameri: Eco camp (which is highly recommended) and Jiyabharali resort.

Food:

Food is available at Kanyaka lodge. Breakfast is basic - bread, butter, biscuits & boiled eggs. They can pack the breakfast to carry along, if you leave early in the morning to go birding until lunch. Lunch & dinner are simple but hearty local food. Food costs are extra and not included in the room tariff.

Activities:

Rafting on Jiya Bharali

The lodge arranges permissions for rafting and trekking. They also arrange local autos to transport you to & from the river.

Note: Assam, being in the NE, has earlier sunrise & sunset than the rest of India. It's daylight by 5:30 am & darkens by 5:30 pm. So, time your treks and bird-watching accordingly. Morning visibility in winter is a little poor though, due to mist.

Rafting on the Jiya Bharali River is a great way to see water-birds. Kanyaka lodge has 4-seater rafts. Two rafts-men accompany you. Eco camp has smaller, 2-seater rafts.

Trekking

Forest guard - ask for Meenaram Gogoi. He accompanies you on forest treks from Potasali camp, across the river. Trekking is only allowed until 2 pm. You can begin at 6 am. This forest has many elephants and hence, trekking without an armed guard is dangerous & prohibited.

Visit the Pygmy Hog breeding center one afternoon. You can see a couple of Pygmy hogs within an enclosure and learn about them from the panels at the information center there.

If you stay at the Kanyaka lodge, visit the fruiting trees and a small stream beyond the army eco task force camp. It's a short walk away and a great spot for some birding. Visit in the evening, when trekking elsewhere isn't allowed. You have a good chance of spotting Hornbills returning to roost.

Trip cost - Nameri:

For a 3-night stay, cost = INR 5500 per person (on a twin sharing basis for the room & 4-sharing for the raft). Includes travel from Guwahati by car, 2 rafting trips, 2 forest treks including boat trips to reach the forest, food, accommodation & tips.

Read my friend Sumeet's blog about this trip: Nameri and Kaziranga