Guwahati, Kaziranga, Rhinos 

and much more

From day one, as we landed at Guwahati Airport, we knew it was going to be one heck of a journey. And by the second day, we realised it actually was! 

Day 1 (February 5^th) 

Thus began our exhilarating journey. On February 5^th, in an early morning flight we flew from Bengaluru to Guwahati, the gateway to North-East. After 5 hours of flying, we landed at Guwahati Airport at around 11 am. The Airport was decked up and gave us a feeling that we were in a birthday party. We came out of the Airport only to realise that Guwahati was all set for the South Asian Games which was going to be inaugurated on the same day - the reason behind the Airport adorned like a bride.

Due to the tight schedule, we were in a hurry to reach Kaziranga National Park on the same day. Airport taxi counter came us handy. The counter-fellow suggested us that we should go to Guwahati Inter-State Bus Terminal (ISBT) to catch a bus to Kaziranga. 

In a hurry burry we hired an Airport taxi to the ISBT. During the less than 45 minutes drive, I had the first glimpse of North East landscapes. I had a sudden feeling that I was somewhere in Kerala. Water bodies, greenery all around, small houses here and there, made me as if I was down South. There was a feel good factor about it. 

On the way, just to reaffirm that our plan of travelling to Kaziranga on the same noon would materialise, I struck up a conversation with the taxi driver. The driver just dashed our hopes. He bluntly said there are no buses that ply to Kaziranga during the day time. That kind of came as a shocker, because if we didn’t catch the bus on the same noon and reach Kaziranga by evening, our entire plan would just go helter skelter.

Like confused souls, restraining ourselves from further conversation, we reached ISBT. When we were just wondering where to enquire about the bus service, a man approached us near the entrance. He asked us where are we planning to go. The moment we told him "Kaziranga," he said the bus is ready to go. Omg! We jumped with joy. He appeared like an oasis in the middle of desert. So, he was a private bus agent who made our job easy. 

Hurriedly we booked tickets to travel in a private bus to proceed to Kaziranga. It was already noon and we were craving for some good food. What option can you get in a bus station but some routine hotels? We just grabbed a quick meal and boarded the bus at 1 pm. 

The bus journey started off. Navigating through the roads on the countryside, with beautiful plains around, often giving pit stops to draw more passengers, the bus moved on. We were told that there are plenty of such government and private buses operating from Guwahati to Jorhat every one hour. Since Kaziranga is located on the way to Jorhat, these buses were a convenient option. As the journey continued, we were taken by surprise to witness an early sun set at 4.30 pm. Too early a sunset for South Indians!

It was 5 hours comfortable journey from Guwahati to Kaziranga. By the time we reached our stop – Kohora village – from where the Kaziranga National Park Central range entrance is just a few metres away, it was pitch dark. It was just 6 pm, but there was darkness all around. 

The lone rhino whom we spotted at Kaziranga in seemed to be in a somber mood.

Thanks to the GPS, which worked even in the National Park range, we were able to track Kohora stop. We were about to get down from the bus. Just to make sure that we were at the right place, we asked the conductor if it is Kohora.  He replied in negative. "You have to travel further to reach Kohora," he said. We were perplexed, so was the conductor. He seemed to be more confused than us. In fact I was wondering how can the GPS show wrong direction (I trust GPS more than human beings!) 

Meanwhile, the fellow-passengers came to our help. They said we were at the right place and we deboarded the bus. Yes, we got down at the right stop! We had booked for an accommodation at Kohora in advance and had even asked the guest house owner to arrange for our next day’s jeep safari. After getting down at Kohora, we enquired some shop keepers the way that leads to the guest house.

Assam without tea-estates?

As predicted, the guest house was situated pretty close to the bus stop. 

With torch turned on, we walked for about 10 minutes on the road sans streetlight to reach the guest house located in a quiet neighbourhood. I must thank this one shop keeper, who walked with us till the guest house, to guide us the way. Warm gestures such as this, time and again reassured us that we were indeed in a safe place. 

On entering the Rhino Guest House, we freshened up, strolled around a bit and then had our dinner. It was curtains down for the first day of our trip.  

Day 2 (February 6^th) - Off to the wood 

It was going to be yet another busy day. We woke up early to get ready for the exciting jeep safari. Kaziranga National Park - we had only heard about it so far or read about it in bits somewhere. But now, we were right there, in the middle of the dense forest that has always mesmerized the wildlife lovers. 

Excitement was in the air to spot one horned rhinoceroses in the forest. Kaziranga, which is a World Heritage Site, is split into 4 zones – the Central (Kohora) range, Agaratoli (Eastern) range, Western (Bagori) range and Burapahar range. There are tens of safari operators in Kaziranga. They offer two types of safaris – the one on Elephant and the Jeep safari.  While elephant safari is done early in the morning and late afternoon, jeep safaris normally start at 7 am. While talking to the local people, we learnt that elephant safari especially at Western Range is preferable to spot rhinoceros from proximity. For elephant safari, the operators charge on an average Rs 850 per head.

However, we opted out of elephant safari for our own good reasons. The remaining choice was to take up a jeep safari. Jeep safari costs about Rs 2,350 per vehicle to visit the Western Range and a little less for other ranges. Assuming that we can spot more rhinos at Western Range, we started the safari at around 7.30 am. The safari would last for about 2 hours, we were told. 

On entering the National Park, we were disappointed to see 5-6 safari jeeps lining up before and after us. More the jeeps, more the noise and less tranquility! To avoid the romping crowd, we insisted the driver to move faster till we overtake other jeeps. Thankfully, the driver paid heed to our request. So there we were in the middle of the jungle, in an open jeep, listening to the chirping of birds, diving deep into the forest. 

While we were craving to spot the one-horned rhinos, the show stopper animals at Kaziranga, we ended up coming across several other species like elephants, deers, bisons and a lot of birds, mainly the hornbills. Then we reached a point where rhinos are supposedly seen in “abundance.” Call it our bad luck, rhinos didn’t turn up that day, except the one that was standing at a far distance. It appeared as if it detested our presence. 

The lazy turtles.

Even the driver looked quite disappointed seeing our saddened faces. 

He said he was surprised why the rhinos aren’t out yet. A bad day, we thought! But, happiness came when we travelled further. Finally we could spot two rhinos in a playful mood in a water body close to the park exit. What a lovely sight it was!

Hearts filled with joy of spotting rhinos, we half-heartedly bid adieu to the safari. Once we returned to the room, it was time for us to pack our bags and get ready to travel to our next destination – Majuli, the river island!