Assam is a north eastern state of India with its capital at Dispur, a suburb of the city Guwahati. Assam along with other North-eastern states of India (also known as seven-sisters) was the only independent part of today’s India that never was a part of India before the area came under British rule. Located south of the eastern Himalayas, Assam comprises the Brahmaputra and the Barak river valleys and the Karbi Anglong and the North Cachar Hills.

With an area of 78,438 square kilometers (30,285 sq mi) Assam currently is almost equivalent to the size of Ireland or Austria. Assam is surrounded by the rest of the Seven Sister States: Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram, Tripura and Meghalaya. These states are connected to the rest of India via a narrow strip in West Bengal called the “Chicken's Neck”. Assam also shares international borders with Bhutan and Bangladesh; and cultures, peoples and climate with South-East Asia

For Assam is identified no better than by its Bihu songs and dances, the Kaziranga Wild Life Sanctuary where the rare one-horned rhinoceros roams at will, silks such as paat and muga which rank amongst the finest in the world, the State’s tea which finds its way to millions of homes all over the globe, and the Shrine of Kamakhya which draws thousands of devotees every year.It has successfully conserved the one-horned Indian rhinoceros from near extinction in Kaziranga, the tiger in Manas and provides one of the last wild habitats for the Asian elephant.

It is increasingly becoming a popular destination for wild-life tourism and notably Kaziranga and Manas are both World Heritage Sites.[2] Assam was also known for its Sal tree forests and forest products, much depleted now. A land of high rainfall, Assam is endowed with lush greenery and the mighty river Brahmaputra, whose tributaries and oxbow lakes provide the region with a unique hydro-geomorphic and aesthetic environment.

Kaziranga National Park
Kaziranga National Park is situated on the south bank of the Brahmaputra river, This National Park is famous for the stronghold of the armoured one-horned Indian Rhinocerous. The Sanctuary provides unique setting for a sight of its best known wild life including birds.

Kaziranga National Park covers an area of approximately 430 Sq. kms with its swamps and tall thickets of elephant grass making it the ideal habitat for the Indian one-horned. The vast open country makes Kaziranga very accessible and wildlife viewing fairly pleasurable. Here one can leave in the early hours of the dawn for an elephant-back-ride.

One could se wild elephant herds roaming around or rhinos browse past visitors unconcernedly. Since Kaziranga National park is easily accessible, it provides a chance to see animals in the wild at close quarters, thus making a trip to Kaziranga National Park is a very rewarding experience. The Park lies in the flood plains of the Brahmaputra River,The Kabri Angling Hill ranges rise around the park pressing it against the Brahmaputra River, flowing as its northern boundary. Into the soup plate between the river and the ranges, flow several rivulets. They bring down rich silt and sand, spread in small lakes, silt up the lakes to make swamp and marshes, alluvial grasslands rising to alluvial Savannah woodlands; and then as the land loses its moisture with height, rise to mixed deciduous forests and finally, to tropical evergreen forests.

It is believed that if nature had not designed such a breathtakingly beautiful habitat, it would have been extremely difficult for man to create a national park with such natural diversities suited to a diverse range of animal species. Kaziranga National Park is the stronghold of the one horned rhinoceros. There are over 1000 rhinos in this reserve.The wild elephant, another exotic animal of the region and often-found in herds number over 700 here.

The wild buffalo is another attraction of the reserve and again there are over 6oo of these in the reserve. The mouse deer, the hog deer, barking deer, chinkara gazelle, bears, leopards, leopard cat, wild boars and the gaur are to be found here besides a variety of the primate family. The bird life of Kaziranga National Park is typical of the north-eastern Foothill of India.

The highlight of the bird life here are the sights of hundreds and hundreds of Pelicans, which breed here. The other birds commonly found here are Crested Serpent eagle, Pallas fishing eagle, grey - headed fishing eagle, swamp partridges, red jungle fowl, Bengal florican, bar headed goose, whistling teal, egrets, herons, black - necked stork, and open billed stork.

Best Season to Visit Kaziranga National Park
November-May; the best period being January-April

Access (Kaziranga National Park)
Drive to the park from Guwahati (219 km, 6 hours) or Jorhat (96 km, 2 hours) airport accessible by flights from Delhi and Calcutta respectively. The nearest railway station is Jakhalabandha ( 43 km).

Nearby Attractions of Kaziranga National Park :
There are many places which can be visited while you are staying at Kaziranga National Park .The Kakochang waterfalls is 13 kms from Bokakhat. Not far from the park are the ruins of the ancient Numaligarh. These ruins are of great archaeological importance. The tea gardens of Hathkhuli, Methoni, Difalu, Behora Borchapori are also other local attractions. Also visit the coffee and rubber plantations behind the tourist lodge.

Park visits : The park can be visited on an Elephant back or in a Jeep. There are trips covering Mihimukh, Baguri, Hole path, Arimarah, Kohora Central path-Baguri all areas teeming with wildlife-all authentically wild.

Climate of Kaziranga National Park: The climate of Kaziranga park is tropical. Summers are hot and winters cold. Take cotton clothes for summers and do not forget to pack woolens during winters. The average rainfall is 160 cms. But the monsoon months bring heavy downpours which often flood the park

Manas National Park: Manas is situated in Assam spread over an area of 391 sq km, earlier it was known as North Kamrup, declared as a sanctuary on December 01, 1928. It was accorded the status of World Heritage Site in 1985. Manas houses 19 of India's most endangered animal populations. It has the largest population of tigers among Indian reserves. It is a home to the rare golden langur . The prominent fauna here are the rhino, wild buffalos, elephants, gaur, swamp deer, capped langur and clouded leopard.

The main highlight of the park is the giant hornbill, two subspecies of which, the pied and grey varieties are to be found here.It extends into the foothills of Bhutan where it is called the Royal Manas National Park. Its wetlands are of international importance and essential for the survival of the fast-vanishing hispid hare and pygmy hog. November to March.Golden Langur, rhino, wild buffalos, elephants, gaur, swamp deer, capped langur and clouded leopard, giant hornbill. Guwahati is the nearest airport, which is 176 kms away. If people wish to come through train then the nearest railhead or town is Barpeta Road, which is 41 kms away and after reaching the park even the facilities within the park are riding elephants and boats on the rivers available for transport.

Activities
The best way to watch wildlife at the park is to use powerful binoculars, with night vision facilities at night. The ideal way to explore a majority of the Manas National Park in Assam is in a 4-wheel (Jeep) drive petrol vehicle. A boat ride on Manas river which commences its ride from Mathanguri and ends around 35km away is another popular option. The third option, which is a favourite with most visitors, are the elephant rides organised by the park authorities from Mathanguri. These take you deep in to the densest areas of the forest and often right in between some of the wildlife there, including elephants, rhinos and wild buffaloes. The park is closed in the Monsoon season.

Lodging
A Forest Lodge inside the park is situated at Mothanguri.

Manas Jungle Camp is a Community Conservation Tourism project in Kokilabari near Eastern Core area of the Manas National Park, run by the local Conservation NGO MMES(Manas Maozigendri Ecotourism Society)and ,and is committed to the revival of Manas and get it free from the UNESCO Red-list. The camp has 04 ethnic cottages in a som plantation meant for rearing of famous muga silk of assam at the park boundary. The project runs various conservation programmes, Cultural self-help groups, Handicraft self-help groups,and conducts regular patrolling inside the park in association with the Forest department to stop poaching, cattle grazing.This initiative has already received appreciation from the UNESCO-World Heritage Commission,and people from all over the world,and is considered as the most positive development towards the revival of Manas.

Gibbon Wildlife Sanctuary
Gibbon Wildlife Sanctuary is the only wildlife sanctuary in India to be named after a non-human primate, Hoolock gibbon (Hylobates hoolock). Hollock Gibbon, the only ape found in the Indian sub continent, require prime evergreen forest for survival. Formerly known as Hulungapar Reserve Forest,Gibon Wildlife Sanctuary was announced as a reserve forest in 1881 and in 1997 this forest was upgraded to Gibbon Wildlife Sanctuary, by Assam Government.

Gibbon Wildlife Sanctuary is located between 26.40 - 26.45 degree north latitude and 94.20-94.25 degree East longitude, near Mariani in Jorhat district, Assam, India.This sanctuary is approx. 12 km and 5 km far from Jorhat town and Mariani respectively. The total area of this sanctuary is 1915.6 hector.

The main attraction of Gibon Wildlife Sanctuary is because of different types of monkeys are found in the same platform.The six types of monkeys found here are-

Hoolock gibbon (Hylobates hoolock), Capped langur (Presbytis entellus), Slow loris (Nycticebus cocang), Stump-tailed macaque ( macca speciosa), Pig-tailed macaque (macaca nemestrina) Rhesus monkeys.

Besides of these, this park also has elephants, leopard,wild pigs, sambar deer, hugori deer, pythons, giant squirrel and small palm squirrel etc. This Wildlife Sanctuary is very rich in different types of trees,plants and orchids. The most valuable trees like Hulung, sashi (Aqualaria agolacha), salakh (Terminelia myrocarpa), cham, tita chapa, kath badam (Mansonia dipikae), bhelkar, ban-bagari, dhuna (canarium resiniferum), bhelou, rudrakshya etc. are found here. Different types of bamboos like bajaal (pseudostachym polymorphum), dolou, kak, baakthui (bambusa pallida) and other plants like bogitora (alpinia molluccensis), tora,koupaat (phynium imbricatum), nol (arundo karka), paatidoi, megela (saccharum orundinaceum), geruka tamol (pinanga gracillis), dhepai tita etc are found here in very large amount.

How to reach there:
By Air : Nearest airport to Kaziranga National park is Jorhat (96 kms) is connected by Indian Airlines flights with Calcutta which in turn is connected with other cities in India.

By Rail : Nearest railway station to Kaziranga National Park is Furkating (75 kms from Kaziranga) on the metre guage line is directly connected to Guwahati which in turn is connected with the other major cities in India.

By Road : Kaziranga (Kohora) to Guwahati 217 km, Jorhat 96 km, Furkating 75 kms.