Assam Despatch 2 - Rhinos And More

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Assam Despatch 2 - Rhinos And More

Duration: 8 Days / 7 Nights

Route:

Guwahati Ganesh Pahar Orang National Park SingriGhat Tezpur Kaziranga

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Departure:
2013: 26 Jan, 23 Feb, 23 Mar

Arrive Guwahati and enjoy a short tour of the city before visiting the Tantric Kamakhaya Temple and the poignant Commonwealth War Cemetery. Boarding your riverboat, cruise upstream to Kurua and the idyllic village of Ganesh Pahar framed by jungle-clad hills. Leaving the hills behind the landscape flattens out as you cruise past sand islands, visiting a riverine village along the way. In the distance the snow-capped Himalayas offer a dramatic backdrop. At Orang National Park you can sight rhino, deer and other wildlife on elephants before cruising to the little trading settlement at Singri Ghat. At Tezpur, see the enchanting 6th century Da Parbatia temple and explore the town by cycle rickshaw. At Kaziranga National Park, look for wildlife by jeep and elephant safaris, with the chance to see sambar, swamp deer, wild pig and – perhaps – the elusive Bengal tiger. On your final day visit the distinctive Karbi and Mising tribal villages before heading back to Guwahati where your trip ends.

Day 1: Arrive Guwahati. Sightseeing & board cruise (D)

Arrive Guwahati airport and take a short sightseeing tour of the city. Drive up Nilachal Hill to see the holy Kamakhya temple. With its tantric rites and animal sacrifice, the more squeamish may prefer to content themselves with the exterior. Visit the poignant Commonwealth War Graves cemetery. Finally walk through a local market before embarking on your cruise vessel. We set sail and cruise for about an hour and a half upstream to Kurua on the north bank.

Day 2: Cruise to Ganesh Pahar (BLD)

The day is spent cruising upstream, with hills rising on either side. Battling against strong currents, we reach an idyllic stop at Ganesh Pahar, where we can explore a delightfully serene hinterland lying under jungle-covered slopes.

Day 3: Sand islands and village visit (BLD)

Leaving the hills behind, we enjoy our first taste of the wilderness experience, sand banks like icebergs on either side. We may make a short stop to visit a bankside village. We moor for the night in a lunar landscape of sand islands, with the Himalayas in view and providing a contrasting backdrop in the distance.

Day 4: Orang National Park and Singri Ghat (BLD)

Early this morning, we cruise up a side stream, this time into the Orang National Park. Here in this rarely visited national park we mount elephants and ride through forest and grassland looking for rhino, deer and other wildlife. Returning to the vessel, we cruise upstream to the little trading settlement of Singri Ghat, its main street running alongside a tea garden.

Day 5: Tezpur (BLD)

We cruise on this morning to Tezpur, and drive out to the 6th century Da Parbatia temple ruins with a beautifully carved portal. Then explore the town by cycle rickshaw, stopping at Cole Park with medieval stone carvings saved from sites all over the region and perhaps penetrating the bungalow once lived in by Alexander Bruce, the great pioneer of the tea industry.

Day 6: To Kaziranga. Afternoon jeep safari (BLD)

We continue upstream, passing below a seemingly endless new bridge across the vast width of the river bed, to moor at Steemer Ghat, a lovely beach backed by jungle-covered hills. In the afternoon we drive to Kaziranga's Western Range for a jeep safari and to scan the wilderness from an observation tower. Kaziranga is a World Heritage site and with a population of well over 1000 rhinoceros it is the best place in the world to see rhino’s. There are also good populations of tiger, wild elephant, sambar, swamp deer, hog deer, wild pig and many other species in the park.

Day 7: Elephant ride. Karbi and Mising villages (BLD)

Disembark pre-dawn and drive to Kaziranga's Central Range for an early morning elephant ride, the best way to get really close to the rhino and other wildlife. After breakfast at a lodge, we walk through terraced tea gardens and past a Karbi tribal village. Then drive to Mising tribal village, with their distinctive houses raised on piles. After lunch either take a jeep safari in the little visited Eastern Range before returning to the boat, or if preferred return directly to Steemer Ghat, visit a delightful Assamese village nearby and walk along a path alive with butterflies to a solitary temple on the river bank.

Day 8: Tour ends. Transfer to airport (B)

An early start for the 4 hour drive back to Guwahati airport, or alternatively we can arrange 40 minute transfer to Tezpur airport. Or remain on board to join Assam Despatch 3.

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