India: Kaziranga National Park Extension

Kaziranga National Park is one of Asia’s most celebrated wildlife sanctuaries, a landscape where vast floodplain grasslands and forested wetlands support a remarkable density of large mammals and birds. This optional extension offers a vivid conclusion to the Ganges River and Himalayas tour, showcasing the rich biodiversity of Assam’s Brahmaputra basin while providing outstanding photographic and wildlife viewing opportunities.

In December’s dry season, water levels recede, concentrating wildlife around beels (oxbow lakes), marshes, and river channels. This makes Kaziranga one of the best places in the world to observe Greater One horned Rhinoceroses at close range. Asian Elephants, Swamp Deer, Wild Water Buffalo, and Gaur are frequently encountered, while early morning outings may reveal Hoolock Gibbons, Jungle Cats, Hog Badgers, and—with some luck—even the Bengal Tiger. The park’s mosaic of tall elephant grass, savanna woodlands, and riverine forest creates ideal conditions for viewing wildlife by jeep and elephant back.

Birdlife is equally impressive. Hundreds of resident and wintering species occur here, many tied to the shifting wetlands and grassland edges of the Brahmaputra floodplain. We watch for Bar headed Goose, Falcated Duck, Spot billed Pelican, Black necked Stork, Greater Adjutant, and Cinnamon Bittern, along with soaring Himalayan Griffons, Brahminy Kites, Oriental Honey buzzards, and Pallas’s and Gray headed fish eagles. In forested areas, Great Hornbill, Red headed Trogon, parakeets, kingfishers, and woodpeckers join the diversity, while grasslands may yield Bengal Florican and Swamp Francolin.

With luxurious accommodations, refined cuisine, and mild, rain free weather, Kaziranga provides a serene yet thrilling wildlife finale—offering a glimpse of the wild Asia that once flourished across the subcontinent.

Kaziranga’s Brahmaputra floodplain hosts tall elephant-grass marshlands, riverine oxbow lakes, tropical moist forest, and savanna wood-grassland. Dry season conditions concentrate rhinos, elephants, buffalo, deer, and diverse birds around waterholes. Grasslands support bustards, francolins, and raptors, while forest edges shelter hornbills, kingfishers, and woodpeckers—creating one of Asia’s richest wildlife mosaics.