10 National Parks and Wildlife Sanctuaries Around Guwahati

Assam state of northeastern part of India is one of the finest wildlife destination with amazing tea plantations and protected areas. There are six national parks and 19 wildlife sanctuaries in Assam and Guwahati is the gateway to most of the sanctuaries, Below are the top 10 National Parks and Wildlife Sanctuaries around Guwahati that will take you closer to the nature and wildlife.

Kaziranga National Park

Kaziranga National Park of Assam is a World Heritage Site and host breeding populations of great Indian one-horned rhinoceroses, Indian elephants, Asian wild water buffalo and swamp deer. The park is also a declared Tiger reserve and home to one of the highest density of tigers among protected areas in India.

Manas National Park

Manas National Park and Wildlife Sanctuary is a natural World heritage site, an elephant reserve, a project tiger reserve and a biosphere reserve of Assam. The park is well known for rare, endangered and endemic wildlife such as hispid hare, Assam roofed turtle, golden langur, pygmy hog and also famous Indian rhinoceros and breeding populations of wild water buffalo.

Orang National Park

Orang National Park on the bank of Brahmaputra river is another declared national park of Assam, Known for rich flora and fauna. Apart from the great Indian one-horned rhinoceros, The park is home to several mammalian species including species of turtle and tortoise, pythons and cobras, big cat and wild cat and the pygmy hog, a small wild pig.

Nameri National Park

Nameri National Park in the Sonitpur district of Assam is located at the foothills of the eastern Himalayas, about 35 km from Tezpur. The park offers an ideal habitat for rare wild animals such as capped langur Himalayan black bear, clouded leopard, leopard cat and best place to spot of the endangered bird White-winged Duck.

Dibru Saikhowa National Park

Dibru-Saikhowa National Park is one of the must visit and lesser known national park in Assam, bounded by the Brahmaputra and Lohit Rivers and located in Dibrugarh.The park has the largest salix swamp forest in north-eastern India and was designated a Biosphere Reserve.

Dibru-Saikhowa National Park is home to species of monitor lizard, eight species of turtle, eight snake species, 6 species of primates, 4 species of deer, 5 species of wild cats and one of the only places in India home to feral horses.

Pobitora Wildlife Sanctuary

Pobitora Wildlife Sanctuary on the bank of river Brahmaputra in Morigaon district is one of the best grassland and wetland habitat for the Indian rhinoceros in India. The sanctuary is home to one of the largest population of Indian rhinoceros in Assam and also home to over 375 species of birds including greylag goose,gray sea eagle, Sarus crane and Bengal florican.

Hoollongapar Gibbon Sanctuary

Hoollongapar Gibbon Sanctuary or Hollongapar Reserve Forest is a protected area in Assam and home to nine species of primates including capped langur,India’s only ape gibbons – the hoolock gibbons and only nocturnal primate called the Bengal slow loris.

Chakrashila Wildlife Sanctuary

Chakrashila Wildlife Sanctuary is famous for the breeding populations golden langur and a protected habitat for golden langur in Assam. The sanctuary also host 119 species of birds, species of reptiles, species of butterfly and Chinese pangolin.

Bornadi Wildlife Sanctuary

Bornadi Wildlife Sanctuary at the foothills of Himalayas near Bhutan is named after the river Bornadi. The park is one of the lesser known protected areas of Assam and home to rare species of wildlife including clouded leopard, pygmy hog and Hispid hare.

Deepor Beel Wildlife Sanctuary

Dipor Bil or Deepor Beel near the Guwahati city is one of the largest beels in the Brahmaputra valley of Assam and a wetland under the Ramsar Convention. The important riverine wetlands has both biological and environmental importance, host one of the staging sites for migratory birds in India.

Assam has 19 wildlife sanctuaries which are home to endangered and endemic wildlife, The parks and sanctuaries of Assam are declared Elephant Reserve, Tiger Reserve and ideal habitat for primates species and Avifauna.