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Day: 1:
Arrival in Guwahati.
Proceed to Manas Tiger Reserve.
3.5 hrs from Guwahati to Barpeta road – 140 Kms. Packed food provided.
Barpeta Road to Mathanguri IB – 40 kms (2 hrs)
Day:
2:
Manas Tiger Reserve
Ford the river to the Bhutan side for sighting golden langurs. The range
of these species is limited to areas around Manas and only 40 km west
of it.
Before lunch travel on the Mathanguri – Bansbari Road
The Road cuts through woodland cover and savannah and grassland patches.
Sighting of animals in Manas is not as good as in Kaziranga but the
diversity of the habitat is very high.
After lunch if elephant ride facility is offered a short ride can be
arranged the route traversed is through grassland and along the Beki
river.
Return to Mathanguri IB
Day
3:
Travel on the Bansbari-Mathanguri road, return to IB and then exercise
option of fording the river again and go for a short walk.
Breakfast. Move onward to Nameri Tea Estate. Lunch Enroute
8 hrs from Manas to the Tea Bungalow. Bungalow Heritage home (Addabarie
Tea Estate) This is a 62 year planters bungalow owned by George Williamson
Ltd but now recently open to visitors. The tea estate is known as Addabarrie
Tea Estate. And lies 25 km north of Tezpur.
Stay at Addabarie Bungalow. Rest
Day:
4:
After an early breakfast proceed to Nameri National Park or reach Nameri
and have breakfast at the Eco camp before soft trek.
Lunch at Eco Camp
Eco camp is tented accommodation is situated at the edge of the Park.
Proceed by car to boat embankment point
Come down the snow-fed Himalayan river by boat.
Rubber dinghies oared by expert tribal boatman, option of angling on
catch and release basis.
Overnight stay at Eco Camp.
Day:
5:
Early breakfast. Proceed to Dirang. Route to Dirang is on the 167 km
hill road. The road cuts across probably the best forest cover now extant
in Arunachal Pradesh.
Halt en route for lunch at Bomdila which is 8000 ft above sea level.
Proceed down to the Dirang valley which is Monpa tribe area. Halt at
Hotel Pemaling.
Visit Dirang monastery, which is under the Nyingmapas sect of Tibetan
Buddhism. Option of taking guide and traveling 11 km to sight black
neck crane which breeds in Tibet and Ladakh
Return to hotel.
Day:
6:
Proceed to Tawang in Arunachal Pradesh after early breakfast.
Tawang has the second largest monastery outside of Lasha and is roughly
about 20,000 ft above sea-level. The road moves along the Dirang river
for 10 kms and then the climb starts and after 51 kms (roughly 2 hours)
each Sela pass from Dirang is sparsely populated and the forest cover
is alpine though degraded. Secondary succession of rhododendrons is
abundant on wayside. This famous pass is 13,700 ft and is snow bound
most of the year. From sela it is downhill to Tawangchu river (49 km
1 hour forty minutes). Tawang township (alt 10,000 ft) is situated on
the north bank of this river and its takes 1 hour from the Tawangchu
bridge.Check in at the hotel Buddha. Lunch at the hotel.
After lunch visit the monastery. This monastery was built in and around
1643-7 away from the town (2 km) the walls were fortified in medieval
times to withstand attacks from the Bhutanese. Around 300 monks live
here. This is the fountainhead of the Gellugpa set o Tibetan Buddhism.
Dinner and return to hotel.
Day:
7:
Have early breakfast and proceed to Shurbi
Shurbi is traditional monpa village which is a drive of 10km (25 minutes)
on the Zimithang road.
Casual walk down to the Tawangchu river to a spot called Komebu, where
there is boulder cave where Padmasambhava locally called Lopon Rimpoche.
In the 8th century AD, the learned monk instrumental in exporting Buddhism
from India to Tibet is said to have meditated. There is also a Gompa
(Buddhist Temple) nearby where the chief deity is Avalokitesvara (Chendrezi)
(The Dalai Lama is the living Avalokitesvara)
Soft trek uphill takes I hour and the birds eye view of the rural scape
is very enthralling.
Packed lunch. A top the hill. On return towards town visit the Urgyeling
Gompa, one of the oldest temples of Tawang (circa 12th century AD) the
birth place of the 6th Dalai Lama.
Rest of the day free time in township.
Day:
8:
Depart Tawang after breakfast to Bomdila
Lunch at Dirang and halt at Hotel Siphiyang Phong
Shopping
Day:
9:
Depart Bomdila
Arrive Eco camp for lunch
Drive to Wildgrass
Rest & Leisure
Day:
10:
Breakfast & free time in the morning
After lunch proceed to Kaziranga Range
15 mints to reach entry point. Drive covers central region of the park.
There is possibility of sighting elephants as well as the other mega
herbivores. Yarding place of swamp Deer. The process of plant succession
can be observed at various seral stages. Birding in a wide range of
habitats. Good sunset pictures.
Dinner at Wildgrass.
Day:
11:
Elephant ride at Kaziranga
Return to lodge. Have breakfast
Proceed to the western range of the park.
It takes 25 minutes by jeep to reach the entrance of this range. The
route traverses the southwest portion of the park. This range has maximum
short grass areas and is the optimum habitat for Rhino and Water Buffalo
Representative perennial oxbow lakes surrounded by the marshy Haemarthia
compressa stands can be seen.
Part of the drive is also through Low Alluvial Savannah Woodland. Colonization
of grassland by Lagerstroemia parviflora can be seen. A round of the
entire circuit is around 20 km. High herbivore densities around these
wetlands are characteristic of the habitat.
Return for lunch.
Proceed to the Eastern (Agaratuli) Range
Situated towards the eastern part of the park. The area is excellent
for birding. Includes nesting of the globally threatened Pallas’s
Fish Eagle and a colony of spotbilled Pelicans. Migrant waterfowl may
be observed at Sohola Beel. Various woodlands birds can be seen along
the drive through very scenic Dillenia Swamp Forest. Elephants may be
encountered as well water Buffalo and Swamp Deer. Takes 40 minutes to
reach. Tourist route approximately 26 km.
Return to Lodge Dinner
Cultural Program optional.
Day:
12:
Depart Wildgrass after breakfast and proceed to Digboi
En route Sibsagar (135 km from Kaziranga – 3 hours) Sibsagar was
the medieval seat of the home kings who ruled Assam for nearly 700 years.
Visit Shiva Temple (medieval 1734) Rang ghar (palace 1700). It will
take an hour to see these medieval ruins.
Lunch in restaurant in Shiva Palace. Proceed to Digboi
Digboi is cute a little former colonial township surrounded by forests.
Digboi has the first oil well in India (1889). The township situated
in the Upper Dihing Reserve Forest. Strict forest rules still apply
and the forest has remained intact. Old style bungalows atop small hillocks
give the area a special ambience. Halt at AOD Guest House.Early Dinner.
Day:
13:
Proceed to Namdapha after breakfast via Deban Forest Halt at Deban Forest.
It takes one half hours to arrive Namchik (53 kms) which is on the Assam
Arunachal border. Further twenty five km drive to Mial takes 40 minutes.
The last 25 km takes nearly one & half hours. Lunch 12.30 pm. After
lunch (1pm) drive to Gibbon’s land (5 km from IB) where the elephant
riding point is situated to exercise the option of either elephant ride
or hill trek for three hours on Motijheel track.
Return to Deban IB. Early dinner.
Day:
14:
After breakfast proceed to Haldibari camp.
Ford Noa-Dihing river by boat and onward casual walk on track through
tropical rainforest cover towards Haldibari five km stretch (2 hours)
Lunch at Haldibari camp
Trek back to Deban IB
Big mammals sighting difficult but good for birding (those interesting
in birds can view Snowy-throated Babbler, White-bellied Heron Beautiful
Nuthatch, Rufous-necked Hornbill, Rusty-bellied Shortwing, Ibisbill,
Green Cochoa, several species of wrenbabblers, 3 species of Tesias,
Blyth’s Kingfisher, Fulvous Parrot bill etc.)
Reach IB. Rest of the day for leisure
Day:
15:
Proceed to Digboi after breakfast
Lunch will be served in the Guest house.
Visit the Oil Museum
The Museum was constructed in order to celebrate the township’s
centenary and is very imaginatively designed. Besides displaying technological
relics it presents a very illustrative idea of life in late nineteenth
and early twentieth century Assam.
Day:
16:
Digboi to Mohanbari airport.
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