The Great East Himalayan Wildlife Journey

This tour has been specially created for the ardent wildlife enthusiast. An experience of a lifetime and lasting thirteen days, you will encounter the great biodiversity that is found in the forests of Northeast India. Altogether, you will visit 5 national parks and 1 wildlife sanctuary; large tracts of protected areas where conservation efforts have seen credible success and kept the wilderness safe and growing.

From grasslands to marshlands, river islands, and subtropical rain-fed forests – this diversity in vegetation and topography has helped Northeast India become one of the most important and sought-after biodiversity hotspots on the planet. Teeming with an awe-inspiring wide array of species of animals and birds, plants and reptiles, this wildlife tour is sure to leave you thrilled with the action and mysteries read mostly in fabled books about Asian jungles.

You will start your journey at Manas National Park which once was a hunting ground for kings. Located in the foothills of majestic Himalayan ranges and a UNESCO World Heritage Site, the park is well known for its rare and endangered wildlife which is not found anywhere else in the world like the Assam roofed turtle, hispid hare, golden langur, and the pygmy hog. Moving on to Nameri National Park, a dense tract of forest adjacent to mighty mountains, you will go on thrilling nature walks and leisurely rafting to explore the biodiversity, especially the rich birdlife with over 400 species. The journey will now cross the mighty Brahmaputra River to its south bank and bring you to the world-famous Kaziranga National Park, another UNESCO World Heritage Site. The park hosts about two-thirds of the world's great one-horned rhinoceroses and also holds the record for protecting the highest density of tigers in the world. Nine of the 14 primate species found in India are found here. Featured in countless documentaries and magazines, Kaziranga's charm can be experienced in the many wildlife activities available in the park such as elephant safaris, open jeep rides and nature walks.

Nearby, you will make a brief visit to Hoolongapar Gibbon Wildlife Sanctuary, the primate paradise which is a pretty small and isolated forest surrounded by tea plantations on all sides. It is home to the only ape species in India, the western hoolock gibbon, as well as the only nocturnal primate found in the Northeast Indian states, the Bengal slow loris. Other primates include the stump-tailed macaque, northern pig-tailed macaque, eastern Assamese macaque, rhesus macaque, and capped langur. A long journey from here will bring you to the flood plains of the Brahmaputra River at Dibru Saikhowa National Park. The park is unique in its diversity of habitats, consisting of semi-wet evergreen forests, canebrakes, grasslands, and tropical moist deciduous forests. From here, this wildlife odyssey will take you to the edge of the Himalayas, where lies the biggest national park in India, the Namdapha National Park. This rugged terrain formed by tropical rain forests of incredible biological diversity boasts of more than 1000 plant species, over 500 bird species, and a diversity of animal species that is still climbing steeply. The altitude range of 200m to over 4500m of the park has given rise to many different forest types. One goes from the land of the clouded leopard to the abode of the red panda – and perhaps the elusive snow leopard. Namdapha is among the very few national parks in the country where visitors are allowed to camp and stay inside the forest.