East India Wildlife Parks

Manas Tiger Reserve
The Manas Reserve, located in the foothills of the Bhutan hills, far from human habitation, is a world in itself. The Manas River flowing through the Park demarcates the border between India and Bhutan.

The Park has vast deciduous forests where the dense cover often cuts out the light. Its wet grasslands are the home of the rhino, water buffalo, elephant and tiger. Manas is noted for its population of the rare golden langur - found only in this part of the country. They are often spotted in the tall trees.

Other primates in the Park include the capped langur, Assamese macaque, the slow loris and the hoolock gibbon. These are rarely seen but the whooping call of the hoolock gibbon can be heard resounding through the forest.

Namdapha National Park
Tucked away in the northernmost state of Arunachal Pradesh is the Namdapha National Park. Three major rivers drain this area and flow into the Noa Dihing, a tributary of the Brahmaputra.

The Park largely inaccessible has diverse habitats and flora and fauna that are typical of this area. The majestic gaur or mithun, elephant, Himalayan black bear, takin, the wild goat peculiar to the Patkoi range, musk deer, slow loris, binturong and the red panda are all found here.

The predators include the tiger, leopard, the rare snow leopard and clouded leopard in the higher reaches of the hills. A number of primate species are to be seen in the Park, such as the Assamese macaque, pig-tailed macaque, stump-tailed macaque and the distinctive hoolock gibbon.

Sunderbans National Park
The vast swampy delta of the two Great Indian rivers, the Brahmaputra and the Ganga, extend over a vast area. Mangrove forests, swamps and forested islands are interwoven with a network of small rivers and rivulets.

The Sunderbans National Park, covering about 1330.10 sq km, from this core of this area. This mostly estuarine mangrove forest is the habitat of nearly 200 Royal Bengal tigers. Bangladesh lies to the east of the Park and it is estimated that the combined population of tigers in the region could well be about 400 in number.

Adapting itself to the saline and watery environment, the tigers at the Park are good swimmers and practically amphibious! Traversing the mangroves by motor launch is quite an experience, for the area is completely unspoiled and very different from the more conventional wildlife park.

Nal Sarovar Sanctuary
The wetland and lake areas is extensive and during the winter it is home to migrant geese, ducks and flamingoes. Local waterbirds also come here to feed, but not breed.

General Information :

Location :
Southwest of Ahmedabad.

Size :
44 sq miles ( 115 sq km ).

Best time to Visit :
November to February.