Indian SAFARI with One Horned Rhino + Assamese THALI Dinner | Kaziranga National Park, Assam, India
3,581I took one of the most memorable trips of my life in March of 2019 when I visited northeast India for the first time. I visited the states of Assam and Meghalaya. I had spent 6 weeks in other parts of India prior to that and was blown away by how different this region was. From the culture to the landscapes to the food, everything blew my mind! I’m thrilled to share my adventures there with you!
One of the main reasons why I visited Assam is because I love animals. One of the best places in the state to view the local wildlife is Kaziranga National Park, which is a tiger reserve that is also home to 2,413 one-horned rhinos and lots of other amazing animals including 108 tigers, as well as elephants, deer, water buffalo, and more. The park contains the largest population of one-horned rhinos in the world. They’re rare everywhere else, so I couldn’t wait to see one!
I met up with my park guide, Gokul, who took me to the western part of the national park. Game drives in wildlife parks are so much fun but there are a few things you should remember. Don’t get out of the vehicle and don’t feed the animals. You should also bring a hat to protect you from the sun.
We arrived at the western entrance paid the road toll, entrance fee, and camera fee. To enter, it costs 100 rupees for Indian residents and 650 for foreigners. From there, we continued into the park. It’s 430 square kilometers of pristine, unparalleled natural beauty!
We spotted our first one-horned rhino and a beautiful, blue kingfisher bird, which is the animal the beer is named after. We also saw some egrets milling around the rhino. They were actually cleaning the rhino’s wounds. I had never seen anything like that before. It was amazing!
There were more rhinos deep in the bush. There were lots of woodland and very few grasslands in the area where we were. I got out at a nearby lookout point, where I saw some deer, buffalo, and pelicans by eye. There were multiple rhinos out in the water, but they were so far away.
Later, we came across 5 rhinos grazing in the grasslands. They were everywhere in the park. Then we passed by a herd of domesticated elephants, including an adorable calf, before coming across some more rhinos and water buffalo. We also came across an anti-poaching station where the ranger sleeps and protects the animals from.
Then we saw a hawk eagle feasting on some prey, another rhino, and a lone, juvenile elephant. After that, we came across a really thick bush that was more like a dense rain forest. The landscape was completely different from the previous area! This area was completely devoid of wildlife. That’s the beauty of game drives; they’re very hit-or-miss. That’s why I recommend multiple game drives and an elephant safari when you come to Kaziranga National Park.
We reached more grassland and spotted a deer hidden among the grass, followed by a wild elephant with a calf and many more elephants. They’re really beautiful animals and seeing them was a wonderful experience. As we made our way out of the park as the sun set, we saw even more rhinos!
Once we were back at Wild Grass Resort, it was time for dinner! I started with a vegetable cream soup that was very nice and hot and super creamy. It felt like a creamed broccoli soup and was very tasty!
Then I moved on to another Assamese veg thali. Everything looked incredible! I added a little bit of everything to my plate. I decided to go with the chapati over the rice and then dug into the khar, a slightly sweet Assamese dish that’s like pudding.
I loved the banana leaf with potatoes with the chapati. Then I went with the spicy mashed potatoes with green chilies. They were the best mashed potatoes of my life! I followed that with green beans and a lentil mash. The yam was also amazing, as was the fern. It was really strong!
I grabbed more chapati and tried some super deep-fried curry leaves. They were so good! There was also an extremely light and delicious dal. I ended with some rich and decadent rice pudding.
What an amazing meal to cap off an incredible day at Kaziranga National Park!
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Indian SAFARI with One Horned Rhino + Assamese THALI Dinner | Kaziranga National Park, Assam, India
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zSss32rQ_50