Day 2:

HOLLONGAPAR GIBBON SANCTUARY | BOAR SAFARI AT AGRATOLI RANGE OF KAZIRANGA

The Hollongapar Gibbon Sanctuary is home to the only Ape in India – the Hoollock Gibbon and Northeastern India’s only nocturnal primate, the Bengal slow Loris, though the park is a habitat for 7 out of 9 primates of India. All wildlife demands early presence, so, we have an early breakfast and drive for an hour to reach the Sanctuary by 0545 hours. We use the facilities and start our Forest walk in the Gibbon sanctuary by 0600 hours.

The upper canopy of the forest is dominated by the hoollong tree, while the nahar dominates the middle canopy. The lower canopy consists of evergreen shrubs and herbs. Our naturalist with our guides and an armed guard is ready to walk us through the thick evergreen forest for a couple of hours.

We leave the Sanctuary of the Gibbons by 0800 hours and drive towards the ship to enjoy some hot breakfast at 0900 hrs as the ship sails downstream towards the Eastern Range of Kaziranga.

We indulge in the Ayurvedic therapies, Assamese traditional massages, beauty therapies, hair SPA, Shave and haircut, steam, sauna and Jacuzzi.

We enjoy the expanse of the river and the play of sand and water from the Sun deck or from our private balconies.

After lunch at 1300 hours we wait for the master to find the right spot to lower us into the tenders for an evening Boat Safari at Agoratoli. We look forward to an Asiatic Water Buffalo suddenly pulling itself out of the water or an elephant family coming down to quench their thirst. We hope to see the striped whiteeye-browed prowler or the winged creatures on banks and bushes and the water monitors basking on lowered trunks.

This evening we find a deserted island close to the Eastern Range of Kaziranga to enjoy an evening on untouched silver sands with some barbequed snacks as we make ourselves comfortable around a bon-fire and look forward to a star-studded evening along with interesting beverages.

A sit-down dinner awaits us on MV Mahabaahu.

Overnight Onboard MV Mahabaahu (B, L, D)

Day 3:

EARLY MORNING BOAT SAFARI AT THE EASTERN RANGE OF KAZIRANGA

This morning we are in the restaurant at 05:15 hours for an early morning cup of coffee or strong Assam Tea with some home-made cookies. We don our life jackets and step into the tenders at 05:30 hours that very quietly skim the waters of Brahmaputra and the ship shuts down all its generators so that we can enjoy the sounds of the forest. We look out for the dolphins that claim these waters. We look for sounds that convey a prowler’s intent or a tusker family that uninhibitedly marches down for a dip or a buffalo that is hiding in the Brahmaputra.

We look for birds that bring the foliage alive even before the sun rays slip into the forest.The deer with their inquisitive eyes peep at us from behind the tall grass. The shy Assam roof turtles and water monitors evade us at the slightest disturbance. The pied kingfishers and Eagles are a pleasant site. We hope for good weather and a glimpse of the fauna as they wake up in the flora. The shore relates a story of its bouts with the ruthlessness of the water force.

We return to the ship by 0700 hours and get ready for a Yog session on the deserted island that we are moored to. Some of us can take a safe walk with the naturalist on this island within the National Park. The ship sails out at 08:00 hours and we enjoy a relaxed breakfast from 0800 to 0900 hrs. After breakfast we sit on the Sun Deck and look out for any wild life that peeps out of the forest or is strolling on the sun baked sand or occupying space above the vessel. This day we don’t want to step off the deck in case we miss out on anything. We must have our binoculars or cameras handy at all times. By lunch time at 1300 hours we start seeing the Karbi Anglong Hills that are an extension of the Shillong Plateau. We keep sailing toward Silghat as the sun lowers itself and spreads its golden cloak on the powder blue waters of Brahmaputra.

After the golden hour we gather in the dining for a talk on ‘The Wild Life in India and Assam with special focus on The 2 UNESCO World Heritage Sites of Kaziranga and Manas National Parks and Nameri Tiger Reserve along with orientation for the elephant and Jeep Safaris at Kaziranga’.

Overnight onboard MV Mahabaahu (B, L, D)

Day 4:

FULL DAY IN KAZIRANGA NATIONAL PARK (UNESCO SITE) – CENTRAL & WESTERN RANGE

This day we wake up much before dawn and sip away at a strong cup of Assam tea, some coffee and cookies. Some fresh fruit, juice and dry fruits are on display. An hour of drive takes us to a resort in Kaziranga for use of facilities before we enjoy another beverage and some cookies and get ready for the elephant ride.

We ride into the early morning mist and as the sun rays force the mist to thin, we witness wild life up close and personal; swamp and hog deer, Asiatic water buffaloes and Rhinos; all happily grazing within yards of each other. An hour of elephant back saga through tall elephant grass leaves one enthralled and wanting. We drive to a resort where breakfast awaits.

Soon we drive towards the Eastern Range for jeep safari to explore for more wild life. We look for the Asiatic Wild Elephants, the striped cats, the Wild Water Buffalo with enormous horn span, the hog deer and the swamp deer and of course the one horned-rhinoceros that this UNESCO World Heritage Site is famous for. We return for lunch to the same resort by 1200 hours and enjoy a restful lunch.

We enjoy another Jeep Safari at the Western Range after lunch and we head back to the Cruise.

We get ready for the lounge hour and then enjoy an early dinner.

We sit through a short presentation and orientation on ‘The Nameri National Park Visit’ by the naturalist.

Overnight onboard MV Mahabaahu (B, L, D)

Day 5:

NAMERI NATIONAL PARK | ASSAMESE THEME EVENING

This morning we are in the restaurant at 0415 hours for a light breakfast and at 0430 hours we drive towards the Park. We reach the park by 0530 hours and after using the facilities we cross the 70m stretch of the Jia Bhaireli River in a local ferry.

We start our walk by 0600 hours with some guides and some armed guards according to the number of groups we decide to create. We explore the Nameri Park for several rare species of birds. The Nameri National Park provides habitat to Bengal Tiger, Asiatic Elephants, Indian Leapord, Clouded Leapord, Marbled Cat, Leapord Cat, Hog Deer, Sambar, Dhole, Gaur, Barking Deer, Wild Boar, Sloth Bear, Himalayan Black Bear, Capped Langur and the Giant Squirrel.

The rare white winged wood duck, great pied horn-bill, wreathed hornbill, rufus-necked hornbill, black stork, ibis bill, blue bearded bee-eaters, babblers and plovers are the species that we look for. We exit the forest by 0930 hours after covering almost 8 km stretch of the Forest (those who cannot walk the entire length can do either a 3 Km or a 5 km stretch).

We return to the ship by 10:30 hrs and enjoy some early hot lunch as MV Mahabaahu sails downstream towards Guwahati.

We enjoy the hills that line the outskirts of Guwahati and the River Brahmaputra. We sail past the smallest inhabited river island of the world, The Peacock Island and then sail under the Saraighat Bridge as the sun sets. We keep sailing towards the Manas National Park.

After a sundowner on the Sundeck we get ready for the Assamese Theme Evening both for dress and dinner.

Overnight on board MV Mahabaahu (B, L, D)

Day 6:

SAILING | MANAS NATIONAL PARK (UNESCO SITE)

This is a very relaxed morning; one can sleep in or enjoy Yog on the Sundeck from 0800 hours to 0900 hours as MV Mahabaahu sails towards Dungar Ghat. Breakfast is from 0800 to 09:30 hours.

We have a short talk on ‘Manas National Park and an orientation on the Park visit.

We reach Dungar Ghat by 1000 hours in our tenders and we drive to Manas for an hour and a half. We use the facilities, sip on some beverages and enjoy some lunch and leave for the afternoon jeep safari at 1300 hours at the Bhuyanpara Range for birds and wildlife.

The safari ends at 1600 hours and we return to the resort for facilities and refreshments and immediately drive back to the ship by 1700 hours. We board the ship for early dinner.

Overnight onboard MV Mahabaahu (B, L, D)

Day 7:

MANAS NATIONAL PARK (UNESCO SITE) | FAREWELL DINNER

All wildlife excursions call for moving out of the comfort zone at dawn. This morning we are in the restaurant at 04:15 hours and after a cup of coffee or tea with some cookies we don the life jackets and get into our tenders to hop on to Dungar Ghat. We get into our transportation for this morning and drive away comfortably to the Manas National Park and get onto the elephants for an hour of safari.

The elephant Safari at The Manas National Park is through thick forest whereas at Kaziranga National Park the elephant safari is through tall elephant grass .Both are different and exciting. It is pretty fascinating to see a wild elephant when you are atop a domesticated one. The Elephants in Manas and Kaziranga are healthy and graze in the wild. We enjoy the safari from 0700 hours to 0800 hours.

We return to the resort for a quick breakfast and head out for a jeep safari at the Bansbari Range. We leave for the morning Jeep Safari at 08:30 hours and are inside the park till 1100 hours.

Its Northern boundary is contiguous to the international border of Bhutan manifested by imposing Bhutan Hills. The Manas-Beki River system flanks the region. Manas has seven national and international designations, that is, World Heritage Site, National Park, Tiger Reserve (Core), Biosphere Reserve, Elephant Reserve, Tiger Sanctuary and Bird Sanctuary.

We return to the ship for a late lunch.

MV Mahabaahu sails upstream immediately. This evening we enjoy a relaxed lounge hour and an equally enjoyable sit-down farewell dinner.

Overnight onboard MV Mahabaahu (B, L, D)

Day 8:

DEBOARD AT GUWAHATI & DEPARTURE

The ship sails under the Saraighat bridge and docks at Pandu Port, Guwahati

We have breakfast from 08:00 to 900 hours and de-board the ship by 10:00 hrs to reach the airport by 1100 hours. We catch the flight out of Guwahati by 1300 hours or later.

(B)