If you are going off
via Kolkata then see if you can fly out of Jorhat. (Or into Jorhat) Then
on the last day of your tour in Kaziranga you could profitably visit Gibbon
Wildlife Sanctuary. It does not
take long to do Gibbon sightseeing. Usually people do it Ex- Kaziranga,
they take a hired vehicle to go to Gibbon
WLS and leave very early 4 am so they reach the place 128 km (2 and half
hours) and then Gibbon activity is over by 9 am and they come back to visit
Eastern Range in Kaziranga on same day. The place is 30 odd minutes from Jorhat
airport and so on last day of your client's 3 night stay it is fruitful
to visit this very small sanctuary.
Jorhat airport it is
90 km (you have to go further 30 km and return 30 km to airport). The
background info I am giving to you for your information.
HOOLLONGAPAR GIBBON
WILDLIFE SANCTUARY: 20. Sq km Sanctuary. It is now a small
tropical wet forest. Actually it is the oldest miscellaneous
plantation having Dipterocarpus and Mesua as dominant species and
is easily accessible and has 7 species of primates. Walks are allowed
and Hollock Gibbon easily sighted. There is a presence of pig tailed and stump
tailed macaque which can be sighted with moderate luck. In winter (starting
late October) it is good for forest birds several species of forest butterflies
and giant squirrel. More than birds in the main road cutting through the small
sanctuary more than 100 species of butterflies can be identified in the months
of Oct and November as also in March-April.
Though a plantation
it looks like a natural forest with all storeys’s of canopy extant. It’s a
natural looking rain forest and surely worth a visit. The sanctuary is
now insular and has no connectivity with larger forest belt. But earlier
it had contiguity with Disoi Valley Reserved Forests (RF) Disoi RF, Tiru
RF and Geleki RF bordering Nagaland and was the natural abode of
all these primates. Due to large scale human induced degradation especially
from Nagaland the Gibbon Sanctuary is what is left. A pocket herd of elephant
is largely resident in this sanctuary and leopards are also found. Sighting of
the groups of primates requires prior arrangement with forest authorities
tracking them. (we will do this) in this unique forest It is the
best place for orienting a naturalist to the representative rain forest habitat
condition coupled with interesting primate sighting especially the Hollock Gibbon
which is the only ape available in India. Photographers usually try their luck
and are successful.
Can I stay places near Hoollongapar
Gibbon Sanctuary?
Of
course you can stay in places near Gibbon
Sanctuary also. Besides the Hollock there is the capped langur more sure in Gibbon then in Kaziranga (you get
capped langur sighting in Kaziranga best is in Kanchenjuri (see note on
Ghorakati Range) but not as sure as in Gibbon (90% sure) But real best
capped langur sighting is in Nameri National park 125 km from Kaziranga
you get it in the Eco Camp which is a tented camp place to stay in Nameri
National Park.
Staying
in the Inspection
Bungalow in Gibbon is the best. It’s basic but okay. You can do it Ex-Kaziranga as suggested. As the area is
only 30 minutes from Jorhat airport your clients can do on day of departure as
I have already written above if your clients are flying out of Jorhat All
flights usually leave Jorhat around 1.30 pm. The IB in Gibbon costs Rs 800 per
room. We send a driver and a guide along to do the cooking etc also so two
rooms will be required and the car needs to be at disposal.
Next place to stay near Gibbon is 45 minutes away is best though
pricey known as Thengal Manor it’s very good but pricey. Thengal is an old
residence of a tea planter called Rai Bahadur Shiva Prasad Barooah, who in the
1930s was the richest Indian tea planter, and he built Thengal House as his
personal residence in 1929. His son H.P.Barooah renovated it in 1964. ‘Dainik
Batori’ was published the first Assamese daily newspaper from this mansion in
1935. The house was built in the old bungalow style of North India (not like
ones built in Assam) that was used by the British for the administrative
offices, with passages right around the building to resist humidity and keep
the interior’s cool. Chinese masons built the mansion with its thick brick and
lime-mortar walls. The mansion is situated in a five acre plot near
an Assamese village and a prayer hall is situated in the compound. The rooms
are airy and each of them has the old style fireplace. It is under the
aegis of Welcome Group of hotels. Thengal is 15 km from Jorhat airport takes 30
minutes. It takes about 2 hours 10 minutes to reach Thengal from Wild Grass.
(Both are under Welcome Group of Hotels).
Another place is Tea Garden Bungalows two of them one is known as the Burra Sahib Bungalow and The
Gotonga Bungalow owned by the same people who own Thengal Manor. The Gotonga Tea Estate (757
hectares, more than half the area under tea) has a factory, which allows
visitors and conducts factory visits for those who stay in Thengal and Burra
sahib Nowadays Burra Sahib is known as Kaziranga
Golf Club as the owners built an 18 hole golf course there. Both are a bit
pricey. Kaziranga Golf Course is 38 km from Gibbon because of road it takes
about 55 minutes. Rates of these places are at par with Thengal.
There are some basic and neat places near
Gibbon where you can halt also Gibbon Guest house 5 rooms and dormitory. It is all round best
places in a simple manner stay if you have no luxury issue for Gibbon.
Also bed and breakfast B & B “Puroni Bheti Lodge “is another
option for back packers.
