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.Manas National Park
is famous for the Majestic Tigers. This park is the only Project Tiger in
Assam. The Manas Reserve, located in the foothills of the Bhutan hills, far
from human habitation, is a world in itself.
Geographical Details:
- Longitude - From 91-51-00 E To 92-00-00 E
- Latitude - From 26-30-00 N To 27-00-00 N
- Topography Code - P
- Altitudinal Range - 60-100
- Average Rainfall - 1200 mm
- Temperature - Min 2, Max 32 (deg.Cel)
Tiger Population:
- 1979 - 69
- 1984 - 123
- 1989 - 92
- 1993 - 81
- 1995 - 94
- 2001 - 98
In the wild zone!
Wondrous Fauna !!!!
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 whoooping call
of the hoolock gibbon can be heard resounding through the forest. The
Reserve is also home to the attractive red panda but these are only seen
occasionally in the higher elevations. Manas is a very special bioshpere,
for it harbours twenty species of birds and animals that are highly
endangered and listed in the IUCN Red Data Book. These include the hispid
hare and the pigmy hog. The lush forest canopy at Manas shelters colourful
birds - the giant hornbills, both pied and grey varieties, pheasants, jungle
fowl and scarlet minivet being among them. The water birds along the rivers
include brahminy ducks, mergansers and a range of egrets, herons and
pelicans. Over 2840 sq.km in area, Manas is a fascinating tiger reserve.
Spectral Flora !!!!
The area of Manas has roughly 45% grassland and 55% tree land as wildlife
habitat. The river course may have about 100 sq.km. of reparian forests of
grass and primary succession of tree cover, which is probably the most
suitable water buffalo habitat any where and providing by far the best
habitat for the tiger, where the concentration of the species is the
highest.
Best time to visit:
The best season to visit Manas park is between October to April. Rest of
the year it is off season for the national park. Avoid the monsoon as many
parts of the park is flooded and animals are not easy to spot.
How to get there:
By air: Guwahati is the nearest airport at 176 kms.
By rail: The nearest town and rail-head is Barpeta Road,
41 kms away.
By
Road: Manas is well connected by network of roads which connect the
place with other cities and towns in the state.
Within the Park, riding elephants and boats on the rivers are available for
transport
Accommodation:
Two forest lodges maintained by the tourism department provide comfortable
accommodation near the park. The first lodge is located at Barpeta Road and
the second at Bansbari. The state department also has two bungalows at
Mathanguri inside the forest. There is no provision for catering at these
bungalows and lodges, so needful provisions for food must be made. Cooks and
chefs are available for a small fee.
