Rhinos and Tea Leaves

Bite-sized trip

Itinerary:
Kaziranga National Park - Jorhat
Duration:
4 days / 3 nights (flexible)
Price:
from £ 584.- per person (excluding flights)

Sip on local tea and spot the great Indian one-horned rhinoceros in Assam. Sleep in a jungle lodge, take a jeep safari and stay with a leading planter family amidst endless tea hills. Assam is a rarely-visited region of India, rich in natural beauty, wildlife and more tea than you could ever imagine. During this trip, you’ll spend a day on safari in Kaziranga National Park, scouring the floodplains for tigers, monkeys and sambar deer in the early morning light. Next, you’ll head for Jorhat, the second largest city in Assam, to learn all about the local art of tea planting, picking and drinking on the slopes of the surrounding tea hills.

Day 1 – Arrival in Kaziranga National Park

Declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site, Kaziranga National Park is a substantial sized park, covering approximately 430 square kilometres. You’ll spend two nights in the oldest jungle lodge in Kaziranga National Park, set in a picturesque village close to the main entrance. The rooms have plenty of local charm and there’s a large dining room with an inviting terrace overlooking the gardens – perfect for sipping tea!

Day 2 – Kaziranga – jeep safari

After breakfast, you’ll set off on a jeep safari to spot the famous one-horned rhinos as well as wild elephants, tiger, buffaloes, gaur, monkeys, deer, otters, badgers, leopards and wild boar. Not only this, but thousands of migratory birds arrive at the park every year, from distant lands as far away as Siberia. After lunch you’ll take a second safari through the park.

Days 3-4 – Jorhat tea plantation tour & departure

Today, you’ll leave Kaziranga National Park behind and head to Jorhat, Assam’s second largest city, with chaotic traffic and colourful markets. Just outside the city limits, the tea plantations take over and you’ll get a glimpse into traditional rural Assam. You’ll visit a tea plantation and watch the tea pickers at work. In the factory, you can observe the process of tea production; withering, rolling, fermenting, drying and sorting. You’ll stay in the 75-year-old family home of one of Assam’s leading tea planter families. With a colonnaded verandah, chandeliered sit-out overlooking lush lawns, fireplace and stately drawing room, it’s packed with nostalgia.

Your trip ends after breakfast the next day when we’ll arrange a transfer to Jorhat airport to connect with your onward flight to your next adventure.