Lying down on the Himalaya foothills in the state of Assam, Manas National Park or Manas Wildlife Sanctuary is a striking wildlife habitat in India that adds in the beauty of its magnificent landscape. The park was also announced as a Natural World Heritage (in danger) Site by UNESCO. Not only this, it is also being named as Tiger Reserve, Elephant Reserve and Biosphere Reserve, as the park is fully occupied with large number of tigers, elephants and other fauna & flora species. It's a beautiful paradise on earth, always pampered by visitors due to its rich wildlife. Common wildlife species like the Golden Langur, Pygmy Hog, Hispid Hare, Assam Roofed Turtle, Wild Water Buffaloes, etc., are other main attractions of the park that draw many tourists from all over the world. The name of the national park was originated from the Manas River, which is identified after the serpent goddess Manasa. The river is great tributary of river Brahmaputra that passes via the core of the national park. Earlier, the park was announced as a sanctuary on 1st October, 1928, which was spread in 360 sq. km of area. Prior to sanctuary, it was named as Manas R.F. and North Kamrup R.F as it was reserved forest. In the year 1951 and 1955, the forest area was increased to 391 km² and Manas Bioreserve made in the year 1973. In 1985, the park was declared as Natural World Heritage Site by UNESCO. Later in the year 1990, Kahitama R.F. and the Panbari R.F. were also included to create Manas National Park. But in 1992, UNESCO confirmed the park as world heritage site in danger because of hunting and terrorist actions. In the year 2008, the area was suddenly increased to 950 km² in the month of February. Recently, UNESCO has removed its name from the list of World Heritage in Danger on 21 June 2011, and was much-admired for its efforts in protection. Situated in the foothills of Eastern Himalayas of western Assam, Manas National Park surrounds Chirang, Darrang, Kokrajhar, Udalguri and Baska districts of Assam. Manas Wildlife Sanctuary is separated into three ranges namely Bansbari (Central), Panbari (Western), and Bhuiapara (Eastern). The park is spread in the area of 950 sq km and the height is around 61-110 meters above msl (mean sea level). The Burma monsoon forest of Manas is located on the edges between the Indo-Gangetic and Indo-Malayan biogeographical regions. The Burma monsoon forest of Manas is located on the edges between the Indo-Gangetic and Indo-Malayan biogeographical regions. However, there are around 543 plants species that was recorded from the centre zone in which 139 species monocotyledons, 374 species are dicotyledons (with 89 trees), and 30 are Pteridophytes & Gymnosperms respectively. While on the other side, the grasslands are reined by Saccharum naranga, Imperata cylindrica, Arundo donax, Phragmites karka, Phyllanthus emblica, Dillenia pentagyna, Bombax ceiba, Clerodendrum, Premna, Leea, Grewia, Mussaenda, etc. The park has rich wildlife where large number of animals and birds exist. As per the record, there are approx 450 species of birds, 50 species of reptiles, 55 species of mammals and few species of amphibians. The main attractions of forest are Leopard, Tiger, and Panther. ACTIVITIES: Elephant & Jeep Safari activities are available here through which one can enjoy the view of wildlife by keeping their eyes on. Elephant Safari- It is available at Bansbari to view & explore flora and fauna of the forest. Jeep Safari-A perfect way to explore the park in a 4-wheel (Jeep) drive vehicle as one can view tigers, leopard and other animals by being safe on the other side. Jeep Safaris are permitted from sunrise to sunset for sightseeing inside the park.
The best season of Manas National Park are from November to April.
The Park is open daily from November to April i.e., for 6 (six) months, unless due to the rains in any exceptional year the park has to be closed earlier by the management for safety reasons.
Partially open: Park remains open partially on the months from May & October.
Closed: The park remains closed June to September.
Hours: This Park opened at 5:30 AM. The closing hours are scheduled to accord roughly with the seasonal variation in climate, as well as with the length of the day at different months, as tourists can enter the park only during the day time. Though in India is all on one time Zone, sun rise and sun set time are early in Manas or Assam (or in North East India) than Delhi, Gujarat and other states of India. The sun sets in Manas or Assam at around 4.30 PM in the month of November and in March / April it sets around 5.30 PM.
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