Planning a Mammal-Focused Trip to Northeast India: Assam & Arunachal Pradesh
Hi everyone! 😊
We’re excited to share that we’ll be traveling to the northeastern states of India—Assam and Arunachal Pradesh—from April 26th to May 10th. Our itinerary includes the following stops:
- Kaziranga National Park (2 days)
- Eaglenest Wildlife Sanctuary (2.5 days)
- Pakke Tiger Reserve (3 days)
- Tawang (2.5 days)
- Tezpur for dolphin watching (1.5 days)
Our main targets are mammals, especially:
- Cats (all species we can spot!)
- Mustelids, with a focus on the yellow-throated marten
- Viverrids, especially civets and the elusive binturong
- Bats, particularly flying foxes, but we’d love to see other species too
- Flying squirrels (they’d be a dream to spot!)
- If possible, the Himalayan black bear
We’re also happy to see birds and reptiles, though they’re not our primary focus.
We have a few questions and would be super grateful for any advice:
- Kaziranga: We’re thinking of focusing on the central area.
Pakke Tiger Reserve: We’re considering the northern section.
Given our limited time, are there other zones you’d recommend instead? - We’d like to hire local guides for each park individually, but full tour packages are beyond our budget. Do you have any recommendations for experienced, affordable local guides?
- Has anyone processed the entry permit for Arunachal Pradesh in Guwahati, or have you gone through a local company? How was the experience, and how long did it take?
Thank you so much for your help! We’re really looking forward to this adventure, and your tips would mean a lot to us. 🙏
Best wishes,
Alicia
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8 Comments
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mattystouffer
Hi Alicia,
My wife and I were just in Assam in November, based primarily at Diphlu River Lodge on the south side of Kaziranga. We did multiple drives in each range, and based on our experience, I would advise against focusing on the Central range. The odds of spotting a Tiger are probably highest in Central, but it is by far the busiest and dustiest part of the Park. When we were there, it was so crowded with other jeeps that the experience bordered on unpleasant. I would suggest instead prioritizing the Eastern range and Burapahar (the far western range), as these areas are seldom visited but are absolutely packed with wildlife. If you plan to base yourselves closer to the center of the Park and want to limit your transit time, we found that the Western range was best for good looks at the Kaziranga ‘Big Five’, as well as Smooth-coated Otter, and we vastly preferred it to Central.
You are unlikely to need 1.5 days for the River Dolphins. They’re abundant and easily seen (if difficult to photograph) between Tezpur and Silghat. We got on a pair within a half hour of departing the dock at Silghat, approximately here: (26.63064107588362, 92.94589647297393). If you’re exclusively mammalwatching, I’d suggest you devote at most a day to the Brahmaputra (though perhaps more if you’re also going to be birding).
A few notes on your targets:
– Cats: with the exception of Tigers, your chance for cats will be highest in the upland areas. Our guides told us that Nameri, just south of Pakke, is quite good for Leopards. We also heard that a Fishing Cat and her cubs are semi-regular nocturnal visitors on the Diphlu River Lodge campus, and that Mainland Leopard Cats are occasionally seen further east at Hollongapar Gibbon Sanctuary.
– Mustelids: apart from the Smooth-coated Otters, we had no mustelids during our time in Assam, but we heard from our guides that Yellow-throated Marten are reasonably common at Pakke and around Eaglenest.
– Vivverids: we saw none around Kaziranga, but our guides told us that Nameri and the south part of Pakke are the best place in the region to see Binturong.
– Bats: there are multiple Indian Flying Fox roosts along the north side of the Assam Trunk Road south of Kaziranga, including a large roost just west of the Diphlu River Lodge driveway, approximately here: (26.576489719295182, 93.25352120370164).
– Squirrels: many seen, though no flying squirrels, which don’t really occur at or around Kaziranga. We had Irrawaddy Squirrels in every range, Pallas’s Squirrel along the Assam Trunk Road and inside the Park at Burapahar, and Black Giant Squirrels at Burapahar.
– Bears: can’t comment on Himalayan Black Bear, but our guides at Diphlu mentioned they infrequently encounter Sloth Bears in the Eastern and Central ranges at Kaziranga.
– Primates: your chances for primates around Kaziranga are highest at the west end of the Park. We had Western Hoolock Gibbon along the road opposite the Kanchanjuri tea estate, and a bit further west, we saw a family of Capped Langurs along the jeep path inside the Park at Burapahar. Rhesus Macaques are regular in all three ranges. Assamese Macaques are regular in the woodsy section along the Trunk Road from the entrance to Burapahar east to the Chirang Pahar View Point, roughly here: (26.574411863161775, 93.10013377528117).Finally, we did not enter Arunachal, but we did have some permit challenges of our own. To put it simply, after many years of a less restrictive visa regime throughout the Northeast, getting the Inner Line and Restricted Area Permits has recently become more difficult again due to the Modi administration’s concerns about foreigners entering the area. Since much of your trip will depend on getting into Arunachal, I would suggest leaving it to a professional and allowing plenty of time to process the permit. We heard it could take 8 to 12 weeks right now, but that is entirely anecdotal and may not reflect actual processing time if a guide or tour company applies for you.
Best of luck and hope you have a wonderful trip!
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mattystouffer
I will add that our stay at Diphlu River Lodge was exceptional: not only were the accommodations and food outstanding, but it was also by far our best experience working with guides. This was in large part thanks to our dedicated and extremely knowledgeable staff naturalist, Anuj Deb, who was with us from dawn to dusk (and beyond, on days we went spotlighting outside the Park) through our whole stay. I don’t think Anuj guides outside of the context of Diphlu, but it might be worth reaching out to ask.
You might also try contacting Peter Lobo at All India Birding Tours (https://allindiabirdingtours.com/our-team-2/). Peter is known among birders to be the top fixer in the Northeast, but he and his team are also quite knowledgeable about mammals and should be able to help arrange guides in each location.
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AliciaPage
Hi Matty,
Thank you so much for sharing your detailed experience in Assam! Your insights are incredibly helpful as we finalize our plans for the trip. Here are my thoughts on the points you mentioned:Kaziranga National Park:
Your feedback about the Central range being overcrowded and dusty makes us reconsider the priorities. We really appreciate your tip about the Western range for the “Big Five” and Smooth-coated Otters. We’ll probably Focus in that part.River Dolphins:
We’ll likely limit our time on the Brahmaputra to a single day, focusing on the Tezpur-Silghat stretch where you had success.Cats: It’s exciting to hear about Nameri’s potential for the Fishing Cat sightings at Diphlu River Lodge. We’ll aim to include Nameri in our itinerary and keep Hollongapar Gibbon Sanctuary in mind for Leopard Cats. But we don’t know yet how to fix It in the planning.
Mustelids: Though it’s a bit of a long shot, knowing that Yellow-throated Martens are common in Pakke and Eaglenest gives us hope. I’ll remain optimistic for Smooth-coated Otters around Kaziranga.
Viverrids: The possibility of spotting a Binturong at Nameri or Pakke is thrilling—definitely a highlight to pursue. Thanks a lot for the specific location.
Bats: Thanks for the specific Flying Fox roost locations; they’ll make for an interesting stop along the Assam Trunk Road.
Squirrels: we’ll watch out for the species you mentioned, especially the Black Giant Squirrels and Irrawaddy Squirrels at Burapahar.
Bears: Sloth Bears in the Eastern and Central ranges sound like a possibility worth exploring, though I’ll temper expectations.
Primates: The tips for spotting Western Hoolock Gibbons and Capped Langurs, particularly in Burapahar and the Kanchanjuri tea estate area, are invaluable. Noted the locations for Assamese Macaques and will keep an eye out!
Permits and Arunachal Pradesh:
Your advice about the permit process is critical—thank you for the heads-up! We’ll apply as soon as possible to avoid any last-minute issues. We Saw that it’s posible to obtain It via embassyYour are a treasute!
Thank you again for sharing your experience—it’s a tremendous help! If we spot anything exciting, I’ll be sure to share updates.Best regards!
Alicia and Jorge.Best regards,
Alicia -
Vana
Alicia
We have done this tour a few times with variable range of success – you can write to us and set a budget and we can see if we can work something out – my comments –
Kaziranga – since you mention you are on a budget – Diphlu is an expensive lodge so you may keep that in mind. Far better to stay in homestays and there are a few good ones in central and eastern zone. I would suggest that over Diphlu. Also in Kaziranga – now it is possible to explore a bit in the early evenings – so you can consider that one of the days rather than just staying in the park all days. Central zone is the best – if tigers are the main focus – else at least one safari to Burapahar zone and one to eastern will be nice.
Eaglesnest – since you are on budget and with limited time – stay at Lama Camp. You cannot really go inside and spend nights in Bompu unless you have some more time in hand.
Pakke – being the first tour operator to consider this place for mammal-watching – when we explored Pakke we were allowed by the park director to spend time before sunrise and after sunset for some time – now that is impossible and hence I would think twice before going there.
Daytime visits can be great for birding and chance encounters – but very rarely one expects Binturongs in day time.
Tawang – is an okay place not very exciting for wildlife except the macaques.
Nameri – again you are on foot in day time – so expect not to see much but a chance encounter is possible.
Bats – Flying Fox is very common in many areas – so easy to see them – but other bats can be sighted if you know where to look for them – for example – some species of smaller fruits bats use the palm leaves and have day roost inside the palm fronds – so if you have a guide who knows the roost – then you will see them.
I would suggest take out Pakke (great place but the day time permits will not help seeing wildlife) – rather add more time in Eaglesnest – and explore the stretch b/w Rupa and Lama and then Lama and Bompu and then Bompu till the lower part – however you need to be VERY VERY careful about charging elephants in that time – April till May.
Dophins in April – the water levels in the Brahmaputra will be higher so you will see them but they may not be as easy as sighting them in winter-spring months.
Also be prepared that at some of the places they may ask for extras – without you knowing about it as to charge the devices one has to pay extra to run the gensets -(power supply in April/May can be dodgy) you need to be aware of that.
Anyway good luck and if you need help – write to us. Oh yes – a thermal will help a lot.
Best wishes.
Avijit-
AliciaPage
Hi Avijit,
Thank you so much for your detailed response and for sharing your insights. Your suggestions and advice are incredibly helpful, especially since this is our first trip to the area.We’ll definitely take your recommendations into account. Staying in homestays around Kaziranga sounds like a great idea, and we’ll make sure to explore the central and eastern zones, as well as Burapahar, as you suggested. Tigers are one of our key interests, but we also want to get a broader sense of the park’s wildlife.
Regarding Eaglesnest, staying at Lama Camp seems like the best option given our budget and time constraints, and we’ll try to explore the stretches between Rupa, Lama, and Bompu as much as possible.
We are very greatfull for the elephant warning. We’ll make sure to stay alert and not doing anything stupid.We’ll also consider your advice about Pakke. If daytime access limits wildlife sightings, perhaps it would be better to allocate more time to Eaglesnest, as you suggested, but we need to think about It because we really want to see binturong hehe.
About the dolphins, we understand the higher water levels in April could make sightings trickier, but we’re still excited to try. And we’ll definitely bring a thermal device—it seems like it will be useful, or at least we hope so.
We appreciate your mention of the potential extra charges for power. We were already thinking about having varios power banks.
Thank you again for your time and for offering to help.
Maybe we can reach you vía e-mail to talk about the budget?
Best wishes,
Alicia
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Dr. Shyama Pal
Hi Alicia
I run a wildlife travel venture based out of India and Himalayas and Himalayan foothills is a stronghold and a place I personally spend all my time chasing the most rare and elusive species of India here.
I can definitely help you plan. You could write to me at shyama@wildwildwanderer.com
Regards,
Dr. Shyama Pal.
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Ian Thompson
Hi Alicia. My partner and I visited those areas in February and March of 2024. I’d be happy to discuss. Perhaps you could e-mail me at ibtson@yahoo.com and we can set up a time for a zoom call? Regards, Ian Thompson