We welcome you to the Orang National Park, Assam.
The Orang National Park formerly known as the Rajiv Gandhi Orang National Park and is located approximately 140 km from Guwahati in the Darrang and Sonitpur districts of Assam. The Orang National Park is often referred to as the mini Kaziranga of Assam and is spread across an area of 79 sq. km. Orang National Park’s Landscapes made up of streams, marshes and grasslands resembles the topography of the Kaziranga National Park. Orang is known for its population of the Indian One Horned Rhinoceros and the Royal Bengal Tiger.
Originally established a Wildlife Sanctuary in 1985, Orang was declared as a National Park in 1999.
Orang National Park contains significant breeding populations of several fauna species. Apart from the great Indian one-horned rhinoceros the other key species sharing the habitat are the Royal Bengal Tigers ,Asiatic Elephants, Pygmy Hog, Hog Deer, etc.
More than 50 species of fish have been recorded in the river and channels flowing through the Orang National park.
The Orang National Park is home to a variety of migratory birds, water birds, predators, scavengers and game birds. A total of 222 species of birds have so far been recorded, some of which are: spot-billed pelican, great white pelican, black-necked stork , greater adjutant stork, lesser adjutant stork, ruddy shelduck, etc. Migratory birds as far as from America such as the milky American white pelicans have also been reported in the park.
Among reptiles, seven species of turtle and tortoise are found in Orang National Park, out of which turtle varieties such as Lissemys punctata, Kachuga tecta are common. Among snakes, pythons and cobras are recorded here. Indian rock python, black krait, king cobra, cobra, monitor lizard are the reptiles found here.
Jungle Safari options at Orang National Park ~
- Jeep Safari into the interiors of the Orang National Park
Stay options at Orang National Park ~
- Prashanti Tourist Lodge at Orang National Park
To plan your visit to Orang National Park in Assam please tell us ~
A day out at Orang National Park ~
After completing our visit to the Manas National Park and Tiger Reserve in the month of November 2016, we were now only left with exploring the Orang National Park in Assam as we had finished exploring all the other National Parks at Kaziranga, Manas, Dibru Saikhowa and Nameri. So in the month of February 2017, my friend and I decided to pay a visit to Orang National Park near Mangaldoi in Assam and check out the facilities available here so that we could include Orang National Park on our itineraries across Assam for our guests from around the World. Orang National Park is sometimes referred to as the mini Kaziranga National Park of Assam as the park’s landscapes are made up of streams, marshes and grasslands that often resembles the topography of the Kaziranga National Park. Orang National Park is spread across an area of 79 sq. km. and Orang is known for its population of the Indian One Horned Rhinoceros and the Royal Bengal Tiger.
As we did not plan on halting at Orang National Park we decided to leave from Guwahati in the morning to Orang National Park, explore the forest on board a Jeep safari ride and return to Guwahati by evening. We started at 8 AM from Guwahati to Orang National Park. We crossed North Guwahati to reach Baihata Chariali and from here we had to take a right diversion to head towards Mangaldoi and then continue on our drive to Orang National Park. The roads are good and the drive is very scenic as well. As you drive along you can see a good population of Bangladeshi people settled in the area especially around Mangaldoi. We crossed the Mangaldoi market and seeked for directions to Orang National Park. The local people helped us with the directions and in some time we reached a place called Silbari. From here we had to take a right to continue to drive to Orang National Park. The roads were no longer good and so the drive got a little difficult now but still was manageable. We had to cross a few villages before we came to market area that was filled with migrants from Bangladesh who had settled themselves here and were running the market. We wanted to stop for directions but did not feel safe to make a stop and so we headed on our own to look out for Orang National Park.
Cellular connectivity at these places are pathetic and following google maps is not much of an option. Finally we made it to the entrance gate of the Orang National Park. I parked my vehicle at the premises of the Prashanti Tourist Lodge that is present right next to the entrance of the Orang national Park. A basic property present here but not maintained well. We went to the office premises present at the entrance gate of Orang National Park where we were greeted by a forest guard who spoke to us about the present conditions of Orang National Park along with its varied flora and fauna species present here along with his experiences sighting tigers in the wild in the forest reserves of Orang National Park. The only mode of transportation to go inside and explore the forest reserves of Orang National Park is by Jeep Safari and there is only one Jeep at the disposal of one Mr. Abdul who takes visitors into Orang National Park. We had not booked our safari here as we had no clue as how to go about it so the guard was kind enough to share Mr. Abdul’s contact number with us. With the mobile network being erratic we somehow managed to reach Mr. Abdul’s house which is located close by and asked him if he could take us inside the forest reserves of Orang National Park and help us explore the wide natural wonders of this National park which is often referred to as the mini Kaziranga because of its similar landscapes.
Mr. Abdul was very helpful and eager to take us into the interiors of Orang National Park on his jeep. But the safari timings into the park starts in the afternoon at 1.30 PM and also his Jeep was short in duel as he was not prepared to go inside the reserves of Orang National Park today. He asked whether we wanted to have lunch at the Prashanti Lodge and we agreed. So while his staff prepared lunch and served it to us Mr. Abdul got his Jeep refuelled and prepared our entry formalities here at Orang National Park we enjoyed our sumptuous lunch at the lodge. After completing our entry formalities we started on our Jeep safari ride into the interiors of Orang National Park at around 1.45 PM. A little into the ride we caught our first glimpse of wildlife here at Orang National Park when we sighted an Asiatic Wild Water Buffalo crossing the road. It was amazing to sight this beast from such a close distance. Next up we sighted few Hog deers grazing in the open fields here. Orang National Park covers a total area of 78 sq km but safari is limited only across a small circuit of this National Park like other National parks in the state of Assam at Kaziranga and Manas.
We were praying to help us get a chance to sight a tiger in the wild but today we were not fortunate. Mr. Abdul told us that he was lucky to have spotted many tigers on his jeep safari rides inside Orang National Park with other guests. We spotted various bird species on our ride as well of the like of egrets, herons, kingfishers, eagles, owls, barbets, cranes, pelicans, etc. Finally while returning back to the entrance of Orang National Park we were able to sight the Indian One Horned Rhinoceros at Orang National Park. A beautiful animal we halted the jeep ride for a while to click pictures of the animal. It kept on looking at us and we were able to capture some nice pictures of the rhinoceros here at Orang National Park. The jeep safari ride lasted for about an hour and thirty minutes and we were out of the park by 3.15 PM. We thanked Mr. Abdul for his hospitality and help in arranging the jeep safari ride here at Orang National Park. We settled our bill for lunch and jeep safari ride and bid goodbye to the forest staff at Orang National Park and headed on our drive back to Guwahati.
To Plan your visit to Orang National Park in Assam please tell us ~
