Kaziranga National Park

Kaziranga is the crown jewel of Indian wildlife and a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1985. Stretched along the south bank of the Brahmaputra, its tall elephant grass, marshes and shallow pools shelter roughly two-thirds of the entire world population of the greater one-horned rhinoceros — a prehistoric-looking, armour-plated giant you are almost guaranteed to see, often within minutes of entering.

But Kaziranga is far more than rhinos. It has one of the highest tiger densities of any protected area on earth, along with wild Asian elephants, water buffalo, swamp deer, and, in winter, thousands of migratory birds on its wetlands. The park is divided into ranges — Kohora (Central), Bagori (Western), Agoratoli (Eastern) and Burapahar — each with its own character, explored by jeep safari or, at dawn, on elephant-back.