Manas – The perfect Jungle Retreat

Situated in the Himalayan foothills in the state of Assam, ‘Manas’ is a gold mine of exquisite flora and fauna. It was the month of November and my man’s birthday was on the next month.

While, I browsed through different gift options, I accidentally chanced upon this masterpiece of an idea. A ‘perfect jungle retreat’ how about that? I thought to myself. We had already done the hills and the beaches this year, so an experience in the wilderness would be the golden package to end the year with; the closing piece of the jigsaw puzzle I was looking for.

As alluring as my choice of gift was, I still had to make more specific choices. Two names popped in my mind, ‘Kaziranga’ and ‘Manas’. Kaziranga, however, seemed really mainstream. So, Manas was locked as my sure choice and the research for the trip begun.

On 21^st December 2019, at around 8 am, we loaded our luggage into our car and filled our flask with steaming hot coffee and we were all set to embark on this wonderful experience. We started from Guwahati, at roughly 8 am.

The road trip was not particularly exciting, and we did take a break every hour and refreshed ourselves with coffee; until we touched upon a bed of wild mustard blossoms, making a royal yellow bed beneath the clear blue sky.

We stopped for some photographs and then proceeded with the rest of our Road Trip. We reached Manas National Park at around 11:30 am. Just 700 metres from the entrance of the park was the luxury resort where we would blissfully spend the next two days.

Musa-The Jungle Resort

Musa is the only luxury 3 star resort present in the area. The exotic resort is adorned with beautiful flowerbeds, huge stretches of lush green gardens, bonsai plants and artistically done spacious cottages; bamboo and wood being the prime elements in the construction. Each cottage is accompanied by a huge balcony (verandah) that opens to a breathtaking view. You could even go for a relatively economic option or may be go for camps/tents for a different jungle attuned experience. However, since it was supposed to be a luxury trip, I did not mind being a little extravagant on my budget.

After lunch and rest, we decided to take an evening stroll, explore the place and may be grab a cup of coffee somewhere. We started off at 4:30 pm and wonder of wonders, boy we were in for a surprise.

No sooner had we stepped out of our resort, we were greeted by a swarm of peacocks. We were in for a pleasant shock as we had never encountered peacocks from such close quarters in a natural habitat. We savored the view for quite sometime and then proceeded with our walk. Sadly enough, it was already evening and we could not get a good enough shot of the birds. Also the fact that peacocks are vain/shy did not help much.

We returned to our resort at around 6 pm. It is advised to stay indoors after dark lest one encounters a wild animal.

The Bon-Fire

The winter night was chilly and we booked a bon-fire. The resort arranges for bon-fire at Rs 500 and we ordered for some coffee and a plate of chicken pakoda. The air was romantic, the place was serene yet silent, the fireplace was cozy and we relished on the coffee and pakodas. However, if you want to have some alcoholic beverages in place of wine and tune in some music to enjoy the night, it is best advised to make arrangements before the trip.

The Elephant Safari

Elephant Safari happens only during the first half of the day (forenoon). They stretch for a duration of one hour and are divided into 6 am, 7 am, 8am and 9 am slots. It is advisable to pick a slot during the wee hours of the morning to enjoy bird watching experience in the wilderness.

However, one must take enough care to avoid the fogs. Since, we had visited Manas during the peak of winters, we decided to go for the 7 am slot. But, the hotel manager advised us to go for the 8 am slot for a better experience, and we did.

At about 7:45 am, we walked towards the Elephant boarding point which was around 700 metres from our resort. We luckily got a three passenger seater elephant all to ourselves and with that started our early morning venture.

The mighty tusker made its way into the forest. As we trudged deeper we could observe a variety of birds; parakeets, harriers, curlews and quails to name a few. We also passed by a mother son rhino duo as they sat lazily on the moist ground soaking in the first rays of the mild sun.

During our return journey through the woods we encountered a barking deer and a few peacocks. Whilst the animal spotting was not that great, we really did savor the ‘perfect jungle experience’ that it offered. One advantage of the Elephant safari over Jeep Safari is the fact that elephants walk through the jungle and into places where jeeps are not allowed.

The Intermediate time

It was fifteen minutes past nine o’clock when we returned to our boarding point. We were exhilarated to see a group of peacocks greeting us as we de-boarded our ride. Two of them, had spread their wings displaying a rainbow of choicest colours that vibrantly flare. They also did their ‘little dance’.

However, this time we were determined not to let the opportunity pass by, hence we fixed the settings of our SLR and tried to capture these majestic beauties.

Once, into our resort, we quickly made our way to the dining hall. We were already running late. We enjoyed a sumptuous complimentary breakfast. We then took our car for a short spin into the Manas picnic point. We returned for lunch as we had our jeep safari booked for 1:30 pm.

The Jeep Safari

The jeep safaris or game drives happen in two slots 9:30 am and 1:30 pm. The afternoon is the preferred slot for animal spotting. One can also book a game drive for the whole day, but the half day would work just as fine if you are visiting the place in a ‘touristy manner’. The safaris usually last for three and a half hours. We booked the jeep all to ourselves for Rs 3100 (half day).

Unlike the elephant ride, this time we took the roads along the dense jungle. Our driver, apparently with the eyes of hawk would help us spot the animals.

We saw rhinos, pygmy hogs, wild boars, antlers, wild buffaloes, wild elephants, ducks, pelicans, eagles, peacocks etc. We made several stops at the designated view points along the route. The park is flanked by the giant Manas River separating it from ‘Royal Manas National Park’ in Bhutan; which was also our last stop.

Though Manas National Park is a ‘Tiger Reserve’, spotting a tiger there is a stroke of luck. Sadly enough, we did not encounter any during our game drive. We returned to our resort at around 5:15 pm. We took a warm bath, ordered coffee,snuggled into our cosy bed and retired for the day.

Departing Day

It was the departing day and we did not want to miss out on the early morning experience. We were up by 6:15 am. By 6:30 am, we sat on the verandah of our cottage sipping our black coffee. We tried to soak in the tranquility before engaging ourselves in our routine busy lives. By 7:30 am we were taking a morning walk in the midst of the tea plantations near the park.

When we came for breakfast, we were told that the regular buffet breakfast was not available as most of the tourists had already left the day before. However, we could order anything from the menu and it would be complimentary. We ordered stuffed parathas, Masala Omlette and coffee.

After having our fill, we got ready to return to Guwahati and left at around 11 am.

The trip ended, but needless to say, we left a part of our soul in that place. My main draw to Manas was the chance to disconnect and experience the wilderness, and Manas did not disappoint one bit. Loaded with a myriad of activities to appreciate the diversity of the region, Manas is a place where adventure meets respite. It is undoubtedly an ideal getaway for friends, couples and families.