A tiny village, a huge river with high flowing currents, a green thick jungle across the river that gets inaccessible during rains, no jeep or elephant safari- just walking here, a variety of birds & animals and only two eco-resorts to stay if you would like. That is Nameri National Park, the second most popular national park after Kaziranga in Assam.
Nameri lies in the foothills of eastern Himalayas and is approx. 40 kms from Tezpur in Assam which is the gateway to Arunachal. So, you can either stay at Nameri or at Tezpur to start your journey towards Arunachal.
This national park falls in Assam as well as in Arunachal. Only the name changes and the same is the case with the river. It is known as Jia bhorelli in Assam and Kameng once it reaches Bhalukpong in Arunachal.
Things to do in Nameri National Park, Assam
Bird watching- Nameri jungle walking tour
River water rafting in Jia Bhorelli river.
When we reached Nameri from Kaziranga, it was already late in the afternoon. Went straight to Nameri eco camp for food & jungle safari. Couldn’t get either upfront. Food was reserved for the 90 people group coming from Shillong, which meant some 1 hr time lag before something fresh could be made for us. And safari wasn’t happening due to rains for last few days.
Would have been disappointing but somehow, my husband was determined to do the jungle walk. He felt safer to be on jungle land and walk as compared to doing the river rafting in Kameng especially after our driver had informed us that the river was 25 ft deep in places along with some accident stories in which not even the slipper could be located in the river during the search.
Luckily, the weather was clear too. So, we coaxed the one person forest department near Eco camp and our driver Madan literally called the forest guard from his home to accompany us for the walking safari.
This is the mighty river Jia Bhorelli which needs to be crossed to reach the jungle on the other side.We called the boatman too from their home to drive us to the other side.
The other side, it was just the three of us and the guard in the jungle on foot. My husband is the one who is taking the picture below so is missing.
Besides the bird watching part it was also a good assessing test for us to know if our son could do some simple and easy treks in Himalayas organized by Indiahikes. God truly gives signals before any trouble. Every 100 meters, he would say, ‘ how many more kms, this is the toughest walk in my life, so many kms I have done’. Imagine the trouble if we had taken him for any Himalayan trek. We would have laid down our lives carrying him on one of the treks.
Trust me, this is a very simple jungle walk to do. And the best part in northeastern jungles is you never get dirty even during jeep safaris.
Nameri is known for bird watching and our guard tried his best to show us as many birds as possible. While returning we also saw a male, a female and a baby elephant from a distance. Nature imitates I guess.
We couldn’t get a room for the night at Eco camp, so we headed for Bhalukpong, 25kms ahead of Nameri. This is the same place where Amreesh Puri goes in a helicopter over the jungles and Kameng river to search for Shahrukh Khan and Madhuri Dixit in Koyla movie.
Bhalukpong has a good property by the riverside managed by Prashanti group. Bhalukpong per se has nothing much to do. However, for us, it meant a good bath, good sleep and good food courtesy clean new towels, clean bedsheets and good bong chef at Prashanti before getting into Arunachal where we only expected basics including Maggi, Thukpa, and Momos.
We came back to Nameri once again during our return and this time got a room at Eco Camp.This is where we stayed.
Nameri Eco Camp – Staying in Nameri National Park
Many fellow travelers for a change, good mutton for dinner and a true jungle experience. My son was so psyched by the sight of the spider and a snail in the bathroom that he relieved himself only after reaching Guwahati the next day???? I believe, I need more of such travels with my son to keep him close to nature and away from TV and phones. Until then..stay tuned.
Other related blogs on North East travel
Trip to North East of India – Must read before you plan any holiday in India
We too loved the nature walk sighting birds and ofcourse the guide was really good