My family has five members and we love travelling A LOT! All my family members are foodies(ofcourse you can tell by having a look at our obese physic). Every year we spare some time out from our lives and travel to different places atleast twice a year. We have traveled so much of North-East India. We have explored hilly places like Gangtok, Darjeeling, Shillong and the Paradise on Earth, i.e. Kashmir! It was some hell of an experience. I recommend you buddies to pay a visit to Kashmir atleast once.
It was nearing the end of 2019, and we didnt manage to explore any place due to some heavy work schedule. My Amma felt we were in desperate need of a break from our hectic schedule, and convinced Abba for a trip outside Guwahati! And of course we make sudden plans that works just perfect for us. We managed to plan a trip to Kaziranga! Not the National Park, but the Orchid Park in Kaziranga which has got international recognition for having 500 varieties of wild orchids, 132 species of sour fruits and leafy vegetables, 46 species of bamboo, 12 species of cane and many other plants along with various species of local fishes.
Assam boasts of having more than 400 varieties of Orchids itself, from a total of approx. 1300 found in India. So without thinking twice, we headed to the park on 11th October 2019.
It was just the perfect weather, for us to start the journey on the morning of 11th October. By the way, let me inform you, that I am the driver taking my family to the destination. Whenever we plan out a trip, my Abba use to start pretty early in the morning. We started off at 6 AM in the morning. Though I am not a early riser, but the fact that we are going on a trip took over the dizziness and here we go…….
This was the road to our destination. We were welcomed with fresh air all around and the morning vibes were just too good! With no rush and traffic the day is ought to be fresh and lovely.
We proceded with our journey with no rush, and took small halts for some breakfast to keep our engines working. It took us nearly 4 hours to reach our destination! We were greeted with this…..
Its a 10 minute travel from Kaziranga Park main gate to the Kaziranga Orchid and Biodiversity Park. We were all so very excited as we knew something extraordinary was awaiting for us. Then we get a view of the Orchid park signboard from a distance. My sisters erupts in joy and got ourselves geared up for some action.
TIME FOR ACTION…..
It costs us around 1000 INR for five of us as an entry fee. It was actually a meager fee in regards to what one gets to experience inside the park. At the entrance we were greeted by two local people with a NOMOSKAR who guided us from where to start and gave a brief idea relating to the Park.
The whole variety is preserved in a greenhouse together with some hybrid varieties; some of them have been exclusively collected from local region of the state. It was very well maintained and there were locals who were trained very well to converse with the tourist and relating to the varieties of orchids it had. We were informed that various researches takes place and the park also boasts of a medicinal plant garden, rice museum along with a product distribution centre, a separate garden for local fruits and flowers and a dedicated space for native species of fishes. It also has a dense forest area that have various native species of trees grown apart from its cultural centers. INCREDIBLE , isnt it?
The OCHIDARIUM, as it is named, brought a positive vibe as soon as we entered it. We could see innumerable varities of Orchids all around. One local lady came towards us greeted us and guided us through the Orchidarium. It was a whole new experience for us. I had love for orchids but never has knowledge of such huge varieties we had in Assam.
I did managed to take some snaps of some unbelievable shaped orchids which had some fancy names.
Dancing Doll Orchid 
Pitcher Plant 
With the varieties it possesses, I felt very proud of the fact that we Assamese have a rich culture of flora and fauna. Its just the beginning though in this Park.
Abba knows to pose quite well! 
Sample of 200 specimen of Rice varieties
Next we moved ahead to the RICE MUSEUM! Sounds interesting? Indeed , the team of experts of the Rice museum have worked tirelessly to collect around 200 varieties of rice and collect its history. We were told that very soon farmers of the locality will be encouraged to cultivate these varieties.
There is a cultural program happenning every 20 minutes, and we were lucky enough to be entertained by a Bihu dance by some local dancers. It was worth seeing. We could see tourist from different parts of the country enjoying to the beats of Bihu Song. Even I could’nt resist doing some moves along with the enthusiastic audience. A true Assamese can never keep calm when you a hear a energetic Bihu song, can you? This cultural event brought smiles all around and we the Assamese felt so proud among the tourist.
As we were enjoying the show, we could see a restaurant, not very far from the performing area. It was an open restaurant (open area rather) with an arrangement of a few tables and chairs, where it served ASSAMESE THALI ! Literally the Thali comprises 16 items! CRAZY! It had almost every local item that an Assamese Thali should have. It was so delicious, that I asked for another serving of rice. Being a fitness enthusiast, I am not a big lover of rice, however this day I couldn’t help but to eat two servings of rice. Each and every item seemed to have been prepared with utmost love and care. It gave us such great pleasure. The thali was very well presented though I feel they could provide utensils made of bell metal, which would further enhance the beauty of the restaurant. I must admit they have succeeded in portraying the rich culture of Assam.
After finishing our lunch, we walked to the Cactus garden which was just couple of meters away from the restaurant. It had a wide range of Cactus which were very well maintained.
We were told that there is a tea garden and a bamboo cultivation place behind the park. We straightaway headed towards it. I did click some pictures with the wonderful tea garden which turned out pretty nice. By this time we were quite tired and decided to call it for it the day.
While returning I clicked some photos of the sun setting in. What a wonderfull view it was. Btw upon reaching back Guwahati, we had tea in a road side tea stall. Doesnt matter how expensive tea you order in a fine dining restaurant, the taste of tea in a road side tea stall is undisputable. With this evening tea we bring an end to our unforgetable trip and day out.
Rainbow spotted! 
Sun setting In..
Thanks for reading and I hope you are thrilled as much as me when reading this. Do subscribe for more travelling diaries..See ya..
This is Farhan signing off….
Farhan Travelography 