Birding Tours in East India
Duars / Dooars Region
Lava & Neora Valley NP
Darjeeling & Tiger Hill
Singalila National Park
Lesser Known Places- WB
Sikkim Himalayas
Kaziranga National Park
Nameri Wildlife Sanctuary
Dibru-Saikhowa WLS
Digboi Oil Fields, Assam
Namdapha Tiger Reserve
Chilka Lagoon, Orissa
Sundarbans National Park
Birding Tours Checklists
Birding Tours Itinerary
Birding Tours Departures
Birding Tours Trip Reports
Birding Tours Enquiry

Wildlife Tours in India
Mammal Tours
Natural History Tours
Wildlife Tours Itineraries

Tribal Tours in North East
Arunachal Tribal Tours
Nagaland Tribal Tours

Assam Photos
Kaziranga National Park
Manas, Tezpur & Nalbari
Meghalaya Photos
Cherrapunjee & Shillong
West Bengal Photos
Darjeeling Hills & Dooars
Sundarbans National Park

Heritage Train Tour
DHR :Toy Train
Other Steam Tour
Heritage Walking Tour
Kolkata | Darjeeling
Heritage Tram Tour
Kolkata
Heritage Tea Tour
Assam | Darjeeling
Dooars / Duars
Heritage Cruise Tour
The Ganges
• Architectural Tour
Modern | Rural | Traditional
Fusion | Ethnic | Mediaeval

 
 Help Menu »
Adventure Tours
Birding Tours
Buddhist Tours
Butterfly Tours
Tribal Tours
Wildlife Tours
Heritage Tours
Festival / Cultural Tours
Hotels, Lodges, Resorts
Photogallery
Educational Camp
Site Map
 
 
 
 News/ Updates »
'Green Circuit' launched at SATTE 2009, New Delhi on 24th April 2009. For details please click on the 'Green Circuit' logo on the home page.
-----------------
Help Tourism ranked as one of the 158 "Best Adventure Travel Companies on Earth" by National Geographic Adventure
-----------------
News, Stories and Events: the Help Tourism BLOG
-----------------
Sunderbans Jungle Camp awarded finalist of the "Tourism for Tomorrow Award 2007" by World Travel and Tourism Council
 
 Also Visit »
ActNowOrNever.org
Manas100.com
KolkataBirds.com
EastIndiaBirding.com
TOFTigers.org
 
 
  Bookmarks »
Add to: Mr. Wong Add to: Webnews Add to: Icio Add to: Oneview Add to: Folkd Add to: Yigg Add to: Linkarena Add to: Digg Add to: Del.icio.us Add to: Reddit Add to: Simpy Add to: StumbleUpon Add to: Slashdot Add to: Netscape Add to: Furl Add to: Yahoo Add to: Spurl Add to: Google Add to: Blinklist Add to: Blogmarks Add to: Diigo Add to: Technorati Add to: Newsvine Add to: Blinkbits Add to: Ma.Gnolia Add to: Smarking Add to: Netvouz Know about Social Bookmarking
 
Enjoy Cultural & Festival Tours of Eastern Himalaya - North East India
 
Butterfly Tours in North East India & Eastern Himalaya
 
THE GRAND EAST HIMALAYA FESTIVAL: EASTERN ARUNACHAL PRADESH: 31ST JANUARY TO 8TH FEBRUARY 2011.
 
The Great Indian Elephant Safari in Eastern Arunachal Pradesh - Click for more info or you can send enquiries from 'Booking' button...
The Grand East Himalaya Festival: Eastern Arunachal Pradesh: 31st January To 8th February 2011.
 
 

Sundarbans Jungle Camp
The Great Indian Elephant Safari
The Swiss Hotel Darjeeling

Neora Valley Jungle Camp
Manas Maozigendri Jungle Camp
Pakke Jungle Camp

Projects & Initiatives

The Great Indian Elephant Safari

A unique encounter with Arunachal Pradesh, one of the greatest bio-diversity & cultural hotspots of the World on the Elephant back!

Save the “MAHAKAL” - The Lord of the forest !

There are between 7,200 and 11,300 elephants in Northeastern India. One large population of 3,800 to 5,800 animals ranges along the Himalayan foothills from Northern West Bengal, eastwards through Assam and Arunachal Pradesh to the border of Myanmar. The vegetation includes alluvial grasslands, moist deciduous and evergreen forest. Key conservation areas include the Manas Tiger Reserve and Namdapha Tiger Reserve,

Orang National Park, Nameri Tiger Reserve, Pakke Tiger Reserve, Buxa Tiger Reserve, Gorumara National Park, Mahananda Wildlife Sanctuary. Another large population of nearly 2,000 elephants inhabits the alluvial floodplains of Kaziranga National Park and the Nagaland hills. A third population of about 1,400 elephants occurs in the Garo and Khasi hills of Meghalaya, and is under severe threat from habitat loss due to extensive shifting of cultivation. Small, scattered populations are also known from the Jaintia Hills, Cachar, Tripura, Manipur, and Mizoram.

It is believed that Elephants were brought in for forestry operations in Andaman & Nicober islands. In the northern part of the Andaman group, on Interview Island, the company carrying out the timber extraction operations went bankrupt. Being unable to transport the elephants out of the island, they released about 40 elephants into the wild in 1962. Some elephants later swam over to North Andaman Island. These populations have turned feral, and reportedly are facing crisis of existence.

The Cause

Chongkham is dominated by the Khampti tribal community whose association with the elephants is legendary and dates back to hundreds of years. The Khamptis are famous for their traditional skill of capturing wild Elephants and imparting training to tame the wild pachyderm. The tamed Elephants were earlier used to extract timber from the forest and also for ploughing in the farm fields, even for plucking tealeaves!

Chongkham was once considered as Asia’s richest village due to the revenue generated by timber harvesting and other timber-related activities. Unfortunately, the Khamptis and their beautiful elephants are almost out of job now due to the ban on timber felling. While accepting the fact that the ban on timber felling is necessary to conserve our forests and bio-diversity, the importance of conservation and respectful rehabilitation of the tamed elephants and their masters cannot be undermined.

The Great Indian Elephant Safari is a humble attempt to rehabilitate such orphan elephants that have served splendidly over a long period of time and deserve every support for a respectful livelihood.

The Destinations & the People

Chongkham-Wakro-Miao-Nampong are tiny cluster of picturesque villages in Lohit valley surrounded by lofty mountains of Eastern Himalaya and fabled by many snow-fed rivers and pristine forests while the great Namdapha Tiger Reserve and Kamlang Sanctuary are part of the uninhabited contiguous forests of Eastern Arunachal Pradesh, one of the most diverse areas of Indian sub-continent – both naturally and culturally.

Some of the greatest river systems of Northeast India originate from this region, and the circuit offers the best tourism possibilities for the host communities and a great opportunity for the guests to explore the unique landscape, wildlife and culture of this region. Lying in the Mishmi and Patkai hill ranges of the East Himalaya, falling from the Yunan in China, the region shares a common boundary between India and Myanmar (Burma). The area is historically also important as both the Second World War-famed Stilwell Road (Ledo Burma Road) and Pangsau Pass belong to this region, and still carry the remnants of one of the most laborious and ambitious war projects of the Allied Force. The area is dominated by wonderful tribal communities such as the Khamptis, Mishmis, Singphos, Chakmas, Tangsas who have since long chosen to stay in isolation and practiced a way of life that has not changed much with the passage of time. Though the communities have slowly started becoming a part of the modernization, they have been able to retain their cultural and ethnic identity; their custom and tradition.

The Safari

Though elephant ride is a very common tourism activity in India, especially in the wildlife tourism destinations, elephant safari is not only a rare activity in India but also throughout the world. Discovering the world of the tamed elephants, the largest land animal and discovering the culture around them in itself is a major activity. Bringing back the old Shikar (Hunting expedition on elephant back was one of the most popular sports among the Maharajahs and British rulers in India) days by shooting with a camera is a lifetime experience for any tourist. Packaging this experience for the domestic & international market and bringing sustainable economic support to the region can be the fresh blood for the community movement and conservation of the great Indian elephants.

The safari will concentrate mostly in and around the forests, rivers and villages of Lohit valley with a base camp in Chongkham, ideally set for the International wildlife tourists with a Pilkhana, which consists 5 to 8 riding elephants to be engaged in the safari on turn basis. The tourist would be taken on the safari, two hours in the morning and one hour in the afternoon. The tourists would move on to the next temporary forest village/ community campsite/elephant camps, where the trained local villagers will provide services to the tourists and interpret their traditional knowledge & folk culture to them. There would be at least four such campsites in four villages before they return to the base camp.

The full expedition takes 11 nights/12 days in an all inclusive package starting from point of arrival (Dibrugarh) till departure with overnight halt at Dibrugarh/Digboi, Chongkham and its adjoining villages, Wakro and Namdapha Tiger Reserve. The trip package will include elephant safaris for 04 days, boat expedition on river Lohit, bird watching, nature trails, village tours, Buddhist cultural experience and local tribal cultural programme. Trained local guides will move with the groups and every group will have a dedicated specialist naturalist. A rescue & medical team will be attached to every group. In order not to encourage any form of mishandling or cruelty to the elephants the safari will be restricted to maximum 3 hours a day so that the elephants get enough rest and remain in good health. Under no circumstances the elephants will be forced to move on a safari unless our Mahouts are satisfied with their physical and mental health. Every morning and afternoon the Mahouts will check their health and mood, and report to the safari manager before the safari starts.

For shorter versions of the safari and a detailed day-to-day itinerary please contact us.

Top

___________________________________________________________________
All rights reserved by Help Tourism. Best Viewed in IE 5+ with 1024 x 768 resolution.