Guwahati: Hundreds of tourists, including visitors from the United States and Belgium, marked the start of elephant safaris for the 2026–27 tourist season at Kaziranga National Park and Tiger Reserve on Sunday.The park’s divisional forest officer Arun Vignesh said elephant safaris would be available in the Kohora and Bagori ranges. “We have engaged 10 elephants of the forest department in the Kohora range and 33 elephants hired from private owners in the Bagori range,” he added.The park authority has already received a good number of requests for elephant safaris. “On the first day on Sunday, tourists from Australia, Thailand, Belgium and England were among those who took elephant rides through the park,” Vignesh said.Elephants owned by the forest department and those hired from private owners were engaged after document verification and health check-ups. The park usually deploys 45–50 elephants for safaris each year, including five to 10 owned by the park.Kaziranga reopened for the 2026–27 wildlife tourism season on Oct 3 after its monsoon closure, with jeep safaris resuming first.The park recorded 4,68,147 visitors in 2025–26, its highest annual footfall, up from 4,06,564 in 2024–25. International tourist numbers also rose from 17,693 to 30,474 during the period.Elephant safaris have also begun at Manas National Park in Chirang and Baksa districts in the Bodoland Territorial area. According to the park authority, five elephants have been engaged there.
