Upper Mathanguri and Lower Mathanguri Forest Rest House, Manas National Park

I have lived in a number of wildlife resorts, lodges, rest houses and camps in India and many international wildlife destinations. However, though each experience has been thrilling and unique, my wildest stay till date would be the stay at Lower Mathanguri Lodge at Manas National Park, Assam, India.

Here are reasons why I would recommend this wild stay to all wildlife enthusiasts and nature lovers:

1. Wow, what a location!

View of Manas River from Upper Mathanguri

Situated on the banks of the Manas River in the midst of the dense Manas forest, the Mathanguri forest lodge is completely disconnected from the rest of the world. There are two guest houses, the Upper and Lower, with the former located on a small hillock, overlooking the Manas River while the latter located a short distance away, on the banks of the Manas River. Being a government owned lodge, Mathanguri enjoys the privilege of being located on the best possible spot in the Manas National Park, right in the core area of the forest. During the day, you can enjoy the stunning views of the beautiful Manas river flowing a few feet away from your lodge, in the backdrop of the Himalayan foothills of Bhutan. The lodge's location in the core area also highly increases the chances of viewing wildlife from within the confines of your lodge's balcony. During our stay, we were able to spot a variety of beautiful birds. Though there were reports of tiger sightings near the lodge a few days ago, we were not lucky enough to catch a glimpse of this striped beauty during our trip.

View of the Manas from the Lower Mathanguri bungalow

On the banks of the Manas near the Lower Mathanguri bungalow, Bhutan lies on the other side of the river

2. Complete Isolation

Often, we think of leaving behind our phones and laptops while packing for a vacation to get rid of office calls and spend some quality time with our close ones in the heart of nature. Well, in Mathanguri, you do not need to make any arrangements of this kind as the location ensures you remain completely cut off from the rest of the world. Try as many connections as you may, nowhere in Mathanguri will your cell phone detect any tower. There are also no land phones in the lodge. Only one spot, which requires a considerable amount of climbing, manages to detect some cell phone tower However, try climbing to this spot after dark and there are high chances of you becoming tiger dinner! Electricity lines are also absent in Mathanguri except for the generator run electricity that is available from 6:00 pm to 10:00 pm in the evening. After dark, walking in the area is strictly forbidden and even though we had to travel a short distance from the canteen at Upper Mathanguri to our rooms in Lower Mathanguri, we had to take a ride on the gypsy. Once in, after dinner, light from a kerosene lamp was our only light source as darkness  had enveloped the entire forest around us.

3. Excellent facilities

The Lower Mathanguri Lodge

As long as you are not expecting luxurious resort-like facilities, the Mathanguri rest houses offer a decent stay with nice, clean rooms and bathrooms and highly courteous staff, mostly government forest workers. The Upper and Lower Mathanguri bungalows each have about 6 rooms. Though the Upper has a better, more expansive view, due to its location atop a hillock, the Lower is also endowed with a lovely view. The Manas River is visible from the balcony of both the lodges. The Lower Mathanguri is relatively quite new, founded only a couple of years back while the Upper is 127 years old and has hosted tourists, conservationists, naturalists and many eminent personalities including three of India's Presidents. As mentioned previously, electricity lasts only between 6pm and 10pm in the evening and after that, kerosene lamps are the only light source for the rest of the night. Running water was present in the bathroom throughout our stay in the lodge.

4. Good food

The canteen at Upper Mathanguri

Living in the core of a tiger reserve, do not expect Chinese and continental dishes on the menu. Simple basic Indian staple food, rice and roti, vegetable and chicken curry, potato fry and lentil curry is what you can expect to be served at the canteen here. The food quality was good and though nothing fanciful, it was highly delectable and fulfilling. Since the lodge is located a great distance away from the nearest marketplace, you must inform the staff about your meal plans as early as possible to provide them sufficient time to arrange your meals. You might have to miss milk in your tea or wait till the end of the day to enjoy a boiled egg you had ordered in the morning. So, make sure you have your own storage of snacks to satisfy your hunger pangs after a long day in the forest.

5. Thrilling safaris and tour to Bhutan

Early morning and evening safaris from the Mathanguri tourist lodge allowed us to observe numerous species of wildlife including the Asian elephant, the Asian rhinoceros, the capped langur,
wild boar, wild Asian water buffalo, the Indian bison, herds of chitals and sambars. We also spotted a large number of birds like the jungle fowl, peacock, Bengal florican, pelicans, the elusive hornbill, flying eagle, red headed trogan, etc.

Watchtower in the Manas National Park

The perfect moment when our eyes met

The massive wild Asian elephant crossing the jungle path

Bhutan is also easily accessible from Manas via a narrow mountain road near the Upper Mathanguri Lodge. A two hour long scenic journey along the road will take you to the Bhutanese village of PanBang. On the way, we had to show our Indian identity proofs to the Bhutan border officials to be allowed to cross the Indo-Bhutan border. However, our movements were only restricted to the Pan Bang village in the country. 

The hanging bridge in Pan Bang, Bhutan

Pan Bang village, Bhutan

Important Note: Due to the high demand of Upper and Lower Mathanguri among tourists and naturalists, you need to book at least four months ahead of your planned trip to Manas to get a booking in either of the lodges.

Also, normal forest opening dates are: November 15 to April 30. (Might open late or early due to rains)

normal forest opening date 15th nov and close on 30th april but due to rain may open late and early.

Cost of transport from Guwahati airport to Barpeta Road forest office: Rs. 3,500 one-way in AC Innova

Cost of forest guide and gypsy: Rs. 4,000 per day including morning and evening safari

Cost of guest house stay: Rs. 1,200 per day

Cost of single meal: Rs. 250 (non-veg)

Acknowledgements: 

Nilanjan Roy Chowdhury da for making the excellent arrangements for us at the Manas National Park and Tiger Reserve

Bhupen Singh ji: Our wonderful forest guide without whom Manas would have remained a stranger to us.

Our companions: Suman, Oly and little Aratrik for making our Manas tour truly memorable and fun-filled

Barpeta Forest Office and Mathanguri staff: For their courteous behavior and timely assistance

If anyone has any questions regarding Manas, please enquire in the comments section below: I will definitely get back to you.

You can contact here: rcnilanjan@rediffmail.com
Phone no: 09433475575