mountainside at silver creek La Maison de Ananda GUESTHOUSE $ (%9435205539; dm 150-200) On a Garamur back lane, this French-owned

374 bird species have been recorded mountainside at silver creek in the park, including such rarities as the whiterumped vulture (which may now be extinct in the park), greater spotted eagle and the white-winged duck. Of the big mammals, wild elephants are present as are numerous deer species and a few rarely seen tigers. mountainside at silver creek However, for many mammal-spotting naturalists, the park s most exciting resident is the critically endangered dwarf hog, which, after many years of absence has recently been returned to the wild thanks to a successful captive breeding project run by the Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust (www.durrell.org). Park fees include the compulsory armed guard. Access is from Potasali, mountainside at silver creek 2km off the Tezpur Bhalukpong road (turn east at one-house hamlet Gamani, 12km north of Balipara).

La Maison de Ananda GUESTHOUSE $ (%9435205539; dm 150-200) On a Garamur back lane, this French-owned traditionally styled thatched house on bamboo stilts has rooms decked out in locally made fabrics, which give it a hippie-chic atmosphere. It s probably the best value-for-money lodgings on the island.