Namdapha - Four Big Cats, One Forest

Namdapha runs from about 200 metres up to over 4,500 in the space of a single park, which is why it holds that four-big-cat claim and why the species list runs into the thousands. It is one of the most biodiverse protected areas in India and one of the least visited - there is no lodge circuit, no jeep track network, and no guarantee of anything.

You come in through Miao, cross the Noa-Dihing by boat, and stay at the forest rest house at Deban. Days are spent walking with a guide, listening. Hoolock gibbon calls carry a long way at dawn. If you need a checklist of sightings this is the wrong trip; if you want to stand in genuinely primary forest, there is nothing like it in the country.

What's in it

• 01200 m to 4,500 m elevation inside one park
• 02Boat crossing of the Noa-Dihing to Deban
• 03Hoolock gibbon, hornbill, red panda country
• 04Walking, not driving - and no guaranteed sightings