Musa Jungle Retreat in Manas. Telegraph picture

Guwahati, Sept. 28: Manas is putting its best foot forward to woo tourists during Durga Puja and in the coming year.

New resorts, responsible tourism and opening up of the Bhutan sector have all given hope that the park with its spectacular landscape will certainly attract more tourists.

Located at the foothills of the Eastern Himalayas, the northern boundary of the park is contiguous to the international border where the Bhutan hills provide an imposing scenic backdrop. The tumultuous Manas river swirling down the rugged mountains against the backdrop of forested hills, coupled with the serenity of the alluvial grasslands and tropical evergreen forests, offers a unique wilderness experience.

The scope of Manas National Park as a promising tour destination has led Bhaskar Dutta Baruah, who is from the publishing sector, to open a resort called Musa Jungle Retreat this year.

“There is hope in Manas as a tour destination and that is why I am putting my money here. Saturation in other wildlife zones and support from BTC has facilitated interest in the park. The response for the coming year is good in terms of bookings. Tourists and tour operators are showing interest in Manas as a new destination,” Baruah, the managing director of LBS Tourism Private Ltd, which manages the resort, told The Telegraph.

Sailesh Choudhury of Astha Nature’s Tour and Travels, which runs the Birina resort, said the response has been good and is still pouring in. “The best part about Manas is that floods don’t make an impact and tourists can come throughout the year. The breathtaking landscape of the park is unparalleled,” he said.

In 2010-11, the number of tourists was 16,996, which increased to 24,207 in 2011-12 and to 29,222 in 2012-13. In 2013-14 (up to January), the number went up to 35,500.

Work done by organisations in promoting tourism in Manas has been recognised with the Manas Ever Welfare Society and Astha Nature Tours and Travels winning the community tourism and tourism promotion awards respectively from Assam chief minister Tarun Gogoi yesterday.

“The USP of Manas is its wilderness combined with the added attraction of Bhutan. This year we are geared up with much more organised tourism infrastructure and visitors are welcome all throughout the year,” Sonali Ghosh, deputy director of Manas tiger reserve, said.

The park has six national and international designations — World Heritage Site, national park, tiger reserve, biosphere reserve, elephant reserve and important bird area — which probably no other protected park in the country has.

Ornithologist Bikram Grewal has put Manas as one of the top birding spots in the country.

“The site has the potential to become an important area for eco-tourism. Over the last five years there has been a steady increase in the number of visitors. The welcome completion of a comprehensive tourism strategy will help to plan and manage visitation to the site and determine how benefits are shared in future years. The strategy is expected to regulate the number of visitors and the activities undertaken. The opportunity to establish a thriving eco-tourism industry has the potential to involve many of the locals thus providing work and income for them as well as enabling them to become engaged with the day-to-day running of the site,” the IUCN World Heritage outlook report for Manas said.

An official of Royal Manas National Park in Bhutan told The Telegraph that there has been a discussion on possible coordination of eco-tourism in the two parks but will take some time to develop a mechanism in place.