With tourist flow increasing over the years, many locals have adapted to changing times.

At least 50 young men boys have started hiring out jeeps for safaris inside the park. The forest department uses half-a-dozen privately owned elephants to take tourists into Kaziranga during peak season. Others have converted their large traditional houses into motels and inns.

Locals say the tourists enjoy the traditional places more than the box-like hotel rooms.

Among the famous visitors to the park are former prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru, former United States ambassador Robert Blackwill and Maharani Gayatri Devi.