Assam Information
About Assam:
Assam is a land of myths and mystery. "The land of red river
and blue hills," as it is described, has a unique landscape
with sprawling tea gardens and unending stretches of paddy fields
interspersed with groves of coconut, areca nuts, and banana trees.
Its population is a confluence of streams of different races and
tribes like the Austrics, the Aryans, Negroids, Indo-Burmese,
Indo-Tibetans, and Mongoloid. They have enriched each other and have
evolved to give a distinctive identity to the Assamese people
The most important and well-known tourist spots are Capital
Guwahati, Kaziranga National Park, Manas National Park, Majuli river
island and Sualkuchi where Assam silk is made. One should'nt miss
Kaziranga and Majuli.
Getting There:
By Air: Connected with Calcutta, Delhi, Bagdogra,
Imphal Agartala, Dibrugarh and Dimapur.
By Rail: Connected with New Delhi, Calcutta,
Bombay, Madras, Trivandrum, Bangalore, Cochin, Silchar, Tinsukia and
Dibrugarh.
By Road: Shillong- 103 kms, Kaziranga National
Park- 217 kms, Manas Wildlife Sanctuary- 176 kms, Dimapur- 280 kms,
Itanagar- 420 kms, Imphal- 487 kms, Agartala- 599 kms, Aizawal- 538
kms, Gangtok- 624 kms, Darjeeling- 587 kms, Calcutta- 1182 kms and
Kohima- 342 kms.
Fast Facts:
Area: 78,438 sq km
Religion: Hinduism (67.13%), Islam (28.43%),
Others (4.44%)
Capital: Dispur
Languages: Assamese and Bengali
Best time to visit: October to March
Major cities: Guwahati, Tezpur, Digboi, Jorhat
Tourist Attractions:
Guwahati :
The capital of Assam, Guwahati derives its importance from its
location on the bank of the Bramhmaputra. Guwahati has a state
museum which houses rare sculptures of the former dynasties of the
region. In and around Guwahati are several temples. Guwahati has a
choice of good hotels.
Kaziranga
Wildlife Sanctuary :
On the south bank of the Brahmaputra, 233 km northeast of Guwahati
is the main sanctuary for the Indian one-horned rhinoceros. Visitors
view the rhino and other wildlife on elephant-back in this National
Park. Kaziranga National Park has a good forest lodge and some
tourist lodges
Manas
National Park:
Covering an area of 520 sq km, Manas National Park is a tiger
reserve. It is also a World Heritage site. Rare wildlife like hispid
hare, pygmy hog, golden langur, rhinoceros, Asiatic buffalo can also
be seen here.The park is 176 km from Guwahati by road. Nearest
airport is in Guwahati and the nearest rail head is Borpeta Road,
136 km from Guwahati.
Tezpur:
By its unique location and picturesque setting on the north bank of
the majestic river Brahmaputra, Tezpur can be considered as one of
the most beautiful town of the state. Tezpur can also be remembered
for the legend of princess Usha, the daughter of King Bana and for
prince Aniruddha, the grandsons of Lord Krishna for their eternal
love and romance. It is 181kms from Guwahati Buses ply regularly
from Guwahati & other towns of the state, the nearest railhead
is Rangapara and airport is Salonibari.
Digboi:
Digboi, is known as the the city of oil. Oil was first found in
1879, drilling started in 1888 and in 1889, Assam Oil Company
established the first oil refinery of Asia in Digboi. Other local
attractions are dolls being made from wax. The atmosphere is sylvan
outside the town. Wild elephants run amuck. Another oil town is
Duliajan, 15 km away.
