A man rows a wooden boat through flowering water lilies on a Majuli backwater at sunset, Assam.

Assam · 7 Days

Assam — Rhinos & the Satras

The rounded Assam week — the city and its temples, two nights of Kaziranga safaris, and the tea country and Majuli island from a heritage bungalow.

Day by Day

7 Days, In Full

The trip most people should book if they have the days. Two nights in Guwahati for the river, Kamakhya and Umananda. Two nights at Kaziranga for the elephant and jeep safaris. Two nights in a heritage tea bungalow at Jorhat, with a full day on Majuli, the largest river island in the world, among the monasteries that still teach dance and mask-making. It covers the three things Assam is known for, the rhino, the tea and the satras, without rushing any of them.

A lone fisherman poles a wooden boat across a wide marshy stretch of the Brahmaputra valley in Assam.

Guwahati

Arrive in Guwahati — the Brahmaputra at Dusk

You land at Guwahati, the hub for the whole northeast. The city sits where the Brahmaputra narrows between hills, and the river is the thing to see first. In the late afternoon a cruise boat runs out onto the water for the sunset, past Umananda island and under the temple hill, usually with tea or a meal and a short set of Assamese music. It is an easy way to arrive and get the shape of the place.

Guwahati

Guwahati — Kamakhya, Umananda and the Old City

A full day in the city. Kamakhya first, the beehive-towered Shakti temple on Nilachal hill, best early before the queues build. Then a short ferry to Umananda, the small wooded island in the river with a Shiva temple and a troop of golden langurs. The afternoon can take in the Assam State Museum, the old Uzan Bazar lanes and the markets, or a run out to Hajo, the town holy to three faiths at once. A slow, temple-and-river day.

Guwahati → Kaziranga

Guwahati to Kaziranga — East Along the Brahmaputra

The drive east follows the south bank of the Brahmaputra for about two hundred kilometres and five hours, through paddy fields, tea gardens and small towns, with the hills of Meghalaya away to the south. There are stops for tea and for lunch on the way. You reach the lodges at Kohora, just outside the park's Central Range gate, in the afternoon, with time to settle in and meet the naturalist before dark.

Kaziranga

Kaziranga — Elephant Safari at Dawn, Jeep in the Afternoon

The elephant safari goes out at first light from Kohora or Bagori, for about an hour, walking through grass that is often higher than a jeep. This is where the rhinos feed, so it is the closest you will get to one. The mist lifts during the ride. Back for breakfast, then a slow middle of the day. The afternoon is a jeep safari of about three hours through the Central Range, for rhino, wild elephant, swamp deer and buffalo, and the chance of a tiger in the grass.

A dirt path runs between rows of bright green tea bushes on an estate in Assam.

Kaziranga → Jorhat

Kaziranga to Jorhat — Into the Tea Country

A shorter drive, about two and a half hours, east and then south into upper Assam. The landscape becomes tea almost at once, garden after garden with the old bungalows set back among the bushes. You reach Jorhat, the tea capital, by early afternoon, and check in at one of the heritage estate bungalows. A walk through the garden before dark, and dinner is Assamese home cooking on the veranda.

A crowded wooden ferry packed with passengers crosses the wide Brahmaputra towards Majuli island, Assam.

Jorhat

Day Trip to Majuli — the River Island and its Monasteries

A ferry from Nimati Ghat crosses the Brahmaputra to Majuli, the largest river island in the world, in about an hour. The island is the centre of Assamese Vaishnavism, and around twenty of its monasteries, the satras, are still active. You visit two or three: a long open prayer hall, monks farming, perhaps a Sattriya dance rehearsal. At Samaguri the monks make and teach the large painted masks used in religious plays, and you can build a small one. Back across the river by the late-afternoon ferry.

per person, twin sharing — enquire for current pricing

A private itinerary being sketched out by hand

Kashmir to Kanyakumari

+91 8306662228 pawan@luxindiatours.com Based in Jaipur, Rajasthan @luxindiatours

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