need facts about assam in february

slotek

namaskar!

in february i will go to calcutta and from there to assam.
if i need a pramit i will chek in the indian consulate where i get my visa.
in fact bevore i go i will check this: http://www.satp.org/ so i can see if it's dangoures.

1. what is the best way to go?
2. i need informations about the local wether.
3. what things to see
4. what things i have to do there
5. i need some informations about nice cheep accomodations

thanx for a lot of detailed awnswers


slotek

beesakopie

Assam is a wonderful place. It has however become extremely dangerous since 1990. There was a lull in between - but gradually, things have deteriorated. We used to live in Assam at one point of time (my father worked in the tea gardens there) but trust me, we were glad to move out in year 2000 because of the mindless extremist violence that plagues the state.

In a nutshell: various groups - tribals, ethnic assamese, backward and down trodden classes - have been getting into groups and demanding some form of autonomy for themselves. In Indian policy vis-a-vis the Chinese threat has been to close up the area completely. The local residents in the meantime, have gone up in arms because they feel that the central Indian govt. has a step-motherly, almost colonial attitude towards them.

Hence you have various armed groups like the ULFA (United Liberation Front of Assam), the Bodo's, the Dimasas, the Mishings and all and sundry demanding autonomy if not outright freedom.

Ofcourse, this has led to various forms of terrorism - where these armed groups instead of conducting a fight for freedom - have realised that it makes more sense to make money quickly on the side - extortion, drugs, racketeering, mafia affairs is what they are really into.

HENCE PLEASE BE WARNED BEFOREHAND THAT TRAVEL TO THE NORTHEAST IS DANGEROUS AND SHOULD BE UNDERTAKEN WITH TRUSTWORTHY AND RELIABLE INFO.

1. Best way to go :

Fly to Guwahati. DO NOT TAKE THE TRAIN. The trains are frequently blown up or running late. Fly to Guwahati. Guwahati is well connected to the rest of the country.

2. Local Weather :

Winters are pleasant. Feb is a good month to go. Do not go between June - August / Septemeber as it is really humid / hot and rainy during the monsoon season.

3. Things to see / Things to do :

1. Guwahati town.
2. Kaziranga National Park
3. Dibru-Saikhowa Park
4. North Lakhimpur Area
5. Cachar Area
6. Tea Gardens - try to contact one of the tea gardens and see if the manager can allow you to visit. Most will be delighted.
7. Play golf. Many courses - each district has one or two. The Tea Garden managers should be able to help you in this respect.
8. Majuli river Island
9. Sibsagar area - earliest signs of the Ahom empire that ruled "Kamakhya" or Assam as it was known.
10. Manas Wildlife Sanctuary

4. Cheap accommodation :

Sorry thats one area I can't help with because I never had to stay in a hotel when I was in Assam. I do know that Nandan in Guwahati is a pretty reasonable though.

Here are some links that you can go through which has more detailed info :

Tourism Info :

1. http://www.assamtourism.org/
2. Kaziranga National Park : http://www.kaziranganationalpark.com/

Tea Garden details / contact addresses for various managers :

A. Tata Tea : http://www.tatatea.com/
B. Mcleod Russell : http://www.mcleodrusselindia.com/
C. Williamson Magor Tea Group : http://www.wmtea.com/estates.html

Hotel Info :

Hotel Nandan, Guwahati : http://www.hotelnandan.com/

You WILL NOT require a permit to enter Assam. However should you decide to travel to the other states in the NorthEast bloc, you will require a Restricted Area Permit. An RAP is ONLY handed out to a group of 4 tourists. Applications need to be made either in the Indian embassy in the country of origin or with the Home Ministry in New Delhi.

Indian tourists do not require a permit to visit Assam. They will require an ILP (Inner Line Pass) to visit other areas in the NorthEast bloc. The ILP is much easier to get than an RAP. The ILP can be issued at the airport on arrival (but can also be procured earlier on if desired from the relevant states representation (eg. Mizoram House / Nagaland House etc) in New Delhi / Calcutta / Silchar.

If you require more info, you can reply to this post and I will put it up.

Cheers.

slotek

at first thank you for awnswering

you write about the situation in 2000 but we have nou 2007 but what is the situation now in 2007/2008?

slotek

__________________
sorry for my bad english
i did'nd learn it on scool
my scool was the streets of india and sri lanka

the main thing is
WE CAN TALK AND UNDTERSTAND TOGETHER!

beesakopie

You can know about the current situation thru following online newspapers:

www.assamtribune.com (published from Guwahati)
www.sentinelassam.com (published from Guwahati)
www.telegraphindia.com (published from Calcutta)

TrekkerEH

Hi Slotek,
There are so many people talking about things without knowing them properly, may by my friend Beesakopie's interpretation of things are based on fiction that is highlighted in newspapers rather than personal.

so for more information you contact Indian Embassy or Indian Tourism in Germany.

Happy touring....

beesakopie

Trekkeh,

My interpretation of things in Assam are sadly based on things I have seen happening there...Fortunately, this website is not a political platform, so lets not discuss the political issues plaguing Assam/NorthEast...

Cheers

KonfuSed

I would really like to clarify few things here, the situation is not that grim as beesakopie as portrayed about Assam(or Axom as it's known to the local populace). Sorry that I've to do this as such misinformation can hurt the already ailing Tourism sector of the state and the entire North-East. Beesakopie, please don't take it personally.

1. Yes there are few instances of bombing in trains have happened but in that case Mumbai should be most unsafe place as many more people died there due to bombing by terrorists.
2. As far as my knowledge of the region goes, Tourists were never, I repeat NEVER was targeted by any of the militant groups of Assam or in any other NE state.
3. Yes there is an extortion racket run by these terrorists time to time but that's not something which have targeted Tourists. But yeah this extortion things are hurting the state economy badly.
4. About drugs and mafia, that information is very very incorrect to say at the least.
5. Guwahati is a City not a town ;-)
6. Kamakhya is a famous temple in Guwahati itself not a former empire of Ahom dynasty.

Now I would like to mention the places of interest(just elaborating what beesakopie have mentioned.He has already done a good job there)
1. Guwahati City -
Kamakhya Temple,
Umananda (a temple on a river island)
Brahmaputra River Cruise
2. Tezpur - a town on the Northern bank of Brahmaputra and kind of gateway to the Arunachal Pradesh.
3. Sibsagar - Shiva Temple
Jayasagar ( a huge man made Tank)
RangGhar - A sports Pavilion of the Ahom Kings,
Palace near RangGhar.
Gorgaon Palace ( erstwhile capital of the Ahoms before they moved the capital to Sibsagar)
Cheraidoi - Tombs of the Ahom Kings and Queens

4. Jorhat - If one wants to have experience of the Tea-Gardens of Assam then the Thengal Menor will be the best place for it.
5. North Cachar - Haflong (the only hill station of Assam, officially)
Jatinga - Famous for the mysterious mass suicide of Birds.
6. Majuli - World's Biggest River island and home to the Satras(equivalent to Gompa's of the Buddhist's)
7. And if one talk about then the Kaziranga NP definitely comes to the mind. Famous for one horned Rhinos. Don't miss the Elephant Safari in the early morning. It has very few parallel.

About Accommodation, as a whole, most of the Hotels in Assam are not that costly if you compare with other parts of the Country. In fact finding a good accommodation at real cheap price should never be a problem.
Regards,
KonfuSed

EDIT : But Flying to Guwahati is always the best option as the Roads are not that great from WB border to Guwahati. Trains most of the time runs late and also in case people are scared to travel by train due to terrorist activity. But I've traveled few times in Train to Assam and out and never had any issues except trains running late.