Of course, India is Asia. But the states to the east of Bangladesh, who with the Assam creep close to the border of China and Myanmar, have something different and special. Ethnic characteristics, living traditions, strong ties with the territory. Nature is beautiful, the tea that is grown is the best in the world and the fauna of the great parks a show not to be missed.
The curiosity geo-politics of eastern India immediately apparent by looking at the map. The extreme north of West Bengal and the extreme east of Bihar, important states of the immense territory of India, will shrink considerably, putting in a narrow passage pure whim of boundaries! Before emptying into the great plain in Assam and widen dominated by the Brahmaputra. To the north, with the Himalayan and pre-Himalayan incumbent on the states of Nepal, the autonomous territory of Sikkim, the Bhutan.
To the south, Bangladesh. India on the east, then spreads like a great hand to confine articulated with China, Myanmar, wrapping once again the Muslim Bangladesh. You do not look lazy this description of the area, why the convoluted boundaries between state and state are the result of a particular political, ethnic and economic presence of oil, which for years has characterized and influenced the attitude of the government towards Delhi local populations and, as a logical consequence, also the one that reflected the relations with the neighboring foreign countries.
Together Assam, the most important of the northeastern states, then there is a crown of other Indian states Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram, Tripura and Meghalaya, which has only recently been opened to tourism. The capital of Assam is Dispur, an administrative neighborhood in Guwahati or in fact the most important city of the territories situated to the east.
Guwahati is developed along the southern bank of the Brahmaputra, although, beyond the great river, another town called North Guwahati. Curious is the origin of the name of the de facto capital of Assam. The two words that make it up Guwa betel nut and Haat market testify that the place, situated between hills and valleys, served as a center for the collection and sale of this product and many others that the fertile land of the area offered.
Incidentally, it is known that in this area, as in the entire Southeast Asia, betel leaves, combined with the areca nuts, are usually chewed, leading to long addiction in its users. Another name of Guwahati is to Pragjyotishpur (Light) ancient center of tantric worship. With regard then to the demon king Narakasura, the same is referred to as the builder of the city, which becomes the place magical.
In fact, this part of Assam is one that has accepted and amalgamated, far removed from the times, different races. Here are the defendants from Eastern Mongolian people who have encountered the Indo-Aryans of the West, people who in turn are mixed with the Dravidian southern hemisphere. Anthropological standpoint, then, the faces that are seen in the region are the result of such deep ethnic mixtures.
Guwahati, living city, on a million inhabitants, has some beautiful temples, worthy of being visited. The best known is the Kamakhya Temple, on the top of the hill Nilachal, which attracts crowds of pilgrims especially true in Ambubachi occasion, religious festival that coincides with the peak of the monsoon season in June. More notable is the temple Bhuvaneshwari, also in an elevated position with respect to the river.
Then there are others who have different reasons of attraction: the Navagraha, next to the historical center, it is also a place of study for astrology and astronomy, so much so that the building was dedicated to the nine planets. What is most striking, however, the imagination of the visitors is the Umananda temple, dedicated to Lord Shiva and situated on a small island in the Brahmaputra: Peacock Island. And 'visited by devotees but also an opportunity for pleasant boat trips on the great waterway.
In the center of Guwahati, Ambari, is the Museum of the State of Assam and interesting are also the Botanical Gardens and the Herbarium. By means of a ferry or across the bridge Saraighat, you get to North Guwahati. Other nice temples but above all, in the proximity of the Ashwakranta, the footprint of Krishna, Carved on a rock at the river and the object of profound veneration on the part of the premises. Upon returning to the city, a tour of the markets in search of fabrics, metal objects and bamboo; in Paltan Bazar and elsewhere you'll be spoiled for choice.
To the east, always to the east, along the mighty Brahmaputra liquid vein. More than just a river, it is an aquatic universe. Comes from the remote highlands of Tibet and for a long stretch of its course the river is more high of the Earth, given that flows from west to east, the four-thousand meters of altitude. Then he starts to go down, making a swirling around on itself, heading southwest, and in the Chinese territory slips into a deep canyon.
When entering Assam, did not seem real to be able to expand dramatically in the fertile and vast natural basin, which later became the great plain, welcome waters of large rivers; the Ganges on everyone. E 'in this landscape and climate than favorable medium high valley, which is one of the two goods key the other is the oil of Assam: the immense, pleasing to the eye and verdant tea plantations. Assam black tea that is substantially different from that of China's green.
Plantations are very large, with hundreds of acres to cover the hills and valleys. Its a panorama of a unique sweetness, what you will find for miles, punctuated by expanses of trees that filter the sun's rays, favoring areas of shadow and light, complemented by the burnished masses of tea bushes. The green spread, the locals say, is a real physical relief for the view; the quiet and the fresh air that you breathe inside the plantations, a true balm for the spirit.
The contrasting colors are given by multicolored clothes pickers, which often accompany songs with the various phases of the work of gathering the precious leaves. Each tea garden of Assam has its own story, full of hard work and legendary characters, such as Maniram Dutta Barua, a noble Assamese who along with some British began the large-scale cultivation of tea, the early nineteenth century.
Among the many valuable buildings and bungalows built in the plantations, as a center of organization and collection of tea, stands the Thengal Mansion in Jorhat, Assam higher. Belonged to the family Barooahs, this magnificent villa, with rooms and rooms lit by large windows and surrounded by a paradise of plants and flowers, has long been one of the most exclusive hotels in the area of Jorhat. The Assam Company founded in 1839, is now the first company in the world for the production and marketing of tea. And everyone, Assam, have no doubts about what is in the world, better quality tea.
After arrival in Kolkata you fly to Guwahati, the capital of the enchanting Assam, northeast of the state that occupies the fertile valley of the Brahmaputra. Here are 4 of its typical landscapes: the bluish haze often dominates the landscape at sunrise and sunset, while a bright green extends over boundless and manicured tea plantations. The plain is dotted by houses on stilts of Mishing, the Disappeared, a group of Adivasi spostatisi dall'Arunashal Pradesh and so named by the British during the colonial era, for rimarcarne uprooting them from their land of origin.
This ethnic group lives on the margins of society assamese, while maintaining the original style of the houses on stilts, unlike the rest of the population in the region that builds houses with ground floor only. I left the Mishing Arunachal after being defeated in tribal wars, settling in the plains of the Brahmaputra, areas easier to grow and less harsh living conditions compared to those in the mountains.
The king of the grasslands of Kaziranga is the Indian rhinoceros unicorn. Here live specimens in 1855, more than two-thirds of the total species of the world. But our group is particularly lucky: a magnificent specimen of tiger crossing the road in front of one of his jeep. The moment is fleeting and unfortunately none of the occupants can capture the beast with the camera lens. But in Kaziranga many other living species: elephants, swamp deer, buffalo, many species of birds. All easy to spot while on safari on elephant back.
Majuli Island is the largest river island in India, the second in the world after the Brazilian Bananal Island, a little paradise that is characterized by a shimmering tangle of waterlogged paddy fields and meadows strewn with flowers. But Majuli is especially the mystical center of the popular neo-Hindu religion vaishnava, with its 22 ancient well SATRA. The island is ready for the Ras Mahotsav Festival, the most important holiday of the year.
When we visit the mask master, its adherents have prepared papier-mâché masks and animal creatures, demons and avatars that will be used to represent characters in the epic during the celebrations. But this haven of greenery is disappearing every year the rising waters of the Brahmaputra and inundation will eat the island. 35 villages have been cleared in recent years, without intervention of UNESCO, the island and its people have no future.
The mountains surrounding Mon are the only area where they survive some Konyak of Nagaland headhunters. A Chuhi lies a warrior last 90 years that has 5 enemies killed and their severed heads. A Longwi, the chieftain of the longhouse is positioned midway between India and Burma: him, you can still find smoking opium illegally grown in the mountains near the Burmese.
A Sanga Chin can see the latest skulls, in all other villages have been destroyed or buried by the Baptist church that has erased any sign of this ancestral culture pagan. And to think that even at the end of the 60 members of the tribe were not wearing clothes and free love was practiced in villages and in the forest. The last head, however, was cut in 1992, not here, but in the area of TIRAP, during a clash between villages Nocte.
The Hornbill Festival Kohima: made by the state of Nagaland, not to forget the cultures of minorities. The festival lasts a week, but do not miss the first 2 days. In the first, the main arena, parading all ethnic groups of the other "7 Sisters": Assam, Arunachal, Mizoram, Manipur, Tripura and Meghalaya. The second day is dedicated to all ethnic groups in Nagaland Angami, Ao, Chakhesang, Chang, Damasa, Garo, Konyak, Khiamniungan, Kuki, Lotha, Pochury, Phom, Rengma, Sangtam, Sumi, Yimchunger and Zeliang, which alternate in a riot of color, music and dance.
One of the most keenly felt by the Indian authorities in the protection of national forest heritage and the preservation of animal species, is anthropization increasingly pressing of the many zones created to protect the local wildlife national parks as specific areas, called sanctuaries.
It is not difficult to understand why. According to a recent estimate, in 2010 the total population of India accounted for 1 billion and 174 million people; China, the most populous country in the same year came to 1 billion and 330 million people. Experts speculate that even in 2037 India arrivals to overcome the Chinese juggernaut. At one time the animals were spread a little everywhere. Urbanized areas, deforestation, poaching and other negative phenomena, have reduced more and more original habitats and the same risks, in part, they also run the parks, because in this case of human settlements and crops introduced in areas that were previously free.
In recent years, the great parks of Assam Kaziranga, Manas, Dibru-Saikhowa, Nameri have been enlarged, especially in the light of requirements related to the fauna that they host. The great attention to the protection of flora, fauna sedentary or step by the authorities, is also demonstrated by the creation of as many as 17 Wildlife Sanctuaries, or protected areas, scattered throughout the eastern state.
The name of the park has no certain etymology, but there are many different interpretations and legends about it. One of them tells of the love between a girl and a young man called Ranga the district of Karbi Anglong, whose name was Kazi. As households contrasted this union, the boys disappeared into the forest, no more to return to their homes. By their names, that's what the park.
That occurs, it must be said, a beauty exciting. There is everything: impenetrable forests, lakes, wetlands with the famous reed beds of the Brahmaputra, ponds nition deep. The variety of plants and flowers is huge, as are the plains covered with lush green meadows. The waters of the great river sometimes overflows, endangering the animals. But when you retire, life explodes with arrogance. The Kaziranga National Park is located 233 km from Guwahati and the nearest town to the park and Bokakhat.
With a surface of 859 square kilometers, lies in the hills of Mikir and the south bank of the Brahmaputra. If the tiger is the king of the park, the Indian rhino is its undisputed king. He raced its risks, this beautiful colossus, because of indiscriminate hunting. Thanks to the park, the number of animals has increased and today it is even accustomed to human presence, the jeep rangers.
Among the many other animals, stand out for their grandeur Asian elephants, wild buffaloes; then there are bears, leopards, wild cats, swamp deer, wild boar, wild pigs, water birds, black-necked storks, eagles a circular queue, pelicans, marabou storks, herons. There are also many species of reptiles and wetlands are gharials, crocodiles.
Founded in 1926, Kaziranga is now a wonderful reality that offers visitors the unique opportunity of a true immersion in a protected natural environment inhabited by an infinite variety of animal species. The best time to visit is between November and April.
assam travel guide tourism package