Driving south from Jorhat then across the Brahmaputra on the Kali Bhomura bridge, you will come to Tezpur or city of Blood, also known at one times as Sonitpur.

A very special sight awaits a visitor to the circuit House in the early morning: just a few hundred meters away as the first rays of dawn streak the sky, the river comes alive slowly with boats and vessels of all shapes and sizes ferric and barges, sail boat and launches and the ubiquitous small nao, or little boat, seen all along the course of this great river.

Ruins of stone temples and a doorframe discovered at Daparbatia, about 5kms west of Tezpur, date to the 5th and 6th centuries. Other architectural remains include the Agnigrah and Bamuni Hills, the Bhairavi and Mahabhairab temples and the twin tanks of Bar Pukhuri and Padum Pukhuri A new attraction is the Cole Park, named after a British Administrator, which has been recently redeveloped with the participation of local people. About 50 kms Tezpur, off the road to Arunachal Pradesh, drive over a dirt track and creaky bridges to reach the Eco Camp, a unique experiment by the Assam anglers association and the states forest Department.

The Eco camp is near the Jia Bhoroli river and across the river, on the other side is the Nameri National Park

Nameri National Park: The organisers at the Eco camp cab put together a day or part of a day for white water rafting. The scenery is magnificant: forest on either side, snow-capped mountains in the distance and a rushing river at hand. Visitors can do river rafting for the elusive, large and threatened golden Mahseer, the great fish of these waters.

This is part of an ecological camping to save the maheseer so part of the river is protected and fish need to be caught and then released in an effort to stablise their dwinding numbers. The food at the camp where visitors live in modern tents, is excellent and on most evening there is a camp fire with music to brighteen the late hours.

The Nameri National Park spreads over from Assam into Arunalchal Pradesh. The best way of travelling here is (as at Kaziranga) on elephants. There are no roads inside the park. The thick jungle, with patches of swamp is home to a variety of animals. The animals you can spot are the powerfull Mithun or Indian Bison and the most endangered bird species on earth.

A short distance on the main road to tawang is Bhalukpong, the entrance to Arunachal Pradesh, where the police check tourist permits. Arunachal, one of the most sparsely populated states of India, borders China, Bhutan and Myanmar.

There are five major rivers- Kameng, Subansiri, Siang (later the Brahmaputra in Assam ), Lohit and Tirap and the mountain ranges follow the river systems. Home to a complex mix of communities, its people are friendly, colorful and simple. Its rich flora ranges from the alpine to the subtropical, from rhododendrons to orchids. Its verdant forests, turbulent streams, lofty mountains and snow clad peaks make it a unique place offering the tourist numerous opportunities for rafting, hiking and mountaineering.

Best Time To Visit: October To May

Places to Visit in Assam
Guwahati, Kaziranga, Tezpur