A solo backpacker’s guide to North East India | Part 2— Assam
I am writing this series to give Solo Backpackers information to travel the North East of India. I have divided this series into three parts — Part 1 will cover my travel in Arunachal Pradesh, Part 2 will cover Assam and Part 3 will cover Meghalaya. There are other states in the North East but you’ll have to look elsewhere for information on them. If you missed Part 1, make sure you go read it here.
Kaziranga National Park
I had started my trip by entering the North East through Guwahati in Assam. I made my way to Tawang in Arunachal and then I came back to Tezpur in Assam. From Tezpur, my plan was to catch an evening bus to Kaziranga National Park to stay the night there. The park is famous for the endangered One Horn Rhinoceros and also has a Tiger population. The park is not open through the year, so make sure it is open during the months you plan to visit. When it is open, every morning, there are two kinds of Safaris that go. One is a Jeep Safari and the other is an Elephant Safari. The Elephant safari is special since you roam the park on the back of an elephant and even go and stand right next to a rhinoceros. More information on the safaris can be found here.
Pro Tip: If you’re going for the Elephant Safari, it starts from Bagori and not Kohora where the main gate of the park is. Make sure you pick a hotel or resort close to Bagori to stay. Also, if you’re going for the Elephant Safari in the months of winter, book the latest slot possible to avoid mist and fog.
Unfortunately, when I called up the Park to book an elephant safari, they couldn’t confirm my ticket because I was a solo traveler. I found another solo traveler to come with me but even then they couldn’t confirm. It is thus wise to book in advance. I couldn’t do that since you have to pay to confirm your booking and my travel itinerary was not fixed. However, Jeep Safaris are always available.
Since I didn’t get the Elephant Safari, I decided to skip Kaziranga and I spent the night in Tezpur instead. The next day, I took a bus to Jorhat in the morning which cost me ₹150. Public ASTC buses are the best way to travel in Assam. They are cheap and stick to schedule unlike the private buses which are not that punctual.
The drive from Tezpur to Jorhat was beautiful. It had three sections. First were the plains. Then came the forests of Kaziranga. In the final leg of the journey, there were tea estates. I found it interesting that tea plantations in Assam were all grown on the same level unlike in the south of India where they are farmed on steps cut into the hill.
Majuli
I started at 7:30am from Tezpur and reached Jorhat at around 11:30am. Jorhat is the closest town to Majuli. You also get buses from Guwahati to Jorhat. From the Jorhat ISBT, if you exit and keep walking right, you’ll come to a Share Auto/Cab stand which will have vehicles to Nimatighat. Majuli is a river island, the largest in the world, and Nimatighat is the point from where the ferry to Majuli leaves from the mainland. Get inside a shared auto/cab and it’ll cost you ₹20 and 20 minutes to get to Nimatighat.
Pro Tip: Important! There are different drop off points on Majuli. Make sure you take the Ferry to Kamalabari.
I reached Nimatighat and got onto a Ferry. It costs only ₹10 for a single person but if you want to take your car across to Majuli, it costs ₹500-₹800 depending on the type of the Ferry. Transporting bikes costs less. The ferry ride is 60–90 mins long depending on the boat. Ferries leave every hour from 6am to 9am and then a few around noon. The last ferry leaves at 3pm. This applies to both going to and coming back from Majuli. Once you reach Majuli, you have shared autos taking you to the towns.
I was standing on the deck and I was struck by how massive the Brahmaputra is. I felt like I was out at sea, not in a river. See for yourself!
When I got off my ferry an hour later, I went around looking for a shared auto to take me to my hotel in Garmur. However, I found none. I soon found out that I had gotten onto the wrong ferry and had gotten off at a point in the isalnd which was 30km away from Garmur!
Some people tried to take advantage of my crisis and demanded ₹1500 to take me to Garmur. I didn’t take it. I stood there for sometime figuring out what can be done. It was the last Ferry to Majuli so I couldn’t take the ferry back to the mainland. Eventually, one of the shared cab drivers offered to drop me off after dropping off everyone else. So I tagged along with him. The ride itself was beautiful as the sun the set over paddy fields that stretched to the horizon. My cab driver buddy inquired why I was going to Garmur and when he realised that I was a tourist, he offered to put me up in his house. I had to refuse because I had already blocked my stay in Garmur, but it warmed my heart. I ended up paying him ₹400 for dropping me off at Garmur. I had reached! But the sun had set. I had initially planned to stay only a day in Majuli but due to all that happened, I decided to stay an extra night.
There are two places to stay at Majuli. One is Maison de Anand. It is co-owned by a French couple and an Indian and is run by locals —Monjith and his family. The houses are made out of bamboo and are comfortable and clean. Food is served at Monjith’s family kitchen where you get authentic local cuisine. I also had some of the rice beer they brew. Though it wasn’t frothy like the beer we are used to, it tasted really good. Monjith also acts as a local guide and tells you where to go. The best way to travel is scooter or bicycle and you can rent these from him. It costs ₹500/day for a scooter and ₹200/day for a bicycle. If you would like to stay there, call Monjith directly at +91 9957186356. Don’t use a site like booking.com. Monjith has rooms ranging from ₹500–800.
Pro Tip: Regardless of where you are staying in Majuli, make sure you go to Monjith’s kitchen and have the Tribal food platter. You’ll need to call him and tell him in advance so that he can source the ingredients. Also, make sure you try the rice beer there!
Another great place to stay is Ygdrasill Bamboo Cottage. Though they don’t have Monjith, their stay is much more scenic. I went and spent some time there just for the surroundings. Call them at +91 8876707326. It costs ₹1500 for a cottage in which two can stay.
Satras
Majuli is known for it’s Satras which represent Assamese neo-Vaishnavite culture. These are essentially Hindu temples inhabitated by Hindu monks. Majuli has 65 satras of which there are around 5–8 major ones. A great time to visit Majuli is during the festival of Raas Mahotsav when the whole island comes alive in November to worship, sing, dance and celebrate. However, make sure you make your reservations months in advance since there will be a lot of pilgrims coming too during this time.
Monjith provided with me a map of all the things to do in Majuli.
Ramesh whom I met in Tawang also made it to Majuli along with another solo traveler he found in Kaziranga National Park. Together we rented scooters to go to the Satras. The Auniati Satra is the largest and we made our way there. The pathway to the Satra is lined with shops selling goods and food. We took a quick tour of the Satra and made our way out. There is also a small museum at the Satra that you can visit.
We made our way to the Samugari Satra next where the famous Mask Making man and his workshop reside. The workshop was in full swing preparing for Rass Mahotsav later that month.
We spent the rest of the day roaming around the island. For lunch, we found a KFC in Majuli! Krishna Fried Chicken. Krishna got the original KFC recipe from a friend who used to work at KFC. He then put his own twist to it by adding local ingredients. The result is the best fried chicken in town!
Majuli is a wonderful place. It’s rural in spirit but has all the infrastructure you need — 4g internet, good roads, etc. The low number of tourists also mean that the place still has its originality and the people you meet represent Majuli. It has a lot of fruits and vegetables that are native to the region. Majuli used to cover an area of 800sq.km but the Brahmaputra is slowly swallowing it up and now it’s only around 250sq.km. In a few years, Majuli may not exist. For me, Majuli captured the essence of Assam and I loved my stay there.
The next day, I caught my ferry to the mainland. From Jorhat, I made my way to Dibrugarh to meet a friend who works in the Indian Air Force. There is nothing much to see in Dibrugarh. That day, I caught an overnight bus back to Guwahati. Guwahati, Kaziranga and Majuli — these are the places you need to see in Assam and I hope I have inspired you to do so.
Expenses
I spent ₹2876 over 2 days in Shillong which includes the travel fromGuwahati. Of the ₹2876, I spent ₹1750 on transport, ₹1890 for accommodation, ₹1900 for food and the rest for miscellaneous expenditure.
That’s it about Assam. If you would like to see more of my photos, go here. I hope you enjoyed it and I hope you found the information you were looking for. If you haven’t seen it yet, check out Part 1 of this series where I talk about my experience in Arunachal Pradesh, complete with scenic mountain views, glacial lakes and yaks. In Part 3 of this series, I talk about going to Shillong and Meghalaya.
Have questions? Leave a comment below. I’ll do my best to clear your doubts.
