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| Guwahati City Tour Guide - Assam |
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Guwahati Facts:
• Area 3,702 sq. km
• Population 1,169,793
• Altitude Sea level
• Languages Konkani, Marathi, Hindi, English
• Best time to visit October to February
• STD Code 0832 |
An unfathomable river courses wildly along this city as ancient hills look on verdantly from the sides. It is a remote town, well connected yet largely unexplored. That is Guwahati for you. Hailed as the Gateway to the Northeast, this city hardly features prominently on the itinerant’s map despite it being undeniable as to how much it has on offer - cruises on the Brahmaputra, occult practices in age-old temples, undulating tea estates, meeting tribals upclose, and of course a glimpse of the lord of the Kaziranga, the one-horned rhino. Guwahati, alike its Northeastern cousins, has a pristine beauty, waiting for that beholder with an eye to appreciate.
History
This is a truly ancient city. Early epics and Vedas refer to the land as the sacred Pragjyotishpura and Kamarup desa. As to how the city got its name is interesting. Guwahati is a combination of Guwameaning betel and hatimeaning market; it was a market selling betel nuts. According to another story, the city being surrounded by hills resembles a cave (guha) from the top. And with the River Brahmaputra and Bharalu, its tributary, this looks like an elephant (hati in Assamese). So both put together it became Guhahati. Many people believe the name became Gauhati under the British and then changed to Guwahati.
The city was caught between two powerful kingdoms: the Ahom and the Koch. The Koch regions were soon overrun by the Mughals. But neither the Koch nor the Mughals could consolidate Guwahati into their empire. It was the Ahom kings who integrated it into their kingdom. The British developed the region into a tea plantation. After Independence and reorganisation of states, Guwahati has seen much violence, thanks to separatist demand for an independent Bodoland by a section of the region’s tribals.
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How to get there
Air
There are daily flights to Borjhar Airport, Guwahati, from Delhi and Calcutta. Flights from Agartala, Dibrugarh, Dimapur, Imphal and Silchar arrive in Guwahati on a tri-weekly basis. Taxis and coaches take you in to the city, which is 25 km away.
Train
There are several trains connecting various Indian cities to Guwahati. The Rajdhani Express from New Delhi takes 28 hours; Kamrup Express from Calcutta takes 22 hours; Northeast Express from Delhi takes 37 hours; Brahmaputra Mail from Delhi takes 41 hours; Dadar Express from Bombay takes 54 hours; Bangalore Express from Bangalore takes 61 hours; Trivandrum Express from Trivandrum takes 72 hours; Saraighat Express from Howrah takes 18 hours – and all these trains run at least twice a week to Guwahati. Within northeast India, the Brahmaputra Mail gets you to Guwahati from Dimapur in 10 hours, Tinsukhia in 17 hours and Dibrugarh in 19 hours.
Road
Guwahati is the nodal point for road transport in northeast India. Four national highways meet in this city. You can drive into Guwahati from Agartala (Tripura), Aizawl (Mizoram), Bomdila (Arunachal Pradesh), Cooch Behar (West Bengal), Dimapur (Nagaland), Itanagar (Arunachal Pradesh), Imphal (Manipur), Kohima (Nagaland), Shillong andTura (Meghalaya) and Dibrugarh, Digboi, Sibsagar, Silchar, Tinsukhia and Tezpur (Assam).
Water
Hire a motorboat (called bhotbhoti) from the Brahmaputra riverfront to enjoy a private river cruise.
Dining Out
Sunflower (Panbazaar) serves authentic Assamese cuisine. For delectable Mughlai and north Indian fare, try Tandoori at the Dynasty Hotel or Nashraj at Hotel Nova. JB on MGRoad has a decent bakery and a chaat corner, besides a veggie restaurant.
Jolporee a government-run restaurant on MG Road offers a dinner cruise on the Brahmaputra. This is a really wonderful experience as you can relish the piping hot food, with the cold waters of the Brahmaputra issuing soft noises.Shopping
Assamese Muga, Paat and Eri silks are valuable buys. You can pick them up from Pragjyotika, the state emporium situated in Ambari. If you want to buy directly from the weavers, then drive 30 km to Sualkuchi, a silk-weaving centre.
The places to shop for handicrafts like jappi, the traditional sunshade, bell metal and brass articles, bamboo toys and earthenware include Pragjyotika as well as several shops in Pan Bazaar and Fancy Bazaar.
Original Assam tea, known for its strong liquor and lingering taste, can be bought from shops along GS Road.Visiting
The best time to visit Guwahati is November to March when the heat and humidity are tempered by the cool winds blowing in from the Himalayan foothills. June brings the onslaught of heavy rains and it lasts until September. Guwahati has a fairly good drainage system leaving communication relatively unaffected by the rains. Air traffic does get affected though.
Tourist Offices
Directorate of Tourism, Assam, Station Rd., Guwahati, Ph: 0361 781001, 544475, 542748, 547102
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