Tourism in Guwahati

Guwahati or Gauhati, the gateway to the Northeast is situated on the bank of the river Brahmaputra and is one of the main tourist hubs in the entire Northeast India. Your travel to the northeast will be incomplete without your visit to Guwahati. The city boasts of a 10th century old Kamakhya temple at the hilltop of Nilachal hills, beautiful Umananda Temple situated at the Peacock Island of the Brahmaputra River, the mighty river Brahmaputra which is one of the largest rivers in the world.  Hence the city is aesthetically, commercially and culturally developed. Tourism in Guwahati includes heritage sites, ancient temples, museums, historical monuments, sanctuaries, archeological sites, lakes and ponds.

The city of Guwahati is blessed with a varied flora and fauna. The mighty river Brahmaputra is one of the best and major attractions of Guwahati. The river is 2900 km (approx.) long and is one of the largest rivers in the world. While most Indian rivers are considered female rivers, Brahmaputra is a male river. The Brahmaputra River is considered as sacred by the Hindus as many mythological tales are associated with it. The tourist can take a ferry or boat ride in the mighty river and catch a sight of the river dolphins, or can also enjoy the cool breeze on the river banks.

Guwahati tourism includes wildlife tourist attractions like the Deepor Beel or Dipor Bil, which is a permanent freshwater lake and is the largest lakes in the Brahmaputra valley. The place is at a distance of 9.8 km from Guwahati Airport and is of 18 mins drive. The name Deepor Beel has been derived from two words, viz. dip and beel. Dip in Sanskrit means elephant and beel is an Assamese word meaning lake. Deepor Beel is the largest congregation of aquatic birds and it has an exotic variety of bird species which could be seen during winters and has a record variety of 19,000 water birds seen in a day. Due to its richness of the variety of birds in Deepor Beel, the Birdlife International has declared it as an Important Bird Area.

Places like Dighali Pukhuri, Chandubi Lake, Chandrapur, Panikhaiti, and Basistha are other important natural and wildlife tourist destinations of Guwahati.

Guwahati is also famous for the many ancient buildings and museums located in and around the city. The Assam State Museum is a must visit place for the tourist, it is situated at the southern side of Dighali Pukhuri , the museum exhibits a large collection of the historic and prehistoric times. It was founded by the Assam Research Society and is one of the biggest multipurpose museums displaying epigraphy, iconography, numismatics and archeology in Assam. The distance from Guwahati Airport to Assam State Museum is 22.6 km and is of 33 minutes drive.

Other than the State Museum, some important tourist attractions in Guwahati include the Guwahati Planetarium, Cottage Industry museum, Regional Science Centre, Nehru Park, Assam State Zoo, Accoland Amusement park, Shakardev Park, Uzanbazar Park and Srimanta Sankardeva Kalakshetra that attracts thousands of tourist round the year.

Guwahati is known as the city of temples, many ancient temples have been in existence in Guwahati city since ages. The most prominent among them is the Kamakhya temple at the Nilachal Hills; it is the most important temples and pilgrimage tourist destinations of Assam.  The temple is dedicated to Goddess Kamakhya and other Mother Goddess in the form of Bhubaneshwari, Dasa Mahavidya, Bagalamukhi, Tara, Tripura Sundari and Chinnamasta. Thousands of pilgrims from around the world throng to this place of worship to offer their devotion to Goddess Kamakhya. The distance from Guwahati Airport to Kamakhya Temple is 16.6 km and the driving time is 25 mins.

Navagraha Temple or the temple of Nine Planets is another important religious place of tourist attractions in Guwahati. It was built in the late 18th century, by Ahom ruler Rajeswar Singha. The temple has nine shivalingams representing the nine celestial bodies. These are covered with coloured cloths which represent the nine planets; there is also a Shivalingam at the centre which symbolises the Sun. The distance from Guwahati Airport to Navagraha Temple is 23 km and the driving time is around an hour.

Other temples include Aswaklanta-Temple, Balaji-Temple, Basistha-Temple, Dirgheswari-Temple, Doul-Govinda-Temple, Iskcon-Temple, Madan-Kamdev, Sukreswar-Temple, Ugratara-Temple, Umananda Temple and Bhringeswar Devalaya.

Shopping is also a fun activity; it is a major source of relaxation and entertainment for people of all age groups. Guwahati, is no less behind when it comes to some famous markets in and around the city, it is the main shopping hub of Assam, where one could find varieties from exquisite silk and handlooms to different classy brands. Tourists can also pick up the finest traditional jewellery. The ever busy Paltan Bazar, Fancy Bazar, Ganeshguri, G.S Road, Panbazar, Lakhtokia, Maligaon, Beltola are known for shopping in Guwahati.

Guwahati in recent time has also seen the mushrooming growth of malls and marts. Mention may be made of the Sohum Emporium, Big Bazar, FBB, Reliance Trends, Pantaloons, Vishal Mega Mart, Dona Planet, Metro Bazar and so on.

One should also never miss buying the traditional cloths made of Muga and Eri, which is only to be found in Assam in the showrooms like Kalpataru, Silkalaya, Kamdhenu Silk Emporium, Baishya Silk Emporium, Brindabani Silk Emporium and many more.  It’s a must thing for Tourists to take back home Japi, Gamosa and Mekhela Chadar found exclusively in Assam. One can also pick up Assam tea famous for its magnificent aroma.

Tourists in Guwahati can relish authentic cuisines in some of the finest A1 hotels and restaurants in Guwahati which includes Hotel Grand Starline, Hotel Brahmaputra Ashok, Hotel Pragati Manor, Hotel Gateway Grandeur, Hotel Nakshatra, Hotel Kiranshree Portico, Hotel Nandan, Hotel Dynasty, Hotel Raj Mahal, Hotel Agnideep Continental, Hotel Bellevue, Hotel Vishwaratna, Hotel Prag Continental and so on. Given below are the addresses of some of the good hotels in Guwahati-

• Vishwaratna Hotel Pvt ltd.
  Omkar Plaza, A T Road, Guwahati Gpo
  Guwahati - 781001
  Phone: (0361) 2607712, 9707700007
  
  
• Hotel Tibet
  Sarhad Complex, Opposite Astc Multi Level Car Parking
  G S Road, Paltanbazar, Guwahati - 781008
  Phone: (0361) 2519815, 9435043966
  
  
• Hotel Brahmaputra Residency
  Peace Enclave,8th Floor, News Time Building
  G S Road, Ulubari, Guwahati - 781006
  Phone: (0361) 2738446, 9435306614
  
  
• Hotel Blue Moon
  Bhuban Road, Uzan Bazar, Guwahati - 781001
  Phone: (0361) 2631292
  
  
• Hotel Gateway Grandeur
  Near Old Postoffice, Cristian Basti, G S Road
  Guwahati - 781005
  Phone: (0361) 7110022
  

Guwahati is also home to some famous international chains like Mainland China, Mandarin Court, Yo China! and lots more.

Guwahati is well connected by all the major means of transport, which includes airways, railways and roadways. The Guwahati airport is known as the Lokopriya Gopinath Bordoloi International Airport which has all major domestic flights from different part of the country to Guwahati. There are also direct flights from Guwahati Airport to Kolkata, Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Bangalore, Jaipur and Vice Versa.

The Guwahati Railway Station falls under the Northeast Frontier Railway Zone of the Indian Railways. There are direct trains to Guwahati from all the major cities in India and Vice Versa.  Trains like Rajdhani Express, Northeast Express, Saraighat express, Kamrup Express, Poorvottar Sampark Kranti Express and Brahmaputra Mail run at regular intervals to and from Guwahati.

Guwahati is well connected with the national highways within Assam and the other states of the Northeast, west Bengal, Jharkhand and Bihar.  It also connects Guwahati to all the major cities of Assam. Transportation within the city is facilitated by autorikshaws, cycle rikshaws, buses, radio taxis, trekker jeep and so on.