Nagaland Arunachal Assam Tour

Upon arriving at Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport, also known as Kolkata Airport  (CCU) –  the capital and largest city of West Bengal and the cultural capital of India. – and completing all customs formalities, please proceed to the exit gate. A Greenlimon Holidays representative will be waiting to greet you with a paging board displaying your name.
Later transfer to Hotel. Upon arrival ,check In hotel ( Standard Check In Time: 14:00 )
Rest of the day is free . Overnight stay at Kolkata

After breakfast, depart at 9 AM for a guided two-hour Heritage Walk around Dalhousie Square, now a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Explore Kolkata’s colonial past at landmarks like the Flower Market, Black Hole site, Writer’s Building, Governor’s House, and Charnock Mausoleum.

Next, visit the Indian Coffee House and then Kumartuli village, where traditional clay deities are handcrafted. Stroll along Chitpur Road, home to artisans, perfume makers, and musical instrument shops.

Enjoy lunch at the Ivory Restaurant.

Post-lunch, visit Sishu Bhavan, one of Mother Teresa’s homes, followed by the iconic Victoria Memorial.

In the evening, attend the aarti at Kalighat Kali Temple—one of India’s 52 Shakti Peeths, steeped in myth and legend.

Return to the hotel for dinner at Aaheli, a top Bengali fine-dining restaurant.

After breakfast , In time transfer to Kolkata Airport board flight for Dimapur .  On arrival,  , Drive  to Kohima  apporx 70 Kms / 2 Hours . Upon arrival , Check In hotel . After Lunch proceed to visit the State Museum and local market. Dinner at hotel restaurant and overnight.

This morning we drive to Khonoma village (20kms/1 hr), an Angami tribal village. Khonoma is renowned for its valor and courage. The Khonoma gate tells the story of British infiltration into the Naga Hills and the indigenous men who fought them.

This afternoon return to Kohima and observe the locals preparing for the festival. Attend Hornbill Festival.

Morning drive (42 kms/ 1.5 hours) to Touphema village inhabited by Angami tribe.

Full day attendHornbill Festival. Different Naga tribes, dressed in traditional attire, will be singing, dancing and participating in indigenous sports.

The festivals are an organized event, by government of state of Nagaland. The main arena is an open ground encircled with bleacher-like concrete seats for visitors and performers waiting to perform. There is no assigned sitting area for visitors. Though organizers used to reserve some sitting areas for performing troops. Visitors are free to move around to take pictures without getting inside the main arena, without disturbing performers and obstructing others view.

You can walk around the entire area where 16 traditionally built pavilions/huts from each tribe of Nagaland, are built. Every day representing troops from each tribe are present at their respective pavilions wearing their traditional attire. One can freely roam around that entire area at their will and mingle with people. We always make sure to arrive at the festival grounds well in advance to have a good spot to sit, keeping our back to sun!

Morning depart driving to Mokokchung in north-central Nagaland. En-route we stop to visit the Ungma and Longkhum villages inhabited by the Ao Nagas.

We continue the drive to Mokokchung in north-central Nagaland (152 kms/ 5 hrs), stopping along the way at a local dhaba (roadside restaurant) in Wokha.

The drive this morning will be on winding roads with spectacular landscapes. This district is inhabited by the Konyak Tribe. En-route we visit Mopinchuket village, close to Mokochung and known for crafts and woodwork. Dinner and overnight

After an early breakfast we will drive to Longwa village with packed lunch. True tradition is seen here where people are still not touched by modern ways. Meet village folk, see their way of life. This is one of the big Konyak villages and on the border ridge between India and Myanmar (Burma). The Angh (king) of Longwa commands about 50 villages from both the sides of the border. Return to Mon. Dinner and overnight.

Today we visit Hongphui and Wangla villages of Konyak Nagas. These are also villages that have retained their traditional lifestyle. Later time permitting visit Chui village. Dinner and overnight. Note: We have made the above change this year because Langmeang village has become quite modern now and Wangla and Hongphui offers better tradition and culture to see.

This morning we shall visit Mon village and then drive on to Dibrugarh in Assam. Our accommodations are inside one of its lush tea estates. The majority of people here work in the tea estates or in the tea factories. Usually the women pick the tea. We will have an opportunity to interact with the tea pickers of Assam. After lunch, we tour the tea garden and enjoy a tea tasting. Note: Tea factories are closed December through March. Therefore, tea factory tour is subject to its operational schedule.

Today we enter the state of Arunachal Pradesh at Passighat. We cross the Brahmaputra River by ferry from Dibrugarah to Swaringhat (1.5- 2 hour) and one hour drive on dirt road before paved road begins. We will be climbing up the lower Himalayan ranges through thick tropical forest during the last hours of the drive to Along

Along is the headquarters of West Saing district of Arunachal Pradesh located at an altitude of 300m. The Adis by nature are democratic and have an organized village council called Kebang. Their traditional dance called Ponung is famous all over Arunachal Pradesh. Adi villages are situated generally on the spurs of hills. Polyandy is practiced here (one wife multiple husbands–usually a woman marries brothers). Adi women are very good weavers and weave cloth with highly artistic designs.

We shall visit several villages today including Kabu, Paya and Pobdi which all remain quite traditional.

During our drive we shall have opportunities to interface with Tagin people who have their dwellings in villages between Along & Damporizo. The Tagins are the main inhabitants of Upper Sunansiri district. Their primary occupation is agriculture. Polygamy is customary among them. Their dress is very simple, consisting of only one piece of cloth. The Sulungs or Puroik are considered to be one of the oldest of the tribes in the area. Their traditional attire is simple and the religion is a form of the primitive ‘spirit culture.’

We will stop to visit villages of the Tagin and Adi Gallong tribes along the way to Daporizo.

Drive to Ziro stopping to visit the Hill Miris and Nyishi villages along the way. The Nyishi and Tamens are among the main Hill Miri tribes who form the largest groups of people inhabiting the major part of Lower Subansiri district. The men wear their hair long and tie it in a knot just above the forehead. They wear cane bands around the waist. They believe that after death the spirit of a dead travels to the ‘village of the ancestors.’ En-route enjoy the beauty of Kamala River. The Apatanis are settled agriculturists inhabiting the valley around Ziro-the headquarters of Lower Subansiri district. The Apatani are good cultivators and practice both wet and terrace cultivation. They grow rice on terraces on the Apatani Plateau and paddy cum fish culture is very popular among them. Unlike other tribes of Arunachal their economy is stable.

The older men tie their hair in topknots and tattoo their faces. Wearing of circular nose plugs and tattooing of faces is the most characteristic aspect of ornamentation of older Apatani women. However, the new generation of Apatani men and women have stopped this practice of hair knots, nose plugs and face tattooing since the early 1970s.

Visit Hong, the largest tribal village in Asia; Hari, Dutta and Bamin villages near Ziro. Also visit the Tribal Arts Museum and in the evening stroll the local market.

After a leisurely breakfast, we head towards Majuli Island, stopping for the night in North Lakhimpur, which has a better quality hotel. This also breaks the driving up for easier travel on both today and tomorrow. Day 17 North Lakhimpur-Majuli-Jorhat / Banyan Grove Tea Bungalow (B,L,D) We depart at 730 am and start our journey to Majuli, the largest inhabited river island in the world and the seat of Vaishnava culture in Assam.

We drive about 1 hour to the ferry point and cross the mighty Brahmaputra River on a car ferry (about 1 hour ride) to Majuli. On arrival, we have a walk around the village to observe life and interact with the friendly locals. After lunch we shall visit the Satras.The great 15th century Assamese reformer and saint, Shankardeva came here and set up Satras ( Vaishnavite) monasteries to motivate people towards culture and religion. Visit these satras and interact with the monks and others.

At 3 pm, we board another ferry (1.5-2 hrs) to Jorhat. Enjoy a relaxing evening on the grounds of our estate .

Kaziranga lies on the south bank of the Brahmaputra, and is famous for its population of the great One-Horned Rhinoceros. Tigers are also present in sizable numbers: with a tiger count of 86, the highest density tiger population in India. Other attractions of this national park include the wild buffalo, magnificent Swamp Deer, Hog Deer, wild boar, Hoolok Gibbon, Capped Langur and Ratel (badger). A wide variety of snakes including the rock python and the monitor lizard are also found here. Amongst the birds, the crested serpent eagle is common while Palla’s Fishing Eagle and the Gray Headed Fishing Eagle are frequently seen. On arrival we’ll have lunch and some time to enjoy the gorgeous resort grounds. The afternoon wildlife safari by jeep begins at 230 pm.

Wake up in early morning tea or coffee serve proceed to kazirang  National Park for 01 Elephant Safari (Optional and subject to availability) followed with by 01 Jeep Safari post breakfast. Post lunch enjoy another Jeep Safari.

Enjoy a 45-minute elephant safari—perfect for spotting one-horned rhinos and wild elephants up close through tall grass, with great photo ops in the misty central range.

ELEPHANT SAFARI  TIMING

1^st Trip : 0515 hrs to 0615 hrs
2^nd Trip :  0615 hrs to 0715 hrs

Jeep Safaris are permitted on pre-defined tourist circuits within Kaziranga National Park- currently at the following four points. Each of these circuits takes about one and half to two and half hour

1. Central Range (Kohora), offers diverse habitats and great mammal and bird sightings.
2. Eastern Range Agaratoli),  is rich in water birds, including pelican colonies.
3. Western Range(Bagori),  has the highest rhino density and frequent raptor sightings
4. Burapahar (Ghorakati).

JEEP SAFARI
Morning Entry time between 0730 to 1000 Hours. No entry after 1000 Hrs
Afternoon: Entry time between 1330 to 1500 Hours. No entry after 1500 Hrs .

In evening enjoy cultural show you have options, as some local youth organized Cultural show in Kohora in auditorium They usually organize 3 to 5 types of cultural dance along with famous Bihu dance. Overnight in Kaziranga.

Early morning elephant safari. This is a thrilling highlight! The one-horned rhinoceros are startling. After breakfast drive to Guwahati, the largest city of Assam and a main river port city located on the south bank of the Brahmaputra River. Excavations trace the origins to around the 4th century and it was the capital of Assam until the 10th century. There are fine indigenous textiles to be found here in the shops. On arrival check into the hotel and lunch.

This afternoon, we’ll visit Umananda Temple, located beautifully in the riverine of Peacock Island. We will board a country boat across the River Brahmaputra to reach this Shiva Temple. (The temple remains open from sunrise to sunset). After a refreshing walk around the temple premises, we will return to the mainland. Further, drive to visit Srimanta Sankardev Kalakshetra which houses a cultural museum, library, and various conveniences for preserving, demonstrating and performing cultural items of Assam. Here, you will enjoy a light and dance show (starts at 1700 hrs / approx).

After an early breakfast, we set off to visit Nabagraha, an ancient center of astrological and astronomical research. The temple is enshrined with nine Shivalingams, representing the nine Celestial bodies and a Shivaligam in the center symbolizing the Sun.

From here, we will drive to the top of Nilachal Hill to visit Kamakhya Temple – famous for its religious and archeological heritage. The temple is known to be the most revered among the tantric shrines of Shakti worship. Animal sacrifice is a common practice here.. Both the temples open at sunrise.

Next, a brief visit to the Assam State Museum well-known for its varied collection of antiques of the prehistoric times, archeological displays of the rich cultural heritage of the area with many authentic prehistoric sculptures, metal, ivory paintings, woodwork and costumes

In time transfer to Guwahati Airport