Page 338 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - India

336  EASTERN INDIA

6 Sivasagar of two 18th-century brick of land, forcing the inhabitants
palaces, Kareng Ghar and to move to higher ground.
Sivasagar district. 370 km (230 miles)
NE of Guwahati. * 1,151,000. Talatal Ghar. Both are seven After the floods recede, leaving
~ Jorhat, 60 km (37 miles) S of city storeys high, and the latter also behind fertile, freshly silted land,
centre, then taxi or bus. £ @ n has three underground floors the people return to cultivate
Assam Tourism, near Shivadol Temple, and a warren of secret tunnels. the area.
(03772) 222 394. _ Shivratri (Feb/Mar). To its northeast is the elegant As interesting as Majuli’s
Rang Ghar, the oval, double- distinctive landscape are its
At the heart of Assam’s tea and storeyed royal sports pavilion, satras, unique monasteries
oil-producing region, Sivasagar constructed in 1746. founded in the 15th century
is also the state’s most historic by the Vaishnavite reformer-
city, as the seat of the Ahom 7 Majuli River philosopher, Srimanta
dynasty (see p53), which ruled Sankardeva. The satras are
Assam for 600 years. Originally Island rich reposito ries of traditional
from Myanmar (Burma), the Jorhat district. 314 km (195 miles) NE Assamese arts and crafts, and
Ahoms converted to Hinduism of Guwahati. @ Neamati Ghat, 13 km regularly stage dance-dramas
and gradually indigenized after (8 miles) N of Jorhat. 4 from Neamati in praise of Vishnu. Majuli’s main
conquering Assam in 1228. The Ghat to Majuli, then bus to Garamur. settlement is at Garamur, which
Ahoms were defeated by the n On arrival, foreigners must register has two satras. About 20 others
Burmese in 1817, and their with the Sub-Divisional Officer, Majuli, are scattered across the island.
kingdom became part of the who also handles bookings. Visitors can stay in the satras,
British Indian Empire in 1826. and should offer to make a
The Ahoms were great Perhaps the largest inhabited donation towards overnight
builders, as is evident from the river island in the world, Majuli stays or meals.
ruins in and around Sivasagar. covers an area of 929 sq km
Dominating the town is (359 sq miles). It is easy
the enormous 103-ha to forget that Majuli is 8 Itanagar
(255-acre) man- an island, holding Papum Pare district. 420 km (261
made Sivasagar within it hills, miles) NE of Guwahati. * 176,600.
Lake, with three rivulets and £ Lakhimpur, 60 km (37 miles) NE
temples on its little islands of town centre, then taxi or bus. @
banks. Especially of its own. This n Directorate of Tourism, Itanagar,
impressive is the amor phous (0360) 221 4745. Travel permits:
towering Shivadol Vaishnavite mask, Majuli landmass is required (see pp734–5).
Temple with its con stantly being
33-m (108-ft) high gilded sculpted into new dimensions Until it became the capital of
spire, built by an Ahom queen and shapes by the Brahmaputra. Arunachal Pradesh in 1971,
in 1734. About 4 km (2 miles) Every year, during the monsoon, Itanagar was a settlement of
south of the town are the ruins the river submerges large tracts the Nishi tribe, one of the

Bamboo forests in the vicinity of Itanagar, in Arunachal Pradesh
For hotels and restaurants in this region see pp698–9 and p712

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Eyewitness Travel LAYERS PRINTED:
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Date 12th July 2013
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