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Assam roads are bad even by Indian standards. All roads are just one-lane (in each direction) with a liberal supply of potholes. The National Highway is the only two-lane (in one direction) road, but even that one has plenty of unfinished sections. You will have to get off the highway every few kilometres.
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I arranged this tour through Nivalink and they did a wonderful job of customising the tour for my needs. All the travel arrangements were well managed and we did not face any issues during the entire duration of the trip.
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Musa Jungle Retreat, Manas National Park: Pros: This is the only high end resort in Manas. The only other decent accommodation is the Bansbari Lodge which is a typical government run place. The rooms are independent/semi-independent cottages. The whole place is set in a wonderful garden. Rooms have a good sit out from the comfort of which you can do decent bird watching during the day. Rooms and bathrooms are very clean. Bathrooms even have shower curtains! Rooms and bathrooms are spacious. The tariff is on par with the amenities offered. The food quality is in the decent, not great category. The safaris were good and well organised. The property is located within a short walk to the park entrance and is next to a lovely tea gardens. Cons: The breakfast spread is a bit limited. There is no wifi in the hotel.
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Eco Camp, Nameri National Park: Note that the accommodation is in tents and not brick and mortar building. Set your expectations accordingly. Pros: Given the type of accommodation, the cleanliness is acceptable. The bathrooms are reasonably clean. The food is quite good. They pack breakfast for the morning walk (which is very convenient). The place is located bang next to the forest office. So it is quite convenient to get the permit formalities taken care of. This also means it is a 20 min walk to the river (where the morning walk starts). You better have a transport to maximise the time you get inside the park. Cons: The amenities are basic (which is reasonable for a tented accommodation). Just be prepared for odd plumbing issues. They have strict rules/timings about when to order food. Dinner order (for example) needs to be places by 7pm and breakfast order must be placed previous night etc. The front desk did not seem to be manned at all times. It was bit of an effort to get things like the rafting trip organised. The staff needed a few reminders to keep the things on time.
- Since the accommodation is "tents", a loud group can easily spoil the peace of the surroundings. We had kids from the local college staying at the same time. Their late night partying kept us awake for a long time.
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Iora Retreat, Kaziranga National Park: Pros: This is a high end resort with excellent facilities. The rooms and bathrooms are very clean. The bathrooms have a separate area for shower. Rooms are spacious and have a balcony sit-outs.
- There is a good play area in front of the hotel. The food is excellent. The staff is very courteous. The front desk helps with all safari/travel arrangements. The breakfast spread is excellent and is quite extensive. Although the tariff is on the higher side, there isn't any other resort offering these facilities for lesser price in this area. Cons: The place is not close to the main road. So you are stuck here unless you have a transport. The jeep safari in the park already starts late (7:30 am). But the breakfast in the hotel doesn't start till 7 am. So you end up entering the part only by 8 am even if you hurry. Also, it is a long drive to park entrance from the resort. In short, the location is not good. There is no wifi in the hotel.
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Mei Po Okum, Majuli: Majuli isn't known for its hotels. I believe there are just 3 choices there and they are all some form of basic accommodation. We stayed here for 2 nights in March 2016. The accommodation is quite basic. So set your expectations accordingly. Pros: This is a traditional Meshing home and not a resort built in the same style. So you have a real authentic experience living in a Meshing village. The food is authentic Meshing food. Quite delicious. Please remember to ask them to tone down the spice, if you don't usually take too much of it. You would be served the famous Majuli red-rice (bora-saul). The staff is very courteous and helpful. The bed is comfortable and they give you pretty good net to protect against the mosquitoes. It is a short walk down to the river where you can watch the birds. Cons: The amenities are basic. That means no running hot water, limited room lighting, electricity outlets, no TV etc. These are bamboo rooms. So they can only be so much insulated from cold and the dust. There are plenty of insects. "Real authentic" means you are in a cacophonic farm with the dogs constantly barking at the goats and the cows all night. So if you are a light sleeper, you had it. The breakfast is quite disappointing. It is just bread-jam and nothing else.
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Mancotta Chang Bungalow, Dibrugarh: Pros: This is an authentic 1850s British era tea bungalow with period furnishings, 100+ year old art pieces and the original Burma Teak structure etc. The place has all the Raj era luxuries. Very authentic British style dining room, cutlery etc. The food is delicious. The sleep quality is excellent. The rooms and bathrooms are spacious. The surrounding gardens are immaculately manicured. The bungalow is located right next to the tea garden where you can take pleasant walks. Breakfast is quite decent as well. Staff is helpful and courteous. They have free wifi with decent speed and connectivity. Cons: It is far from the town centre. So you need to have your own transportation for everything. The tariff is on the higher side. So are the cost of any transportation/activities they arrange.
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Guwahati to Hajo: ~30 km. One lane road, bad in patches. It will take you an hour to get there.
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Hajo to Manas: ~115 km. Part of it is on NH which is decent in patches. The last bit once you leave the NH is in hopeless condition. It will take about 4 hrs to get there.
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Manas to Nameri: 280 km. One lane road throughout except for a small piece of NH on the way. The road is reasonably smooth. You can cover this in 6 to 7 hrs.
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Nameri to Kaziranga: 115 km. The road is in decent condition, but just one lane (in each direction) through-out. You can cover it in about 2.5 hrs.
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Kaziranga to Jorhat: 85 km. The four-laning of the NH is underway. The road is quite bad as a result. It will take 2+ hrs to reach Jorhat.
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Jorhat to Sibsagar to Dibrugarh: It is the same NH that is getting a face lift. Road is rough throughout. It is about 140 km with Sibsagar roughly in the middle. It will take 2 hrs for each section (4 hrs total)
- Manas: The elephant safari is for one hour and it is only in the mornings.It starts at 6 am. The Jeep safari is there in the mornings and in the evenings. It lasts 4 hours. Evening one leaves at 2 pm. Typical itinerary involves getting to Manas to catch the afternoon Jeep safari and then over-nighting in Manas and taking the morning elephant safari and leaving to the next destination after breakfast. You will not see much on the elephant safari. On the jeep, you will almost certainly run into wild elephants, buffaloes and hog deer. There is a decent chance of spotting rhinos and bisons and with some luck, the capped languor. Tiger is quite impossible to spot.
- Nameri: There is a walking safari starting at 6:30 am. That lasts for 3 hrs. If you have a car, you can cut down on the 20 min walk to the river. There are plenty of birds to watch. If you have luck, you may run into the elusive White Winged Duck on the walk. The key is to pick a day where there are very few groups. Remember to pack the breakfast with you. The rafting safari lasts 2 hrs (on the raft, plus 30 mins to get to/from the river). If you just have one day, do the walk first as the river birds are easier to spot even later in the day. In the right season, you can spot Ibisbill from the rafting safari. For both the activities, you need to apply for the permit the previous evening at 6pm at the forest office.
- Kaziranga: The morning jeep safari starts at 7:30, which is way too late to spot any carnivores. The evening one starts at 2 pm and with tremendous luck, you may spot a tiger towards sunset. The elephant safari is only in the morning. There are two batches and it lasts for an hour. Rhinos are all over the place and you are guaranteed to spot many in all safaris. Elephant safaris will take you breathtakingly close to the rhinos.
- Majuli: The must-see satras are Kamalabari, Dakhinpat and Auniati. If you can time the ferry correctly, you just need to spend one night on the island. Tasting the Majuli red-rice is a must.
- Sibsagar: The Ahom ruins are quite interesting. But unless you are a history buff, it is only worth if you are driving past this place. The important ones are Rang Ghar, Talatal Ghar, Na-Phukuri Siva Dol and the Joy Dol. The main dols/temples are the 3-in-1 complex of Siva, Vishnu and Devi dol. The Siva dol especially is quite breathtaking. It has the tallest tower of all Siva temples in India. It will take about 2 to 3 hours to see all of these quite leisurely.
- Dibrugarh; There really isn't much to see or do in Dibrugarh. You may end up here as this is one of the few places in Assam with an airport. If you have a morning/afternoon, go for a tea factory tour.
TRIP ITINERARY