South Asia Small Group Tours and Trips
Experience South Asia intimately with over 400 small group tours (max 16 travelers). Enjoy personal attention from guides and deeper cultural connections rated by more than 3,500 small group travelers.
Highlights of Assam and Nagaland
3.8
We loved this trip. Yes, some of the hotels were pretty average, yes a few didn't have hot water, and yes some had extremely inefficient staff, but that's not what you are going for.
We got to visit the Kamakhya temple in Guwahati which should be on the itinerary. Each place we visited throughout the trip was very much worth the time and effort to get there. Even on the long drive days the stops didn't feel like just fillers that you might get somewhere else.
Kaziranga National Park was a lovely day and we saw a lot of elephant and dozens of rhino. So much more than we thought we might, and at a lot closer quarter too.
The trek down to the root bridges at Cherrapunjee was another highlight. It is a big effort as described in the notes and in other reviews, but worth every step. They are remarkable. We walk a lot, but never previously used walking poles, however, we did on this day and I'd highly using them. The hotel there is lovely with great views over the Sylhet plains into Bangladesh.
Hornbill Festival was incredible and a massive highlight. Our guide, Pema, got us to the festival nice and early and we were able to experience all the tribal groups entering the arena to take their places, all singing, chanting, drumming. Absolutely wonderful and an experience we will remember for a long time. And a second day to fully absorb it. Amazing, loved it!
The Majuli Island stay was another totally different environment. The ferry to and from is a great experience. The temple visits were beautiful and a contrast to the full on craziness of Hornbill Festival. It was also really lovely to be able to walk through small villages and meet local people.
The day at Longwa village was another extraordinary time. Meeting the ex headhunters, a wander through the hilltop border village, a great lunch in a longhouse. So different from anywhere else we've been.
And the last night in a lovely old colonial tea bungalow and time meeting the ladies picking leaves on the plantation was a lovely treat.
Things don't work in this part of the world as you may be accustomed to, but just go with it and this trip will reward you with some extraordinary experiences.
City sightseeing
