Tour Durations: 8 nights/09 days.

Places covered: Guwahati, Kaziranga, Shillong.

Day 01: Guwahati
Arrive Guwahati by air from Delhi or Calcutta. Guwahati, the gateway to the North East, is situated on the banks of the Brahmaputra river. The capital city of Assam, Guwahati was once called Pragjyotishpur - "the light of the East", a name given to it due to its importance as an astrological centre. Overnight at the Hotel.

Day 02: In Guwahati
Post breakfast spend the day exploring the several temples in and around Guwahati. The Kamakshaya temple is the most important and is located on the top of Nichala Hill. This temple is one of India's main centres for Shakti (Energy) worship and Tantric Hinduism and attracts pilgrims from all over India, especially during the Ambuchi Festival in August. It marks the legendary spot where the most procreative aspect of the Mother Goddess fell to earth. From the top of the hill one gets a panoramic view of the town and the sunset across the Brahmaputra River. On a small promontory along the river lies the Sulkeshwar Janardhan temple. Consecrated in the 10th century and rebuilt in the 17th, has a statue of the Lord Buddha facing the river, a rare coexistence in India. The Umananda Temple, dedicated to Lord Shiva is situated on Peacock Island, in the middle of the river. The Navagarh Temple (Temple of Nine Planets) was in ancient times a centre for the study of astrology. Overnight at Hotel.

Day 03: Guwahati -Kaziranga (217 kms)
After an early breakfast drive to Kaziranga National Park, which lies 217 km (6-hour drive) from Guwahati. The road heads into the forested hills, past villages to the hamlet of Jorabat. From here the left fork heads for Kaziranga. A little later the road enters tea country, flat lands with clipped bushes and shading nurse trees. But between the tea estates, the countryside begins to take on a watered look, with villagers paddling across the lakes, gliding above their own reflections. After that it rises along a fairly steep drive to the National Park. Overnight at Resort.

Day 04: At Kaziranga
Early morning and late afternoon game-viewing in the park by jeep or on elephant-back. The park lies in the floodplain of the Brahmaputra sloping, very gradually, from east to west. The Karbi Anglong Hill ranges rise around the Park pressing it against the great flood of the Brahmaputra flowing as its northern boundary. The many rivulets flowing down the ranges bring down rich silt and sand, spread in small lakes known as `bheels', silt up the lakes to make swamps and marshes, alluvial grasslands rising to alluvial savannah woodlands; and then, as the lands loose their moistness with height, rise to mixed deciduous forests and, finally, to tropical evergreen forests. The main attraction of Kaziranga, the great Indian one-horned rhinoceros for whose protection the Park was established in 1908, is very easy to see. Rhinos graze like domestic cattle in the grasslands and marshes. The other wildlife encountered here include wild elephants, tiger, wild buffalo, gaur, swamp deer, sambar, hog deer, wild boar and a large number of interesting birds. All meals and overnight at Resort.

Day 05: Kaziranga –Guwahti
Early morning game-viewing drive, followed by breakfast. Later in the morning depart on the return drive to Guwahati. Overnight at Hotel.

Day 06: Guwahati -Shillong (98 kms)
After breakfast drive to Shillong. On arrival hotel check in. Later scroll around the main Market. The town spreads on hills covered with English-style country houses, the largest being Raj Bhavan, the summer residence of the governor of Assam and Meghalaya. In the afternoon you have time to visit the placid Ward's Lake, the Museum of History and Ethnography and St. Paul's Cathedral, one of the region's oldest places of Christian worship. Overnight at Hotel.

Day 07: Cherapunjee (excursion)
After breakfast drive 56 km to Cherrapunjee, reportedly the world's wettest place with a record of 2,300 cm of rain per year. It is set amidst deep gorges and roaring waterfalls. On the way, a network of limestone caves remain unexplored and are said to lead into Bangladesh. There are small waterfalls down every slope as also the world's fourth tallest, the impressive Nohkailikai Falls. The first British outpost in this part of the country was established here and it also has the oldest Presbyterian Church in the North-East. It is famous for its orange orchards and orange honey. An interesting spot on the way is at Maniphalung, a barren and windy plateau covered with monoliths. On the way back, stop at Shillong Peak, which offers a panoramic view of Shillong and the neighbouring hills. Overnight at hotel.

Day 08: In Shillong
After breakfast the full day is at leisure. Shillong is set amidst a landscape of slopes covered with heather, orchids and forests of pine, with quick flowing streams and majestic waterfalls. It offers some beautiful day walks. The Archery Stakes, locally known as “Teer” are unique to Shillong. Bookies’ stalls are set up daily under canopies on an open stretch of ground where archers from clubs belonging to the Khasi Archer’s Association shoot 1,500 arrows at a cylindrical bamboo target for 4 minutes. The betters count the number that stick and anyone who has guessed the last two digits of the number of arrows that stick is rewarded with an 8.1 win. Overnight at Hotel.

Day 09: Shillong-Guwahati
After breakfast depart on the drive to Guwahati in time to board the flight to Delhi or Calcutta