Guwahati গুৱাহাটী, Assam

Guwahati, India


Guwahati (গুৱাহাটী) is the largest city in northeastern India. Although not regarded as a state capital of Assam, it is just adjacent to Dispur, which is. Guwahati has a population of around 820,000 people, and is among the fastest growing cities in India.

Guwahati is located on the southern bank of the Brahmaputra river, at the foothills of the Shillong plateau. With rapid development, Guwahati has expanded to include the northern bank of the Brahmaputra, a new neighbourhood known as North Guwahati.

The history of the city is intertwined with myths. It was an ancient seat of tantric Hinduism, which results in quite a number of Hindu temples that you can see in Guwahati today. Excavations reveal that a city has been around on this site since the 6th century AD. It was formerly known as Pragjyotishpura, meaning "light of the east", and as Durjoya, during different periods of its history. The city was the capital of Assam until the 11th century. The city lost its glory with the fall of the Kamata kingdom between the 12th and the 15th centuries.

Kamakhya Temple, Guwahati


During the Mughal rule of India, Assam was invaded by the Mughals as many as seventeen times, but the Mughals were repelled each time.

Due to its located on the banks of the Brahmaputra, Guwahati has served as a trading center and river port for centuries. It is also a wholesale distribution center and marketing hub for the region, with the Guwahati Tea Auction Centre being the largest such center in the world.

Planning your trip to Guwahati

You can fly to Guwahati from most major cities in India, as well as from Bangkok. The Guwahati International Airport (GAU), formerly known as Borjhar Airport, underwent an upgrade and is now A380 ready. Among the airlines flying to Guwahati inlcudes Air India Regional, GoAir, Indian Airlines, IndiGo, Jet Airways, JetLite, Kingfisher Airlines, Pawan Hans and SpiceJet.

There are train services to Guwahati from Kolkata, New Delhi, Bengaluru, Thiruvananthapuram, Chennai and Mumbai.

Planning your travel within Guwahati

The cheapest form of travel in Guwahati is by local bus. Alternatively you can take the auto rickshaws, but be sure to negotiate in advance as they do not use a meter here.

Places of Interest in Guwahati

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