A cycling trip to the largest river island Majuli

Do you really want to visit Majuli ?

Have you ever imagined how a piece of land make you feel as a different world surrounded by a river. Yes, that’s true. A river island declared as a district , the largest river island named Majuli is located in mighty river the Brahmaputra in Assam.

Don’t you want to experience this unique piece of land completely untouched by modernization, separated from mainland of Assam with its natural surroundings , cycling in Majuli.

Let’s find the best way to explore

To explore this natural environment , pleasing your eyes deeply with the paddy fields , the small small huts of the villagers, fragrance of seasonal flowers can only be experienced by cycling . Away from the mainland of Assam, Majuli has almost no traffic. Few cycle rental shops are the evidence of its popularity of cycling in Majuli to explore this largest river island.

 

So , let’s start

There was a time , when I was dreaming about to witness this naturally rich piece of land away from urbanization .And I found it can’t be better explored better than cycling in Majuli.

These points will motivate you to visit this largest river island:

Naturally Untouched:

Amaze with the broad flat paddy fields at its river bank .I imagine how beautiful will it be when covered with the green paddy.

Tribal architecture of home:

Have you noticed the unique architecture of the bamboo huts of the Mising tribe. Completely made up of wood and bamboo , these home tells us how these people are living amidst nature , conserving their traditional style out of modernization. You can also see their handmade weaving machine in most of their home.

A tribal culture in Assam:

Mising culture is one of the unique tribal culture . It’s so nice to see the Mising ladies with their traditional dress with their lovely simles on face . And yes, these traditional dresses are absolutely handmade. Don’t forget to enjoy their Mising dance if you get a chance .

Famous Mask art:

Won’t you be surprised to see the creation of those mask created uniquely with bamboo sticks, cow dung, clay and cloth. Don’t miss to see this world famous mask creation in Samaguri satra. They are not only used in local drama but also exported to abroad. And I was very blessed to see such a mask creation by one of the professional mask artist at Samaguri .

Living with an active lifestyle:

Have you observed how fit their physical appearance are. Do you think it’s god gifted or a way of living . Their active village lifestyle is the answer. Away from modern physical luxury, working on the field for their bread and butter,cutting woods for their cooking and building their home and house holds , walking or cycling as a mode of transport are keeping these people very active.

River crossing by boat:

Experience the joy of crossing this mighty river Brahmaputra by machine boat. You should be excited to cross such a broad and strong river by boat.It can’t be a better way to observe this island from is surrounding water, and that’s only possible when you cross by a boat. Even these boats can carry your cars , bikes along with other passengers.

Local food:

Let’s have a taste of local delicacies from the kitchen of the local villager. A special kind of rice Beer (apong) with pork is a must if you consider food in this largest river island . This river island is self sophisticated to produce home grown rice and vegetables and it’s taste will let you know how organic those food are.

Satra:

The trip to Majuli will be incomplete without a visit to the world famous Satra . These Hindu worshiping places since the era of Ahom kingdom are not only contributing to conserve our Assamese traditional culture of worshiping but also attracts many tourists across the globe. The pleasant surrounding with the greenery and the old temple with the residential homes of their devotee gives a unique feeling in the satras .

Lovely poeple:

Majuli is known for their lovely people and their hospitality.Its not unusual to see the villagers waving hands while you are on road. Don’t be surprise if they offer you a visit to their home. Will you get these kind of hospitality anywhere in the globe usually. Even though a 3 start hotel is un-imaginable at that island , but their hospitality and their traditional home will make you forget about those modern architecture and luxury.

 

Today I am going to show how to go for a bicycling trip to Majuli.

Reach Nimatighat :Starting from Jorhat town , it will be around 17 kms to reach Nimatighat ferry port. Enjoy the Nimati ghat road from the town crossing the Assamese villages , paddy fields and temples (naamghar) which leads to Nimati ghat ferry port. I am sure that shades of the trees and the riverside breeze will make you feel for a pleasant ride.

At Nimatighat: Admire the magnificent island from the mainland of Assam . The breeze at the riverside and the broad spread of white sands (only seen at winter) in few middle part of the river will excite you to visit Majuli. Take a breath and take some beautiful clicks of the broad landscape of water and sands.

There are few food stalls and public transport you can see at Nimatighat.

There are scheduled boats to cross the river which may take around an hour.

Don’t be surprised to see how they load the cars and motorcycle on the boat.Enjoy the process of loading these vehicles on boat.The cars are usually carried in the open space of the boat and the motor cycles are on the roof of the boat.

You can carry your bicycles on the roof of the boat itself with the support of the boat crews.

Lets board on the boat and be ready to get some nice clicks of the mighty river .

From the river on the boat you can observe how the flood and riverbank erosion is contributing to extinction of the great river island. It’a very sad to listen those talks about the erosion of the island from the local villagers of Majuli.

Reach at Kamalabari Ghat : Don’t you fell like a different world altogether once you land that other part of the river. Don’t miss to enjoy the trial from the ferry port till you hit the main road. You may need to go few hundred meters to reach the main road from the ghat. But feel the experience of cycling on the sandy earth from the port to the main road.

Soon you will feel that pleasure of cycling in Majuli on such a traffic free road surrounded by paddy filed and Mising villages. Apart from the few small localities , hardly you can see any modern architecture there and enjoy this environment from hustle and bustle of your city life.

 

Defiantly our visit and cycling in Majuli will enrich your experiences in much deeper way . So, don’t miss this unique world of human civilization and plan for your next cycling trip in Majuli.