Guided Arunachal and Assam Bike Tour

Dibrugarh in the northeast corner of Assam is known as the Tea City of India as it is home to some 144 tea estates. We meet post-lunch to visit the Mancotta Tea Estate which is home to a gracefully restored 150-year-old property built in the traditional style of using stilts known as Changs. We get to learn more about the famous Assam tea here, observing at close quarters all the various operations from picking to packing that bring the world’s favorite beverage from tea estates to morning cups the world over. Assam is the largest single tea growing region in the world and its tea is unique, unlike in most other tea growing regions, Assam tea is not grown in highland areas but at or close to the sea level, giving it its malty taste and bright colors. We meet in the evening for a bike fit and a tour briefing. Tonight, our stay is at the Chowkidinghee Heritage Bungalow, an early 20th-century property built in colonial style and standing on the edge of a tea estate. Expect the sweet aroma of tea leaves to waft through the window first thing in the morning to wake you up refreshed for an exciting journey ahead.

We begin the day’s cycling with a visit to Namphake village on the outskirts of Dibrugarh. This village is one of a kind as it is home to the Tai Phake people, a tiny community of only about 5000 in India most of whom are settled in this village. The Tai Phake migrated from Myanmar and Thailand in the 17th & 18th centuries and practice Buddhism. The town has a beautiful Buddhist monastery. As we bike along the languidly meandering Dihing river, we get to witness a curious geographical feature formed by the river’s meandering curves – oxbow lakes. Oxbow lakes are horseshoe-shaped lakes formed by the meandering path of rivers with a wetland at their center. The Dihing river forms a beautiful oxbow lake at Sasoni Merbil, an ecotourism spot that is a birder’s paradise. The terrain remains flat for the most part.

We continue riding to Inthong, a village close to the Assam –Arunachal Pradesh border. Inthong is a tea-growing region, and our stay for the night, the Singpho Eco Lodge is situated among lush green tea gardens. The Singphos are a tribe found across Myanmar, China, and North-east India, known for their fighting skills, herbal healing, craftsmanship, and hospitality. The Singpho eco-lodge is a spacious property with rooms built in the traditional style on stilts, using locally available materials such as bamboo and timber. While at the lodge, don’t miss traditional Singpho cuisine. We especially recommend a local tea known as Phalap that is grown by the Singpho people in their own gardens without the use of any chemical fertilizer or pesticide. The tea leaves are processed by frying them and stuffing them in bamboo hollows, and allowing them to dry slowly in wood-fired kitchen ovens over a period of three months. Because of the long processing time, the Phalap is rarely sold in commercial quantities and is considered more of an emotional artifact close to Singpho culture than a commercial enterprise. We raise a cup of the finest Phalap tea as a befitting toast to the beginning of an exciting journey of adventure and discovery.

Today we enter Arunachal Pradesh and begin cycling due east. We cross the Dihing river and cycle through the historical town of Ledo, the easternmost railway station in India, and the starting point of the historical Ledo road – a 1726 km road built by the Allies during the Second World War to connect Ledo to Assam to China. Constructed under the supervision of General Joseph Stilwell of the US Army, the Ledo road was the lifeline that allowed the Allies to send supplies to China as it was being overrun by Japan.

We stay tonight at the Golden Pagoda eco-resort, which has charming wooden cottages spread atop a hillock overlooking the Tenga Pani river and surrounded by pristine forests. Looming large over the resort is the awe-inspiring Kongmu Kham or the Golden Pagoda, a Buddhist temple built in the Myanmarese style. In the evening, we pay a visit to the temple.

A great day of cycling awaits as we head northwards across the Mishmi Hills, a mountain range that acts as a transition between the Himalayas and the Indo-Burma mountains. The fauna and the geography alter drastically through the ride today - from tea estates to the forest near the base of Mishmi Hills. We experience the colorful lives and livelihoods of the Mishmi people who inhabit this region.

We continue riding due north across the mighty Lohit, a powerful, swift-flowing river originating in Tibet that is a major tributary of the Brahmaputra river. The Lohit is also known as the river of blood because of the high levels of lateritic soil that it brings down from the Mishmi hills. Wild orchids and rhododendrons bloom along its fertile banks. Once across the Lohit, we enter the Himalayan foothills and ride past low-rising mountains and fields of wild orchids to reach Roing, the last major township along India’s north-eastern frontier.

Roing is located on a watershed where the Brahmaputra, entering India from Tibet, takes a south-westerly bend, offering great views of the Himalayas on one side and the mighty Brahmaputra on the other. We stay tonight at the Mishmi Hills Camp, a quaint resort nestled among low hills and overlooking the Eze river, a frolicking, dancing stream that joyously goes on to meet the Brahmaputra a few km downstream. The cheerful energy of the gushing Eze river will wash over you as you look back on a wonderful adventure that comes to an end over a traditional Mishmi dinner, and under a starlit north-eastern sky.

Today you can plan your own day. Spend the day reading a book right next to the Siang river or go for a birding tour in Mishmi Hills, a heaven for bird watchers, with a local guide.

This is an exciting riding day as we cross the Siang river to head west towards our eventual destination, Pasighat. The flora consists of sub-tropical vegetation such as bamboo forests and betel nut trees. The Siang river flows through the dense forests with the Mishmi hills in the backdrop presenting a picture postcard setting to the day’s ride.

We stay for the night at the Abor River Camp, located on the banks of the might Siang.

Today we head back to Dibrugarh. We start riding through the interior tribal villages of Arunachal over undulating terrain with the Brahmaputra river as our constant companion. With over 77% of its land area under tree cover, Arunachal is home to some of the last untouched forests in India, and indeed the entire world and you can appreciate those nuances on today's ride. Later we shuttle back to Dibrugarh and get ready to bike Assam for our next phase of the cycling holiday.

Today is a day of experiencing wonders, natural and man-made, that can only be described in superlatives. We ride out due south-west towards Majuli, the largest river island in the world. We get there by crossing the Bogibeel bridge, the longest rail-cum-road bridge in India. The Brahmaputra – the 9th largest river in the world by discharge – shall be our constant companion from here on. The Brahmaputra is the only river in India that is regarded as male and as we cross its mighty sweep, we get to appreciate why. The Majuli island is approachable only by boat and we ride in one to explore the island’s unique geography and culture. Life in Majuli is laid back, as is expected of a place cut off from the rest of the world by a powerful and ferocious river. Stay tonight is at Okegiga Homes. A charming bamboo cottage built on stilts in the local style, this simple yet delightful property lives up to its name.

We start the day with a boat ride in the Brahmaputra river. A unique feature of Majuli’s cultural life is the presence of Vaishnavite monasteries that bind the society together with their distinctive rituals and customs. Their mode of worship includes expressing their devotion through dance and drama in vivid colorful costumes that present a striking spectacle. Post lunch, we begin the day’s cycling. We head south this day towards the city of Jorhat. Once again, we cross the mighty Brahmaputra and feel overwhelmed by its sheer presence. Jorhat is an important cultural and urban center in Assam. We stay tonight at the Thengal Manor, a heritage property built in 1929 by an affluent Assamese planter family. The property is situated 15kms from the city of Jorhat in the midst of verdant tea gardens. Since tea plantations are the lifeline of Assam, and tea planters the region’s aristocracy, the Thengal Manor offers you a glimpse into what it is like to live the planter’s life. With its colonial architecture, antique wooden décor, charming fireplaces, and sprawling gardens, the Thengal Manor is sure to make you feel like an aristocrat yourself.

Today we ride out to the Hoollongapar Gibbon Sanctuary, a verdant forest of canopied evergreen trees that is home to two critically endangered animals - the Hoolock Gibbon and the Bengal Slow Loris. The Hoolock Gibbon is the only species of ape found in India and is concentrated mostly in Assam. It is considered one of the most endangered primates with only 5000 individuals surviving in the world. The Bengal Slow Loris is another threatened species found in this forest, though being nocturnal, it is hard to spot. In addition, the sanctuary is home to various other threatened animals such as the Assamese macaque, tigers, and wild elephants. With its beautiful Hollong and Nahar trees forming dense canopies, the sanctuary is a tropical paradise. We take a motorized Safari inside the sanctuary.

Today we head out in a westerly direction, riding parallel to the Brahmaputra, towards Kaziranga. Kaziranga is famous the world over as the home of the one-horned rhinoceros. It is a reputation well-earned. With 2413 rhinos, Kaziranga is home to two-thirds of the world’s one-horned rhino population. It is also home to the densest tiger population of any protected area in the world, besides hosting wild elephants, wild buffaloes, and the Gangetic dolphin. Of the 35 mammal species found in Kaziranga, 15 are on the IUCN red list of threatened animals. A vast expanse of marshland, elephant grass, and tropical rainforests crisscrossed by 4 rivers and populated with some of the most fascinating beasts on earth, Kaziranga is everything you ever imagined a wildlife safari to be. Today’s ride takes us through numerous tea plantations and beautiful Assamese villages.

This day we give our bikes a rest to explore the beauty of Kaziranga. We begin the day with an early morning guided safari into Kaziranga keeping our fingers crossed for our tryst with the park’s most famous inhabitant, the one-horned rhino. We return to our hotel for lunch. In the evening we return again for a safari into Kaziranga to see more of its amazing wildlife.

We shuttle to Guwahati which is connected by rail and air to all major Indian cities.

Extend here or depart as per your onward travel plans.