Easy-Pace Northeast for Seniors

• Guwahati
• 55 m
• 28 km · 1 hr
• Dinner

Our driver meets you at Guwahati Airport, helps with bags and takes you to the hotel, about an hour away. After a long journey, the afternoon is for rest. Around 4 pm we take you to the riverfront for a sunset cruise on the Brahmaputra, about 1.5 hours on a covered boat with seating, subject to operation that day. The river is more than a kilometre wide here, and you pass Umananda, a small temple island, as the sun goes down. Dinner is at the hotel. Tonight we confirm Kamakhya timings and whether you would like the special darshan tickets for tomorrow.

• Shillong
• 1,525 m
• About 110 km · 3.5 hrs with stops
• Breakfast, Dinner

After an early breakfast we drive up Nilachal hill to Kamakhya Temple, one of the most important Shakti shrines in India. Vehicles stop close to the entrance, but there are some steps and uneven stone floors inside. The general queue is free but can take hours; the special darshan ticket, ₹501 per person at the last check, shortens it considerably. Darshan runs from about 8 am to 1 pm. After lunch we drive to Shillong, about three hours on a wide four-lane road, stopping at the Umiam Lake viewpoint for tea. Check in to your Shillong hotel by late afternoon. You unpack properly here, since you stay three nights.

• Shillong
• 1,525 m
• About 25 km in town · 2 hrs in total
• Breakfast, Dinner

A slow start today. Mid-morning we visit the Don Bosco Museum, seven floors on the peoples of the Northeast; we take it slowly with rests between galleries, allow 1.5 hours, and those happy with stairs can finish on the rooftop Skywalk for the city view. After lunch walk the flat paths around Ward's Lake, laid out in colonial times with a wooden bridge and gardens, and then see the Cathedral of Mary Help of Christians in Laitumkhrah. Elephant Falls has many steps, so we suggest only the first viewing tier. In the evening, if you are interested, we can book a table at one of Shillong's live music cafes, known for jazz and classic rock.

• Shillong
• 1,525 m
• 110 km return · 3.5 hrs in total
• Breakfast, Dinner

We drive 55 km south to Sohra (Cherrapunji) across open grassland, stopping at the Mawkdok Dympep viewpoint, which is a few steps from the car park. At Nohkalikai Falls a short, paved path leads to the main viewing area over the 340 m drop into a green pool. After lunch at a Sohra restaurant we visit the Mawsmai viewpoint for the Seven Sisters cliffs and Bangladesh plains, and the Sohra Eco Park, which has level paths along the plateau edge. Mawsmai Cave has narrow squeezes and wet steps, so we suggest it only for those comfortable bending low. We are back in Shillong by 5 pm.

• Kaziranga
• 70 m
• About 250 km · 6.5–7 hrs with stops
• Breakfast, Dinner

This is the one long drive, and we plan it carefully. We leave at 8 am after breakfast and stop every 90 minutes or so, at clean tea stops and a proper sit-down lunch in Nagaon. The road is a good highway most of the way. From Jakhalabandha it runs along the southern edge of Kaziranga, and you may see rhinos and elephants grazing from the car. We reach your Kaziranga resort by mid-afternoon. The rest of the day is free; most guests sit on the veranda with tea and listen to the birds. Tonight we confirm tomorrow's jeep safari and request front seats.

• Kaziranga
• 70 m
• About 40 km in total · 3 hrs including the safari
• Breakfast, Dinner

The morning jeep safari in the Central Range lasts about two hours on a mostly flat but bumpy track. Rhinos are seen on almost every drive, along with wild buffalo, swamp deer, elephants and many water birds. The driver carries a step for climbing in, and we request front seats, which are less bumpy. After breakfast back at the resort, rest until lunch. In the afternoon visit the Kaziranga National Orchid and Biodiversity Park, a few kilometres away, with level paths through orchid houses, a cactus garden and a display of Assam's rice varieties. Wheelchairs can manage most of it. Evening at leisure, with a cultural dance programme at some resorts.

• Kaziranga
• 70 m
• About 50 km in total · 3 hrs
• Breakfast, Dinner

Choose how active you want to be. The second option is a jeep safari in the Western Range at Bagori, which has open grassland and good rhino sightings, in either the morning or the afternoon slot. The gentler option is a walk through a working tea garden near Kohora, where a guide explains plucking, and a visit to a small factory in season to see withering and rolling. Many guests do the safari in the morning and rest in the afternoon. This is also a good day to buy Assam tea to carry home. Pack tonight, since tomorrow's drive to Guwahati is about five hours.

• Departure
• 55 m
• About 200 km · 5 hrs with stops
• Breakfast

We leave Kaziranga after breakfast and drive west on the highway through Nagaon, with a tea stop midway and lunch on the way if your flight is late. The drive takes about five hours with breaks, so please book a flight after 3 pm. If you have an evening flight, we can stop at the Assam State Museum in Guwahati or at a silk shop for mekhela chador and Assam silk stoles. The driver takes you to the terminal and helps with bags. If you would rather not travel the same day, we can add a night in Guwahati near the airport and drop you in the morning.