Assam tea garden tours

March to May and October to November. First flush in March and April and second flush in May and June produce the most prized teas, and factories are busy. October and November are dry and pleasant. From December to February bushes are pruned and factories are mostly idle.

It is a river-island park at the meeting of the Brahmaputra, Lohit and Dibru, explored only by boat. It is famous for its feral horses, Gangetic river dolphins and wetland birds, including the endangered white-winged wood duck. It feels wild and uncrowded compared with Kaziranga.

Yes, during the manufacturing season, roughly late March to November, and with the estate's permission. We arrange visits through the bungalow or a neighbouring garden. You see withering, rolling, fermentation, drying and sorting. Visits are not possible on days the factory is not running, and photography may be restricted.

The horses are believed to descend from animals abandoned by the army during and after the Second World War, when this area was a supply route for the Burma front. A few dozen now live wild on the grassland chaporis in the northern part of the park and are seen by boat.

A chang bungalow is a planter's house raised on stilts, built this way in Upper Assam for protection from floods and animals and for better airflow. Mancotta and Chowkidinghee in Dibrugarh are two restored examples that now take guests, with wooden floors, verandas and period furniture.

Drive about 60 km east through Tinsukia to Guijan, around one and a half hours. Guijan Ghat is the main entry point for boats into the park. Tinsukia railway station is 10 km from Guijan and Dibrugarh Airport is the nearest airport.

The indicative price starts at ₹42,000 per person, twin sharing, with four nights in heritage bungalows, most meals, a private car, a factory visit and a tasting. Tea bungalows cost more than city hotels because they have few rooms and include full board. Exclusive-use bookings cost more again.

Fly into Jorhat and out of Dibrugarh, which avoids backtracking. Both have direct flights to Kolkata and Delhi. If you must use Guwahati, Jorhat is about 310 km and seven to eight hours away by road, and we would add a night at Kaziranga on the way.

Yes. It is one of our gentlest trips: short drives, flat walks, ground-floor rooms at most bungalows and home-cooked meals at fixed times. Chang bungalows have a flight of stairs to the raised floor. Tell us about mobility needs and we will choose rooms accordingly.