With rural tourism being the flavour of the times, Nishangram in Goalpara district, Assam is today at the top of most wish lists. Home-stays, community activities, interaction with locals, cycling, village night walks, hiking trails, pond fishing, jeep safari, this clean village has it all. About 130 kms to the west of Guwahati, on the Assam-Meghalaya border, it is just the place (8 kms from Dudhnoi) for that offbeat nostalgic experience we now yearn for. Largely inhabited by Garos, the village dates back to 1867 when Ramke W Momin and his brother, Rangku—among the first Garo Christians— settled between the valley and hills, away towards weekly market.
In Assam, weekly market in rural areas plays an important role in sustaining the local economy. On your way to Nishangram, Darangiri (110kms from Guwahati on NH 37), is a bustling bi-weekly banana market where, at the crack of dawn on Monday and Thursday, banana growers and traders from Garo Hills of Meghalaya and Assam’s Goalpara rush to. A local economy hub Darangiri is now a photographers’ delight.
The first preferred stop, as you head to Nishangram from Guwahati, is Parvati Pahar at Boko (70 kms from Guwahati). A small hillock, it is the site of a Goddess Parvati temple and a panoramic view. At dawn, you can experience one of the most spectacular of sunrises with sunsets being equally beautiful. A walk around Dilinga village at its foothills will calm the soul and ease your city-weariness as you head to Nishangram and beyond. You can visit Sri Surya Pahar, a unique archaeological site of Hindu, Buddhist and Jain relics from the early Christian era to around 12th century CE, about 30 kms away from Nishangram and Dubapara (about 5 kms from Sri Suryapahar ruins and near Goalpara town) , where patikars craft sitalpatis (literally meaning cool mats to sleep on during summer), crafted from the mutra reed and relatively new design developed as an embellishment of purses, a variety of bags, placemats, wall art, file cover, hat and more.
