Photo by: , Creative Commons Attribution LicenceA trip to North East India will let you discover nature’s abundant secrets. The lush green mountains, rocky paths, weather showing its true colours anytime of the day, the Brahmaputra River and the ambience of serenity will truly give you the opportunity to enjoy the nature’s cradle. Here nature flourishes in all its glory and paints a picture that ideally describes this region. North East is typically an all-weather tourist spot, so if you want some respite during summers, you know where to go now.
Even though North East is well-known as a paradise for adventures, there are some undiscovered places still waiting to make a mark in the tourism circuit. Umananda Island, in Assam, is one such marvel that has still managed to remain hidden from the maddening crowd. It is in fact the smallest inhabited river island in the world.
Umananda River Island is not very far from the city of Guwahati and you will find it perched on the mighty Brahmaputra River. A 10-min ferry ride from the river banks will take you to this wonder island far from the hustle and bustle of the city. Motor boats are easily available here and their timings are from 7 am to 5 pm.
A huge number of tourists come to this river island to visit the famous Shiva temple situated here. The temple is considered as one of the five pilgrimage centres of Kamrup. It is also believed that pilgrims visit this temple before visiting the popular Kamakhya Temple.
Creative Commons Attribution Licence
This smallest island in India also has some unusual stories associated to it. As per one of the folklores, Lord Shiva used to live here with his companion Uma, also known as Parvati. Hence, the island got its name Umananda.
Popular folklore also mentions that Brahmaputra is a servant of Shiva; to prevent any disaster, he should remain satisfied. Although Assam has witnessed devastating floods in the recent years, flood water never entered the Umananda Temple. It is believed that if in any given day this temple is drowned, the entire Guwahati city will be underwater.
One can even find the endangered species of golden langurs in this region. These species were long considered revered by Himalayan people; these animals can be spotted in certain parts of western Assam and in the foothills of Bhutan. Legend has it that two young lads left behind a pair of golden langurs in this region some 35 years ago, and these langurs somehow survived.
Come fall in love once again with the nature. Many people visit this place to experience the ambience of serenity, while other set foot in this island to enjoy the beauty of this region from the river banks.
