Brahamaputra Basin
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<strong>Brahamaputra</strong> <strong>Basin</strong><br />
9. Water tourism sites<br />
The Brahmaputra basin is famous for its scenic beauty, its colourful legends and rituals, traditions<br />
and ethos. The basin is enriched with large variety of water tourism places including pilgrimage<br />
places, sanctuaries, national parks, lakes, and many more. Best season to visit this region is from<br />
October to April.<br />
The major Pilgrimage sites of the basin are the Buddhist monastery at Tawang, Famous Rumtek<br />
Monastery of Gangtok, and the Parasuram Kunda on Lohit river in Arunachal Pradesh, the Siva doul<br />
(temple) and other monuments of the Ahom rule in upper Assam, Biswanath temple, Nagsankar<br />
temple, Da-Parbatia and Mahabhairav temple near Tezpur, Barpeta Satra and Kirtan Ghar,<br />
Batadrawa Satra, Haigrib-Madhab temple and Poa-Mecca at Hajo, Kamakhya temple in Guwahati,<br />
Gurudwara and Rangamati mosque in Dhubri district are some of the ancient monuments of great<br />
repute and reverence on the banks of the Brahmaputra river and its tributaries. Other temples of<br />
significance include Umananda temple perched on a rocky island in the Brahmaputra, Ugratara<br />
temple, Chatrakar temple, Viswakarma temple, Basistha Ashram temple in and around the Guwahati<br />
city. Majuli Island in the middle of the Brahmaputra River, off Jorhat town in Upper Assam, is the<br />
most venerated and thriving nerve centre of the Neo-Vaishnavite religio-cultural heritage of Assam.<br />
The Biodiversity of the Brahmaputra basin makes it one of the popular tourist spots for wildlife<br />
enthusiasts since it houses a wide variety of exotic flora and fauna. The Wildlife Sanctuaries and<br />
National Park like Kaziranga National Park in the basin are home to number of endangered species of<br />
wildlife. The Manas and Kaziranga have been listed as two World Heritage Sites. The Manas is a tiger<br />
sanctuary and at the same time, Kaziranga houses the endangered Indian Rhinoceros.<br />
Tsomgo Lake, a glacial lake in the East Sikkim, Chandubi Lake a natural lake located in Kamrup<br />
district of Lower Assam, Umiam lake of Meghalaya, Sibsagar Lake of Assam, Dheer Beel of Dhubri,<br />
Koya Kujiya Lake of Assam, the Ramsar site ‘Deepor Beel’of Guwahati are important lakes/ wetland<br />
of immense tourist importance because of their scenic beauty.<br />
The different tourism sites of the basin are categorically summarised in the Table 14. Spatial<br />
Distribution of Water Tourism Sites/Important District Centre/Industrial Centre in the basin are<br />
shown in the Map 20. Detail inventory of tourism sites of this basin are listed in Annexure VII: A & B.<br />
www.india-wris.nrsc.gov.in<br />
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