Bongaigaon
Bongaigaon is one of the largest and most important cities in the eastern part of Assam, India.
Get in
By plane
The nearest airport is Lokpriya Gopinath Bordoloi International Airport in Guwahati.
By train
Bongaigaon falls under the Northeast Frontier Railway zone of the Indian Railways. There are two stations in Bongaigaon: New Bongaigaon railway station (the second-largest in Assam), and Bongaigaon (old) station. Major trains serving Bongaigaon with major cities are Guwahati Rajdhani Express, Poorvottar Sampark Kranti Express, Saraighat Express, Brahmaputra Mail, North East Express, Guwahati Bangalore Express, Guwahati Ernakulam Express, and Kamrup Express.
By car
National Highway 31 connects Bongaigaon with the states Bihar, Jharkhand and West Bengal. National Highway 37 via Naranarayan Setu from Goalpara in Assam to Dimapur in Nagaland traverses the entire length of Assam and connects Bongaigaon with almost all the major cities of Assam including Jorhat and Dibrugarh. National Highway 31C connects Bongaigaon to Guwahati and National Highway 37 also connects Bongaigaon with Guwahati.
By bus
There are many bus terminals like ASTC Bongaigaon, Barpara Private, Chapaguri Bus Stand. There are many buses which connect Bongaigaon with major cities of Assam like Mangaldai, Tezpur, and Guwahati.
Get around
By bus
Bus rides are the cheapest mode of transport. There are city buses which covers the whole district. Most of them operate during day time only.
By rickshaw
Auto rickshaws are good for moving around the city on a shoe-string budget.
See
- Bagheswari Hill is situated in the middle of the city. From the highest point of the hill you can see a beautiful view of the whole city. There is also a nice Shiv temple on the highest point.
- Bagheswari Temple is a famous temple for religious in Western Assam. The temple is located centre of the city. It is in the place Borpara of the city.
- Jogighopa and Pancharatna are two historic sites situated on opposite banks of Brahmaputra river, in Assam. Pancharatna lies on the southern bank and is about 160 km west of Guwahati by road. Jogighopa lies on the northern banks and is about 212 km from Guwahati by Northern Highways. Some cubicles which are cut on step rocks, supposed to have been used by monks for meditation in the medieval period, are found here. Most of caves found in here very small. Pancharatna boasts some ruins of a post Gupta temple and some also rock cut ruins including a monolithic Buddhist stupa.
- KakoiJana Wildlife Sanctuary is an ideal spot for eco-tourism, kakoijan is declared as a reserve forest in April 1966. Located 15 km away from Bongaigaon city towards the east, it has been upgraded as wildlife sanctuary. Covering an area around 20 km².
- Koyakujia Bil is a project undertaken by Assam Tourism Development Corporation. It is a popular tourist attraction situated near Abhayapuri about 15 km from Bongaigaon. It attracts thousands of local and foreign tourists every season. The vast waterland consisting of small islands flourish with myriad flora & fauna. Many migratory birds migrate to this place during the winter.
Do
- Bongaigaon Refinery: In recognition of its green initiatives, Bongaigaon refinery has been a recipient of many prestigious awards, including the National Award for "Prevention of Pollution" from the Ministry of Environment and Forests on September 16, 2010. The award acknowledges the Refinery’s outstanding contribution in environmental conservation and creating environmental awareness in the Bodo Territorial Autonomous District region of Assam, which is predominantly a tribal dominated area. Bongaigoan Refinery is the country’s first oil refinery to have won this coveted honour. The refinery has been honoured with the Indira Gandhi Paryavaran Puruskar by the Ministry of Environment, the 'Greentech Environment Excellence Gold Award 2008', and the 'Indira Gandhi Paryavarn Puraskar 2006' for its outstanding environment performance.
- Manas National Park: Bongaigaon city is the entry point for the Manas National Park. Manas National Park or Manas Wildlife Sanctuary is a National Park, UNESCO Natural World Heritage site, a Project Tiger Reserve, an Elephant Reserve and a Biosphere Reserve. Located in the Himalayan foothills, it is contiguous with the Royal Manas National Park in Bhutan. The park is known for its rare and endangered wildlife such as the Assam roofed turtle, hispid hare, golden langur and pygmy hog, and also its wild water buffaloes.
- Rock Cut Caves: The best-preserved relics of the architecture of the Salasthambha period are the remains of the five rock-cut caves at Jogighopa on the bank of the Brahmaputra in the district of Bongaigaon, though these rock-cut caves are not of such architectural interest as those in Western India and contain no sculptures. The best-preserved cave is 2.60 m wide, 1.8 m deep and 1.90 m high and has a roughly rounded ceiling and a 75 cm x 35 cm verandah in front. Flights of steps have been cut into the rock on either side and a ledge on the top diverts rain water from the facade. The other caves at the site have neither steps nor verandahs and are smaller.
- Watch movie at Mayapuri Cineplex, City Center
Eat
Bongaigaon City has a lot of restaurants and bars. You can taste the local food and drinks.
- Nandini Restaurant, Prakash Mega Mart.
- Ramdhenu, at Mulagaon (Outskirt) near Bongaigaon Engineering College (BON POLY).
- Rendezvous, Chapaguri Road, North Bongaigaon.
- Shivali Restro, Shivali Shopping Complex, Station Road
Sleep
There are several low-budget and mid-range hotels around Bongaigaon.
Mid-range
- Hotel Diamond, Chapaguri Road.
- Hotel Shivali, Station Road
- Gate Way Hotel, Mayapuri
- Maharaja Hotel, Station Road
Splurge
- Hotel Brahamaputra Valley, Mayapuri
- Hotel Jahnabi (3-star), Chapaguri Road, Amguri
- Hotel Kaniska, T.R Phukan Road
- Hotel Neer (2-star), Paglasthan
- Raj Palace, T.R Phukan Road
Go next
Bongaigaon is 180 km from Guwahati, the capital of Assam.