Looking North-East
India tourism to unlock tribal art, tea tours
AGENCIES
Posted online: Wednesday, July 26, 2006 at 1538 hours IST
Updated: Thursday, July 27, 2006 at 1110 hours IST
LONDON, JULY 26: India tourism has launched a campaign to attract British tourists to the North East region, describing it as a 'paradise unexplored'.
While India attracted a sizeable number of foreign tourists, efforts were being made to ‘show-case’ scenic spots in the North East which had hitherto remained unexplored owing to several factors, including inadequate flights, Vivek Angra, director of India Tourism in the UK told a gathering of tour operators here last night.
Manoj Jalan of Purvi Discoveries demonstrated with the help of slides the different packages available for foreign tourists.
The packages include a heritage tea tour around the tea estates of Assam, visit to exotic tribal art and culture, treks and botanical tours in the eastern Himalaya and wildlife and nature tours.
Another package speaks about "a pilgrimage through the pages of history".
It includes visits to Dibrugarh, the gateway to the 'hidden land' of eastern Arunachal Pradesh and to Dibru-Saikhowa National Park housing Royal Bengal Tiger, leopard, jungle cat and Malayan giant squirrel.
Jalan said "the Mancotta Chang Bungalow located about 20 km from Dubrugarh town is the highpoint of visit to Dibrugarh. This 140 years heritage Chang bungalow built by pioneering Scottish tea planters offers a unique experience of the traditional plantation life."
"Intermingled with local culture, folk dance and music, the Mancotta experience is indeed a life time experience," Jalan said.
He said another star attraction was the Kaziranga National Park - a world heritage site and the oldest park in Assam. It has 65 per cent of the total world's population of the great Indian one-horned rhinoceros and over 50 per cent of the world's population of wild buffaloes and swamp deer respectively along with Asiatic wild elephants, hog deer, jungle cats, tigers and leopards.
Rajat Bagchi, Minister, coordination, in the Indian High Commission said "North Eastern part of India is one of the most scenic places in the country." he suggested that states like Nagaland, Mizoram and Assam had much to offer to foreign tourists by way of their art, culture and scenic beauty.
"North East is the treasure house of India," he said.