Assam name itself is derived from the Sanskrit word 'Asoma', meaning peerless. The land of Assam, is in fact, peerless, judging by her exquisite natural beauty, cultural richness and human wealth. Assam has a rich legacy of culture and civilisation behind her. Home to different races of men - Austric, Mongolian, Dravidian, and Aryan, who came to dwell in these hills at different points of time. Assam has developed a composite culture of variegated colour.

Assam, the land of hills and valleys, the land of the mighty river Brahmaputra, the land of Mother Goddess Kamakhya, lies in the northeastern corner of India.

Climate-Assam has four well defined seasons in a year. Summer, monsoon, winter and spring-- these four seasons presents Assam in different moods. The best time to visit Assam is during the winters and spring seasons. October to April offer a mild and moderate climate. Assam is never extremely cold or hot.

Clothing- As the climate of Assam is not very extreme, clothing is very simple. Winters require light woolen clothes and summers can be enjoyed in cotton attires.

This is Assam, a place which lives in different moods in different times. Rows of ancient monuments, temples of pristine charm and ruins of a bygone eras take you through the corridors of time. Assam has drawn people from diverse cultures and races in different points of time. They are the colourful people, weaving fairy tales in dresses, singing and dancing in clouds and sunshine of pastoral life, creating art out of life adding colour to itself.

Exotic denizens of the sylvan world add to the mystery and charm of this weird land. Frolick of apes, graceful elephants, fluttering of wings & singing of birds, migratory birds flying into the hills, the majestic tiger enforcing his authority all invite you to carry back home a little what the heaven is made of. The rhino emerges as if from prehistory and treads the Kaziranga National park. And who can forget lush green Tea gardens which beckon you to have a cup of fresh tea and enjoy the enthralling music of life.

The capital of Assam, is Dispur, a suburb of Guwahati in 1972. The uneven topography of the land, full of hills, plains and rivers might, therefore, have contributed to her name. The Mongolian Ahom dynasty which had ruled Assam for more than six hundred years might also be the cause for her name.

Assam is a land with an illustrious recorded history going back to the 4th century BC. Assam was an independent kingdom throughout all of history till the end of the first quarter of the 19th century when the British conquered the kingdom and annexed it to British India. The current state capital of Assam, Guwahati, known in ancient time as Pragjyotishpura or The Eastern City of Light, was the capital of Kamrup which finds frequent mention in the Great Hindu Epic Mahabharata and other Sanskrit volumes and historical lores. Assam's economy is based on agriculture and oil. Assam produces a significant part of the total tea production of the world. Assam produces more than half of India's petroleum.

Industries :Tea, Petroleum, Handlooms, Sericulture, Cane, Bamboo, Carpentry, Brass, Metal crafts

Crops:Rice, Jute, Tea, Cotton, Oil Seeds, Sugar-cane, Potatoes.

Assam is rich in minerals. It produces 55% of the tea produced in the country. Petroleum products are the other major contribution of the state.

The current political situation in Assam is unstable with United Liberation of Asom (ULFA) fighting a low-intensity but wide-spread guerrilla warfare for independence from India. Although the Indian military has tried to quell the insurgents with a large presence for more than ten years, they have been not very successful. There are other militant groups who are seeking independence or autonomy in Assam.

There have been consistent reports of grave human rights violations in Assam committed primarily by the Indian military. The humidity that is brought into Assam by the southwest monsoons, which shower an average annual rainfall of 120 inches or more on the great Brahmaputra valley and the surrounding region, also create spectacular sunsets during most of the year. The monsoons are Assam's life blood; creating a bio-diversity that can compete with the equatorial rain-forests and painting the region with a thousand shades of green.

Assam produces almost 400 million kg tea per annum. Assam tea is famous for its rich full bodied, bright liquor. The tea from here is best for those who prefer a strong cup.

Capital : Dispur
Area : 78,438 sq km Population : aprrox. 24,800,000
Principal Language: Assamese
Literacy Ratio: 53% No. of Districts: 24 Cities :Guwahati, Dispur, Dibrugarh, Jorhat
Airports: Guwahati, Dibrugarh, Tejpur, Jorhat, Silchar, Rilabari.