sign in sign up
<<
Home , Assamese cuisine, Kohima

A JOURNEY WITH CHRISTINA SUMNER OAM Threads and Festivals of and ERI SILK AND NAGA WEAVERS - HORNBILL FESTIVAL - RHINO SAFARI - MAGICAL ISLAND

25 NOVEMBERFORWARDTRAVEL.COM.AU - 10 DECEMBER 2020 16 DAYS FROM $13,492 pp 1 WED 25 NOV Arrive in Kolkata, where you will be met by Revel in the natural beauty and tribal The Travel Grail representative, welcomed and transferred to our hotel.

cultures of ’s remote far east THU 26 NOV B,L,D We are transferred to the domestic airport for our morning flight to Guwahati.

Assam, in the far northeast of India, is one of the subcontinent’s best kept secrets. This lush, hilly state, which lies to the south of Bhutan, is a magical landscape of wildlife sanctuaries, national parks, rivers and plantations. Assam produces 20 percent of the world’s beloved tea. With an ethnic and cultural background noticeably different from the rest of India, and a civilization dating back some 5000 years, Assam is an enchanting destination.

On arrival in Guwahati, we meet our local guide and are transferred to our hotel, where we check in and have . Our SAT 28 NOV GUWAHATI B,L,D handloom weaving heritage. Her business introduction to Assam starts with a visit Guwahati is Assam’s largest city and an model seeks to build tribal and non-tribal to the Assam State Museum (or Srimanta important port and dates back to at least weavers’ capacity to generate a livelihood Sankaradeva Kalakshetra), where we begin the 4th century. The great slow-moving by improving their skills, adopting modified to learn about this little known region. In cuts the city in half as it designs and colours, and creating a range the evening, our welcome dinner is fine A fascinating and adventurous destination to dream of, relatively undeveloped Assam has a pedigree dating back 5000 years flows westwards towards the Bay of Bengal, of market-friendly and remunerative Assamese prepared for us at a local and, together with neighbouring Nagaland, a unique cultural and ethnic background. Journey through their green and captivating while the green Hills provide a scenic products. home. backdrop. landscapes, lush hill country, national parks, rivers and wildlife sanctuaries, all brilliantly complemented by superb textile traditions SUN 29 NOV B,L,D and riotous, colourful festivals. FRI 27 NOV GUWAHATI B,L,D After we visit Guwahati’s After an early breakfast, we leave This unique small-group journey is designed to broaden and enrich your experience and reward your quest for beauty. Today we drive about 1.5 hours out of beautiful 16th century Kamakhya Temple Guwahati and drive eastwards to Jorhat, Guwahati to visit villages in Assam’s with its distinctive domed roofs. en route visiting a weavers village Loharghat Forest Range. 7Weaves, a social near Kampur. Here we gain a broader enterprise founded by Rituraj Dewan The Kamakya Temple, which is central to understanding of the history of silk and Our special program highlights: and Mandakini Gogoi, is working with Assamese identity, is dedicated to the Hindu weaving in this area as we see Assamese, • The ‘fabric of peace’ - Assamese eri or ahimsa silk the villagers in their production of eri tantric goddess Kamakhya. As one of the Bengali and Muslim artisans producing • The designer helping preserve Assam’s textile heritage silk, which is endemic to the region and most significant of India’s 51 Shakti peethas their different traditional textiles using produced there traditionally sustainably. • A visit with 7Weaves to indigenous village communities (shrines), the Kamakhya Temple is an Assamese wild muga silk, including the • Magical Majuli Island, its monks and unique Mishing tribes important pilgrimage site. traditional Assamese scarf (gamocha) and Eri silk is derived from the caterpillar Samia women’s dress (mekhela chadar). • Assam’s tea plantations and renowned tea culture cynthia ricini (not Bombyx mori) and is often After lunch, we visit the studio of Arrive in Jorhat early evening. • Glamping in Nagaland’s uber-luxurious safari camp referred to as ahimsa silk or the fabric of Assamese textile designer Anannya • The magnificent Hornbill Festival peace as it is harvested without killing the Sharma. Anannya has long placed her Jorhat is a small and pleasant city still • Naga weavers in action at the Loinloom Festival silkworm. focus on supporting different ethnic dominated by the tea industry and with • Rare one-horned Rhino Safari in communities in preserving their rich a strong colonial stamp. Jorhat’s famous 7Weaves seeks to create economic and • Kaziranga’s Silk ‘n Dye Festival showcasing natural traditions ecologically sustainable opportunities for the villagers, by integrating their traditional cultural knowledge and craftsmanship with the global ethical fashion market.

The indigenous communities of this forest region traditionally lived in harmony with nature, conserving its rich bio-diversity. Christina Sumner OAM, former principal curator at Sydney’s If they can be integrated into the world Powerhouse Museum, will escort the tour. Sharing her knowledge economy through non-forest based but sustainable endeavours, it is believed that and passion for India and its ancient textile history, Christina will the villagers will set out to restore their support you in discovering the wild beauty of Assam and Nagaland forest eco-system to a sustainable use of natural resources and so conserve the and the textile traditions and unique festivals of their tribal cultures. balance of nature.

2 1300 738 168 FORWARDTRAVEL.COM.AU 3 Gymkhana Club was founded in 1876, while THU 03 DEC -JORHAT B, L, D SAT 05 DEC KOHIMA B, L, D its World Heritage listed golf is the Today we visit Sivasagar (formerly We visit picturesque , a 700 year world’s third oldest and the oldest in Asia. Sibsagar), a 2 hour drive northeast of old Naga village inhabited by the Angami Jorhat. tribe. The terraced fields carved out of MON 30 NOV JORHAT B, L, D the surrounding hillsides and cultivated by This morning we are introduced to the Sivasagar is a tea-processing centre and, the tribe over many generations are among delights of Assamese tea through a special in addition to tea, the surrounding region the oldest in the region. Notably, the tasting session, followed by a visit to a tea produces rice, silk, mustard and timber. ecologically conscious Khonoma villagers plantation and factory. Sivasagar played a significant role in the have banned hunting and the logging of In the afternoon, we take a one hour drive as it was once the capital of their forests. out of Jorhat to visit a government-run silk the Ahom tribes, who came into Assam from research centre. Their work is described Burma and settled there permanently. The After lunch we drive to Kisama village to us and we are able to see Assamese Ahom ruled Assam for more than 600 years and immerse ourselves in Nagaland’s weaving processes up close. until the British arrived in the early 19th spectacular Hornbill Festival, an annual century and took control. feast for the senses. TUE 01 DEC MAJULI B, L, D This morning, we leave Jorhat for the one Sivasagar boasts several monuments and The Naga tribes come together for the hour journey to Majuli Island, party by road ruins that we will visit as time permits, Hornbill Festival and create an extravaganza and partly by ferry through a landscape of including palaces and artificial lakes built that showcases their diverse culture with its exquisite beauty, during the time of the Ahom rulers. Among unique sights, sounds, tastes and experiences these are the enormous Sivasagar Lake from all over Nagaland. Each day features Majuli Island is acclaimed by UNESCO as and the towering Shivadol Temple on its vibrant performances, indigenous games, one of the wonders of the world, a one- banks, both built by an Ahom queen in the local , cultural and war dances and off geographical occurrence thanks to its 18th century. handcrafts. rich and unique flora and fauna. Once the world’s largest river island, erosion has FRI 04 DEC KOHIMA B, L, D The Nagas are fine artisans, producing a recently caused Majuli to yield its place to an This morning we set out on the 7-8 wide range of everyday objects as well as Amazonian rival. hour drive to Kohima, capital of exotic their renowned textiles. Costume, jewellery mountainous Nagaland. and headdresses are elaborate and stunning, The Island is home to 22 neo-Vaishnavite the latter incorporating animal skins, tusks monasteries called Satras, which were Nagaland lies between Assam in the west and of course the gorgeous feathers of founded in the 15th and 16th centuries by and (Burma) to the east, and is Nagaland’s state bird, the hornbill. generation of women artisans. Festival stalls WED 09 DEC KAZIRANGA B, L, D the scholar-reformer-saint Sankaradeva home to some 16 Naga tribes. Historically, sell woven jackets, scarves, skirts, rugs and We continue to explore Kazaringa National who also initiated much loved local forms of the Naga were great warriors and practised SUN 06 DEC KOHIMA B, L, D contemporary Naga jewellery. Park and spend time at the Silk n Dye We spend the morning at the Hornbill music, dance and theatre. Vaishnavism is an head-hunting until it was outlawed in the Festival. offshoot of and its practitioners 1930s. The tribes maintained a high degree Festival. later visiting the Nagaland State TUE 08 DEC KAZIRANGA B, L, D worship the god Vishnu. The Vaishnavite of separation from each other and fought Museum, the and This morning we set out on the drive to The Silk n Dye Festival aims to enable local Satras once numbered over 60 on the Island, continually for supremacy. Dominant Naga the lively Kohima bazaar. Kaziranga National Park, situated on the weavers to showcase their products, and to but nearly half have been relocated, or groups today include the Angami of the banks of the Brahmaputra (about 5 hours). introduce Assam’s age-old traditions of silk obliterated by the rising water. Kohima area, the Konyak of Mon who are The State Museum houses a range of rare When people think of travel in Assam, farming and natural dyeing to the world. famed for exotic traditional architecture and traditional Naga artefacts and expands our Kaziranga, the acclaimed UNESCO World Traditionally, Assamese silks were dyed This afternoon we visit the Satras and costumes, and the Lotha of . insight into Nagaland’s history and culture. Heritage wildlife destination, often comes with flowers, leaves, roots, seeds and other witness one of the Vaishnavite monks’ These include wood carvings, costumes, to mind. natural sources of colour. In support of this three daily prayer sessions to Vishnu that Naga festivals are spectacular and very jewellery and weapons. The Kohima War practice, environmental concerns over the are filled with drumming and dance. colourful, in particular the annual Hornbill Cemetery commemorates lives lost in a Sprawling over 430 square kms, the past few years have increased the demand Festival. Each Naga tribe has its own month-long battle in April 1944, when British stunningly beautiful landscape of Kaziranga for naturally dyed products. WED 02 DEC JORHAT B, L, D distinctive textiles marked by unique and Indian troops fought the Japanese. comprises savannah grassland, the green After breakfast we visit one of the combinations of design and colour. Traditional fertile plains of the Brahmaputra, as well as THU 10 DEC KOLKATA B villages, situated on a floodplain, which designs are generally simple geometric MON 07 DEC B, L, D evergreen, deciduous and swamp forests. After breakfast, we have a 2 hour drive to are inhabited by the Mishing tribe and are stripes, squares and bands. All Naga women Leaving behind our fabulous luxury Kaziranga is home to the endangered great Jorhat and fly from there to Kolkata introduced to their flourishing culture. are expected to spin, dye and weave for their campsite, we set out on the 4.5 hour drive Indian one-horned rhinoceros, whose On arrival in Kolkata mid afternoon, we are families. northwest to Dimapur, Nagaland’s biggest numbers were thought to have dropped transferred to the international airport for Mishing homes are made of bamboo and city and main commercial centre. 10 km to only 12 in the 1950s, but have since onward travel. perched on stilts for protection when the On arrival we check into luxury Kohima beyond Dimapur is the village of Diezephe increased to more than 2300. The park’s rich water rises. At such times, the villagers pack Camp and spend the evening relaxing in its where we visit the four-day International wildlife also includes the royal Bengal tiger, up and head for higher ground in wooden peaceful environs. Loinloom Festival. wild buffalos, elephants, gibbons, leopards canoes. If their homes are washed away, they deer and sloth bears. It is also a haven for simply rebuild them, over and over. Nestled amidst verdant forest land, with The weavers of Diezephe, which is known as many species of birds. the sounds of a mountain brook nearby, is the craft village of Nagaland, are committed We visit Mishing homes and see their Kohima Camp, Nagaland. Here, our luxury to promoting the art of ‘loinloom’ or On arrival at Kazaringa, and tomorrow, we sturdy looms and traditional Mishing tents offer you a glamping experience like backstrap weaving. The Loinloom Festival have time to enjoy a jeep safari into the weavings on display. If time permits, we never before. Each Tent has a private sit- involves workshops, competitions and Park to see the one-horned rhinos, and to also visit Majuli Island’s mask makers and out that overlooks scenic mountain vistas. musical performances, and aims to support visit the lively Silk n Dye Festival in the potters before we return to Jorhat in time indigenous craft traditions, which include grounds of the Iora Resort where we are for lunch. The rest of the day is free. bamboo and cane work, by training a new staying.

4 1300 738 168 FORWARDTRAVEL.COM.AU 5 TRAVEL INSURANCE TOUR DATES Suitable personal travel insurance is es- 25 NOV - 10 DEC 2020 sential. We can arrange this for you. STARTS /FINISHES IN KOLKATA TRAVEL HEALTH No vaccinations are needed but it is always advisable to check with your own doctor PRICES PER PERSON (IN AUD) before traveling. It is wise to drink bottled water and to avoid and unpeeled TWIN SHARE TWINGLE* SINGLE fruit unless in upper level establishments $13,492 $16,061 $17,907 where they’re washed in safe water. Given the strong flavours of Indian food, an up- TWIN SHARE: set stomach may occur but this normally SHARING ACCOMMODATION EACH NIGHT WITH ANOTHER TRAVELLER. passes quickly. We can advise what to WE CAN TRY TO PAIR YOU WITH SOMEONE IF YOU ARE TRAVELLING SOLO pack in your personal medical kit.

TWINGLE: VISA REQUIREMENTS YOUR OWN ROOM EXCEPT FOR KOHIMA TENTED CAMP, WHERE YOU SHARE WITH Australian citizens must have a passport ANOTHER TRAVELLER FOR THESE 3 NIGHTS. with six months validity and two unused THIS IS SUBJECT TO AVAILABILITY AND AN EQUAL NUMBER OF TRAVELLERS CHOOS- visa pages to enter India as tourists. ING THIS OPTION An e-Tourist visa can be applied for and SINGLE: purchased online at: ACCOMMODATION YOUR OWN ROOM/TENT FOR EACH NIGHT OF THE TOUR http://www.evisaindia.org.in/ Some of the special places we visit are quite remote and have limited accommodation KOHIMA LUXURY CAMP, NAGALAND Prices start from about USD40 depending options. In these situations we carefully choose for you the best and most suitable PRICE INCLUDES upon validity. A printout of the e-Tourist accommodation available, selecting each property for its quality and convenience. visa approval must be carried for presenta- We also seek out signature properties that will add to your experience. Each luxurious and spacious tent has its • AUSTRALIAN TEXTILE EXPERT CHRISTINA SUMNER AS YOUR TOUR LEADER tion on arrival in India. On this journey, our featured accommodation is the luxury camp in Kohima, Nagaland. own ensuite and a private verandah for • LOCAL TOUR MANAGER TRAVELLING WITH YOU THROUGHOUT sitting out and taking in the gorgeous • FLIGHTS WITHIN INDIA IS THIS TRIP A GUARANTEED DEPARTURE? mountain scenery. • ACCOMMODATION FOR 15 NIGHTS LOCATION ACCOMMODATION* NIGHTS The trip will run once we have 8 people The elegant decor is safari-inspired with • 43 . DAILY BREAKFAST, ALL AND DINNERS EXCEPT DAY 1 & 16 booked. KOLKATA HYATT REGENCY 1 stylish colonial accents. • PRIVATE LAND TRANSPORTATION

GUWAWTI TAJ VIVANTA 3 • MINERAL WATER IN THE VEHICLE RETURNING TRAVELLERS: JORHAT KAZIRANGA GOLF RESORT 2 • SERVICES OF LOCAL ENGLISH SPEAKING GUIDES • PORTERAGE FEES AT THE HOTELS/AIRPORTS If you have travelled with Christina before MAJULI DEKASANG RESORT 1 • ENTRANCE FEES THROUGHOUT THE ITINERARY and would like to join her on this trip, you JORHAT KAZIRANGA GOLF RESORT 2 • TIPPING FOR INCLUDED SERVICES AND MEALS will receive a $200 loyalty credit.

• ALL CURRENTLY APPLICABLE TAXES Make sure you let us know when booking. KOHIMA KOHIMA LUXURY CAMP 3 DIMAPUR NAITHU RESORT 1 WEATHER: KAZIRANGA IORA RESORT 2 PRICE DOES NOT INCLUDE In late November to early December, the daytime temperature in Assam is between *ACCOMMODATION MAY BE SUBSTITUTED BY SIMILAR PROPERTIES • INTERNATIONAL AIRFARES 20 and 25 degrees C; the night time • VISAS temperature is between 15 to 20 degrees, • OPTIONAL ARRANGEMENTS so light sweaters will be needed in the • PERSONAL EXPENSES evening. Nagaland is colder, with a daytime • ANYTHING NOT MENTIONED AS ‘INCLUDED' temperature between 15 and 20 degrees and at night between 5 and 10 degrees, so FLIGHTS TO INDIA a warm covering is needed. Our experience tells us everyone wants something different with flights and often visit other places as well, so we will talk with you individually about the best TO BOOK YOUR PLACE: options. Please call 1300 738 168, or email [email protected] Airfares from Syd/Mel to Kolkata start at $1,400pp with Singapore or Thai with any questions and to book your place. Airways. ASK US ABOUT OTHER DEPARTURE CITIES AND OPTIONS. Payments: EXTEND YOUR TRIP, OR START EARLER 30% deposit is due 10 days after booking, along with the booking form and a copy of We are working on some options to arrive earlier or stay later in India. the information page of your passport. Please let us know if you are interested and we can send you details once we have 50% deposit is due by June 1st. finalised them. 20% balance due by September 25th. All deposits are non-refundable so we suggest We can also help arrange individually tailored trips as well if you have something you should take out suitable travel insurance specific you wish to see or do. when paying your deposit.

Please see the website for full terms and conditions. www.forwardtravel.com.au 6 1300 738 168 FORWARDTRAVEL.COM.AU 7 THETHE FORWARDFORWARD MENUMENU This journey is just one of the many fabulous dishes on the Forward Travel menu. Here are some other More journeys to savour delicious destinations to tantalise your ‘travel buds’. More journeys to savour TalkThe Arcticto us today is just about one ofexpertly the many planning fabulous you dishesanother on excitingthe Forward journey Travel to savour. menu. Here are some other delicious destinations to tantalise your ‘travel buds’. Talk to us today about expertly planning you another exciting journey to savour.

TAILOR MADE JOURNEYS

Nominated as Australia’s Best Travel Agency Canada and Alaska 2017 & 2018 WILDLIFE ∙ WILDERNESS ∙ EXPEDITION CRUISING ∙ THE ARCTIC ∙ NORTHERN LIGHTS

FORWARDTRAVEL.COM.AU 2019-201

Coming in 2020 Coming in 2020

FORWARD TRAVEL 8 The Strand Penshurst, NSW 2222, Australia Toll free: 1300 738 168 CALL THE : 1300 738 168 EMAIL: [email protected] Ph: (02) 8021 6680 Fx: (02) 8572 9906

© Forward Travel 200112 FORWARDTRAVEL.COM.AU ABN: 33 164 700 832 8 1300 738 168