Avail Our Incredible Travel Services. Contact Us for Special Interest Tours, River Cruise, Adventure Tours
Avail Our Incredible Travel Services. Contact Us for Special Interest Tours, River Cruise, Adventure Tours
The Northeast, also known as the Seven Sisters of India (comprising the states of Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram, Tripura and Meghalaya), is the least visited of the regions – tucked away in a remote corner of the country, bordered by China in the north, Myanmar (Burma) in the east and Bangladesh in the south and west it is almost a separate country joined to mainland India by just a few square kilometers of land in its western border. Geographically, it is amazing – the great Himalayas to the north, the Assam valley carved out by the mighty Brahmaputra River, one of the greatest rivers in the world, the beautiful Khasi and Jaintia Hills in the south and the Patkai range in the east makes for a natural splendour difficult to find elsewhere.
With the varied terrain comes the most exotic of people and tribes that live in its hills and plains. The northeast has been described by anthropologists as a ‘‘melting pot’’ or the ‘’witches’ cauldron’’ signifying the hordes of people that came into it over the centuries and made it their home. Mongoloids, Tibeto-Burmese, Aryans have all found a place here to live in harmony and peace.
Because of the altitudinal difference many kind of wild life thrives here. The one-horned rhino is the best mascot one can think of if you are referring to (wild) life in the Northeast !! It would not be very off the mark if we were to describe the sanctuaries and national parks of the Northeast as ‘teeming with wild life’ and a ‘natural aviary’. In Kaziranga National Park, A World Heritage Site, alone there are more than 450 species of birds recorded. This park also holds the distinction as the place where 20th century’s greatest conservation success story was scripted. From a mere dozen rhinos in the early 1900s the figure went up to more than 1600 by the year 2000. Now the total count of rhinos stand at over 2000!!
Another marked feature in Assam are the well kept tea gardens – for miles on end one can see a green carpet interspersed with the Acacia shade trees. Oil was struck in Assam in the 1800s and one can still visit the oil town of Digboi to see the first oil well and also a very interesting oil museum.
Now, slowly Northeast India is opening its doors to the outside world. One needed a special permit to visit these states, but now these restrictions have been lifted from all but one of these states. It has become much easier to travel in these parts and we, at East India Travel Co (EITC), are eager to show you around.
The formation of East India Travel Co or EITC stems from a few key reasons, one of them being utilizing our experiences. Ankita, co-promoter, was a former correspondent with 'Northeast File', a Doordarshan (Indian National TV channel) programme reporting mostly on Northeast India destinations and culture. I have experience of more than two decades in the travel line, out of which 11 years now as the founder-owner promoting destinations within India, particularly the Northeast.
With our base in Guwahati, Assam, India we cover the entire north-eastern region that includes Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram, Meghalaya and Tripura. We also cover Sikkim, Darjeeling and Bhutan. Wild life, indigenous culture, treks & hikes, bicycle tours, river cruise are some of the activities Northeast India offers. Having first-hand knowledge of the region, we endeavour to give the tourist the real ‘feel’ of the place by letting them experience local flavours and customs. Experiential travel is what we do best.
As layers of experience piled on we slowly started adding new destinations - Ladakh, Kashmir, Rajasthan, Delhi, Agra, Gujarat, South India. All tours are tailor made keeping the essence of experiential travel.
From the very beginning of our operations we have been telling the local communities to set up homestays, become local guides, showcase their handicrafts so that they can derive the benefits from tourism. We have encouraged weavers to be more enterprising in displaying their products to tourists and to have a product-mix that can be sold to tourists on the spot.
Attending tourism fairs and exhibitions in the national and international levels have enabled us to understand better the requirements of the international traveller and the corner stone of our success has been delivering what is promised.
We know that the chain is as strong as its weakest link, therefore, it has been our practice to employ the best in the industry - guides, drivers, vehicles are all pre-selected and according to clients' choice.
Venturing out and looking for new places and products, putting strategy to practice, reaching out to new markets are few other things we have been doing in our endeavour to promote India.
There is tremendous scope of doing things in different and discerning ways to offer the traveller a true picture of India's Northeast and also India as a whole. We are of the firm opinion that EITC will be able to showcase the various facets of this great country in the way she deserves.
We are approved by the Ministry of Tourism, Government of India and by the Department of Tourism, Government of Assam. We are a member of the Indian Association of Tour Operators (IATO).
With Best Wishes,
Sanjay Thakur
It's also about YOU we are interested in. Do let us know if you have anything specific that is on your mind. Our Special Interest tours are meant for people who want to focus on a particular aspect, be it birding, festivals, spiritual journeys, Buddhist culture, tribal tours etc. We have led botany tours; assisted an American family to find the grave of their great grandfather, a Baptist missionary who died in Assam; designed tours to let descendants from the UK find the tea gardens where their parents/ relatives lived and which they managed; curated and conducted voluntary work by tourists wanting to work for local communities. There you are -- just let us know what you want to do and we will try to fit it in. And all the time never letting an opportunity to pass by if there are tourist spots nearby which you can visit.
Sanjay,
My apologies for not thanking you earlier for giving us such a very satisfactory and enjoyable tour around Meghalaya and Mizoram. You organised it all with your usual great efficiency and calmness and I was able to relax and enjoy the tour …We eat superbly thanks to your excellent choices. I hope all continues to go well for you and East India Travel and I am most appreciative of your kindness in coming with us when I am sure you had equally important (or more so) clients to look after.
With very best wishes from us both
Giles Crisp, UK, 15 Dec 2016
Dear Sanjay,
Could you put together another trip of the northeast? If I could see some more of Assam as well as some of the others I have not been to that would be great.
I really enjoyed the last trip, hope you are well
Regards, Surrey Carter, NSW, Australia
27 April 2017
Thank you for arranging my trip. It was just what I needed. ……. all the accommodations and experiences were top notch.
My favorite experience was at Manas. The elephant ride and safaris surpassed my expectations. Has Prakash told you about our seeing the King Cobra? I was thrilled to see the Indian Great Hornbill!
Yours very most sincerely, Suzanne Brown
Fort Collins, USA
25 March 2017
Sanjay, Everyday my memories of our incredible trip to India get better and better. ………. EITC went above and beyond setting up our visits.
EITC did an excellent job of finding places for us to stay and eat. A great value for us.
Probably the least liked by me was the visit to the caves. ….. this visit was somewhat challenging for me, having done many larger caves where I did not have to crawl on all 4's.
If I may offer a suggestion, you may want to give guidance for your clients to exchange currency as we were limited in India.
It was very special that you and your son came to meet us on our last evening in India. We will be back.
With thanks, John Harris, Boston, USA, 29 March, 2017
Hi Sanjay,
Yes, the flight back was uneventful.
…… Overall, I am very pleased with how the trip was organized and especially the flexibility which allowed us to change the program whenever necessary. The first 2 weeks were the best regarding bird photography.
Dibru-Saikhowa is a nice play to stay. The wet- and grasslands are rich in birdlife and in the park a beautiful walk can be made. This park is much better suited for bird photographers but like everywhere else one needs a little bit of luck. I remember that last year I did not see many birds in Nameri whereas this year there was plenty of activity.
The guide and I have brainstormed about a next trip involving places in both Assam and Arunachal Pradesh that I have not visited and this in combination with a visit of the Andaman Islands. However, my next trip to India will most likely be one to Sikkim/Darjeeling.
In due time I will send you the link to my bird pictures.
Kind regards
Paul, Paris, 28 Feb, 2015
Hi Angkita and Sanjay,
Thanks, wish a very happy new year to you too!
Sorry for not responding earlier, we got very busy with setting up things at home after coming back.
It was a very beautiful and memorable trip for us. We've captured a lot of photographs. The hotels were good too. The driver and guide were very helpful in taking care of our needs and convenience. In short, all our expectations were met well! :) We are planning to visit more of North East India in the future as well.
Thanks a lot for the nice gift!
Regards,
Apurva and Amey
6 Jan 2015
Owner-promoter of East India Travel Co. After working for a decade in a frontline Northeast India based travel company, Sanjay started his own travel business in the year 2010. Travelling around India and also abroad to attend tourism fairs he has gathered a great deal of experience in relation to managing destinations. A masters in business administration he looks after the operations, promotions and general administration of the company.
Co-owner at East India Travel Co, Ankita has been part of the promotions and strategies right from the start of our business. She has a hawk-eye for detail and supervises team work, co-ordinates with the various departments and also pitches in with sales and marketing efforts. Ankita is a commerce graduate and holds a law degree.
Indrani is our travel planner for North East India as well as for our outbound tours. Hailing from the region and having toured most of Northeast India ,she has the knack to understand your interests and comes up with great ideas to put in place what you are looking for. She brings with her a wealth of travel experience working and travelling around the country and abroad which she puts to good use resulting in many happy guests. Indrani is an Assamese friend you must have to enjoy a cup of 'ada diya lal sah' (black tea with ginger) while discussing spirituality, nature, travel and so on..
Our outdoors man. Be it treks, hikes, guiding wildlife tours Prakash just does it with a great sense of responsibility and the ever present smile on his face. Someone once asked him if he ever gets tired, and with that typical smile of his he replied, "I don't get tired doing what I love to do". He leads treks in the Eastern Himalayas, guides wildlife tours in all parts of the northeast. Prakash holds a diploma in Tourism Studies.
Build Back Better: There are a few ways to get around the situation of attracting tourists to the already 'promoted' areas -- identify circuits in rural/ under-explored areas and then build a working structure of homestays, local guides, last mile connectivity. We are deliberately avoiding the word 'infrastructure' here as then it becomes a talk on huge investments, government involvement with policies and the like which delays things no end. Let's bring the intrepid traveler to places that are culturally rich, offer Active Holiday opportunities that do not require immediate infrastructure development. This will kick off the much needed, what we may call, the other side of the tourism story. And as we go along, we can see where greater infrastructure is necessary and act accordingly. We got to do this on priority to bring back the right kind of travellers to the untouched destinations which in turn may put just a little pressure off the popular destinations. Care must be taken to keep the particular place as clean and green as possible with sustainable, eco-friendly practices. India's Northeast is a prime example where there are so many opportunities to showcase indigenous culture, festivals, throw open least travelled circuits for active holidays.
If you are in town, drop in! See below for our business hours...
1, Jilika Path, Barbari Village, Guwahati, Assam, India
Email: tours@eastindiatravel.in Call/ WhatsApp: +91 986 473 2022 Call only: +91 940 2235 091
Mon | 09:00 am – 06:30 pm | |
Tue | 09:00 am – 06:30 pm | |
Wed | 09:00 am – 06:30 pm | |
Thu | 09:00 am – 06:30 pm | |
Fri | 09:00 am – 06:30 pm | |
Sat | 09:00 am – 04:00 pm | |
Sun | Closed |
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