No1 awesome way how to reach Majuli river island in Assam
Majuli river island in Assam is the largest river island in the world. But sadly very few Indians have even heard about this island and even fewer have ended up reaching Majuli. If you are reading this blog, then please make the trip to Majuli, if Assam is on your bucket list. It’s definitely worth all the effort.
Table of Contents
To reach Majuli River island, it’s a two part journey. The first is to reach the city of Jorhat and the second part is taking a ferry from Nimati Ghat to Kamalabari Ghat in Majuli.
When it comes to reaching the city of Jorhat, you will have plenty of options from any part of Assam. The city is well connected by the railways and road transposition is excellent.
Plan
If you plan on taking the road ways, then the best option is to book a bus via ASTC from Guwahati to Jorhat which takes 7-8 hours to cover the 305km distance which crosses the Kaziranga national park belt along the way. You’ll find buses leaving every two hours from ISBT Guwahati.
Taking the railways is also a very good option. Just that the train route takes a couple of hours longer. 8-9 hours is roughly the travel time by train. The train goes via Dimapur in Nagaland as it’s an intercity route that will be followed. Taking the train is a very good option if you’re looking to do an overnight journey. While traveling by train, remember you will need to book a ticket in advance. Always opt for a sleeper class train, since you don’t need an air conditioned coach. It’s always very pleasant.
Once you reach Jorhat the next thing is to take a shared auto to Nimati Ghat to get the ferry to reach Majuli.
Auto
While taking an auto rickshaw make sure you bargain since the auto guys will quote a price which isn’t the actual cost, just to make an extra ₹100-300 from a tourist. Auto rickshaws are in plenty, so one of them will agree on the correct cost. The rickshaw ride takes anywhere from 45-60 minutes depending on how fast the auto guy decided to drive. The roads are well made, so driving there won’t be an issue.
A very important thing to keep in mind is the timetable of ferries from Nimati to Kamalabari. The last ferry leaves from Nimati Ghat at around 15:00 hrs, so make sure you reach there before the last ferry departs.
Ferry
The ferry ride takes anywhere between 45 minutes to 90 minutes depending on the load on the ferry and the river current. The ticket cost is around ₹20-30 max depending on the category of ferry.
Once you reach Majuli, you’ll get plenty of vehicles which will take you to the main town. Network is available all through the journey, so it’s a very easy but technical time based travel that has to be kept in mind to reach the largest river island.
Taking a ferry is the only way to reach Majuli. By default everyone including the ones on bikes and cars have to load their vehicles on the ferry decks and cross over the Brahmaputra River to reach the river island.
It’s always advisable to first cover Kaziranga and then travel from Kaziranga to Jorhat to Majuli which makes the journey much easier as compared to traveling directly from Guwahati to Majuli.
Try reaching Jorhat town by noon, so you have enough time to reach the Nimati Ghat to take the second last ferry to Majuli. The last ferry is always over crowded.
