Jorhat

Jorhat, in upper Assam on the south bank of the Brahmaputra, is the cultural and commercial heart of Assam's tea country and is universally known as the "Tea Capital" of the state — and, by some reckonings, of the world.

• The town is surrounded on every side by rolling, manicured tea gardens that stretch to the horizon, and it is home to the Tocklai Tea Research Institute, founded in 1911 and the oldest and one of the largest tea-research institutions in the world, which has shaped Assam's tea industry for over a century; its experimental gardens and tea-tasting heritage make a fascinating visit.
• Just outside town lies the Hoollongapar Gibbon Sanctuary, an evergreen forest island that is the only home in India of the western hoolock gibbon — the country's only ape — whose whooping calls echo through the canopy at dawn, alongside the rare Bengal slow loris and capped langur.
• Jorhat is also the principal gateway to Majuli, the world's largest river island: ferries cross the wide Brahmaputra from nearby Nimati Ghat to the satra monasteries of the island.
• The town's own heritage includes the colonial Thengal Manor, the Dhekiakhowa Bornamghar prayer hall, the Jorhat Gymkhana Club (home to one of the oldest golf courses in Asia), and a proud link to the Ahom general Lachit Borphukan.
• The town's tea bungalows, some now heritage stays, let visitors sleep amid the gardens and tour the factories where the famous strong, malty Assam tea is made and graded for the world's teacups.
• For vegetarian travellers, Jorhat is the place to drink the freshest Assam tea straight from the estates, paired with Assamese vegetarian fare — khar (an alkaline preparation), aloo and brinjal pitika (mustard-oil mashes), seasonal greens, dal and rice, and pitha rice cakes.
• The best season is November to April.