Tinsukia

About Tinsukia

Tinsukia is the busy commercial heart of Upper Assam, surrounded by tea gardens, oil towns and some of the richest wildlife country in north-east India. Trains and trucks meet here, and the markets supply a wide stretch of the region all the way to the Arunachal Pradesh border.

The town grew on the site of Bengmara, once capital of the Matak kingdom founded by Swargadeo Sarbananda Singha in the late 18th century, who even issued coins in his own name. In colonial times tea planting and the discovery of oil at nearby Digboi transformed the area, and the region's tea estates still roll out in green carpets from the edge of town.

Most travellers use Tinsukia as a base: Dibru-Saikhowa National Park and the Maguri Motapung wetland are an hour away for birds, river dolphins and feral horses, while Digboi's oil history and the rainforest of Dehing Patkai lie to the east. The cool, dry months from November to March are best for wildlife and walking.