Tea-plantations in Assam, unlike those in China or Japan for instance, are comparatively big, spanning hundreds of acre. Thus they offer you the spatial freedom to meander through them, watching the dappled sunlight filter through the shade trees and weave patterns of black and white on the neatly pruned tea-bushes. Apart from the Brahamaputra valley, Barak valley and southern Assam also has abundance of tea plantations. Dibrugarh located along the river Brahmaputra is the largest tea exporting town in India. Together Assam produces almost 400 million kg tea per annum. Assam tea is famous for its rich full bodied, bright liquor. The tea from here is best for those who prefer a strong cup. The Tea festival organised by Assam Tourism in the month of November is a unique experience. One cannot miss this festival which offers holidays combining visits to Tea Gardens, Golf and River Cruises. A visit to the "Guwahati Tea Auction Center" (GTAC) in Guwahati, the largest in India is a must.
Watch the tea-pluckers at work. Admire the deftness of their fingers as they pluck the delicate two leaves and a bud from which the "nectar of the gods" is made. Assam plantations produce black tea, far different in taste and colour from the green tea made in China.
No trip to Upper Assam can be complete without a visit to one of the numerous tea-gardens that stand, lush and verdant, all around the valley. The tea gardens of Assam have a unique ambience, and a cultural entity that makes them stand apart from other such plantations elsewhere.
