Between tea gardens, caves and tropical forests the mighty Brahmaputra winds its way through rice fields and mysterious jungle. Assam’s legendary tea gardens still inherit the charm of colonial Indian times. The Manjuli Island is the world’s largest Riverine Island and home to the Mishing tribe and a famous Vaishnava temple. But Assam’s past is much older and parts of the ancient Ahom kingdom can still be seen in Charaiadeo. Assam is also a wildlife paradise with the Kaziranga National Park, home of the rare horned rhinoceros. Meghalaya, once part of Assam, is now an independent state. Its beautiful capital Shillong is lying close to Cherrapunji with its gushing waterfalls and deep gorges. Meghalaya has more than 780 caves and is also home to the Pitcher’s plant and a huge bio-diversity including almost three hundred species of orchids. Assam and the now independent state Meghalaya are amongst the North Eastern states for which a special permit is not required.