Silchar, the headquarters of Cachar district in Assam, is one of the must-visit places in the state. The reason for this is the large number of tourist attractions that it offers to the visitors. Right from natural beauty to architectural splendor, you will find the tourist places in Silchar to offer a large variety. In this article, we have provided a list of the famous tourist attractions of Silchar. Go through it and explore each of the attractions in detail.
HOW TO REACH
By Air:-
The Kumbhirgram airport in Silchar is located at a distance of about 22 km from the town and is a highly modernized air station, with state-of-the-art facilities. It is the second busiest airport in the state, next to Guwahati. The airport remains busy all round the year and regular flights operate from this region to areas like Agartala, Kolkata, Imphal and Guwahati.
By Rail:-
Maintained and managed by the North-East Frontier Railways, Silchar railway station is located in the core of the town, at Tarapur and is a major link to the different parts of India. The primary express trains operating from this region are Cachar Express, Barak Valley Express and Jiribam Fast Pass.
By Road:-
As with the other regions of Assam, the ASTC (Assam State Transport Corporation) provides regular bus services from Silchar as well, to other regions within the state. Functioning 24 hours a day, the corporation has some regular and luxury buses for the normal routes and special mini buses for the neighboring hilly areas. Nowadays, computerized ticketing systems are also available in different counters within the town.
WHAT TO SEE
Shiva Mandir:-
35 km from the township of Silchar is the famous Shiva Mandir, a.k.a. Bhubaneswar temple, on top of the Bhuvan hills. The temple is a renowned tourist spot of the region, where pilgrims and devotes from all over the state come to offer their prayers and seek the blessings of the Lord. Inside the main sanctum of the temple are the idols of Lord Shiva and Goddesses Parvati. From Silchar it is quite easy to visit the place, as daily buses operate to the base of the hill, from where the remaining distance can be covered on foot.
Martyrs’ Tomb:-
Located at Gandhi Bag, on the banks of a lake, are the 11 tombs of the martyrs who dedicated their lives fighting for the language movement of Assam, in 1964. This site is a must-visit for the Bengalis, as the language movement was primarily fought to make Bengali the official language of the Cachar district of Assam. A little further from this area are two more attractions – Harisava and the temple of Goddess Lakshmi Devi.
Paper Mill:-
The paper mill of the Hindustan Paper Corporation Limited, at Panchgram, is one of the biggest paper mills in Asia and is located a few kilometers from Silchar, en route to Badarpur. This mill was established by late Moinul Haq Choudhury, who was the minister of the region during the 1960s. The entire region is surrounded by lush greenery and people often come here to explore the mill and enjoy the natural scenery.
Kanchakanti Kali Mandir:-
15 km from Silchar, on the way to the Kumbhirgram airport, is situated the famed Kanchakanti Kali temple, which is a union of Goddess Durga and Goddess Kali. Mythology has it the king of the region once had a dream, in which he was asked to build an idol of the four-armed goddess. Following his dreams, he constructed the temple and prepared a gold idol of the Goddess, somewhere during 1806. This temple however, got destroyed due to natural forces and a new one was constructed later. It is often said that one’s desires and wishes are fulfilled, if one prays to the Goddess of the temple and as such, the region is always crowded by devotees and worshippers.
SHOPPING:-
The city of Silchar has developed much over the years with a number shopping places across the city. The famous Janiganj Bazar is a big market area where visitors can buy things of their choice.The local markets in silchar offers some unique thing at a much more reasonable rate. There are also shopping complex like Goldighi Shopping Complex and Suresh Paul Shopping Complex offering sales and purchase facilities for the tourists.
FOOD:-
Things to eat in SilcharAssamese and Bengali cuisine is the most popular cuisine of Silchar. There are a number of restaurants in Silchar that provides Assamese and Bengali cuisine delicacies like the famous Masor Tenga, Omita Khar,Chorchori, Bhapa that can be enjoyed by the tourists. Some of the restaurants in Silchar include Shreyashi, Maheden Food Center, Barbies Kitchen.