Tea Garden Tourism or Tea Tourism is a much talked about topic in the tourism circles of Assam. Tea is already one of the biggest industries in the state. And this form of tourism aims to utilize the same resources to attract more tourists. In a very positive step in that direction, the Hatikuli Tea Estate of Kaziranga has come up with a tea tour. This specially curated event aims at giving a hands-on experience about the tea culture.
Each of the tours will be two hours long at either 10 AM or 4 PM. They will take bookings from 11 AM to 6 PM. The tour will include a visit to a factory which produces authentic Assamese CTC, orthodox and green teas. They will also conduct guided tours of tea plantations and pepper cultivation. They will also include a knowledge-sharing session on the history of Assam tea and its brewing along with a tea-tasting session. The participants will be able to try out and understand the differences between different varieties of tea on this tour. The tea tour also gives the opportunity to pick up varieties of tea as souvenirs.
These tours will be carried out in the Hatikuli Tea Estate, which lies in the immediate vicinity of the Kaziranga National Park and Tiger Reserve. The organizes will carry out these tours twice daily. The timings of the tea tour keep in mind the safari time in the park. This allows the tourists to take part in this unique experience after enjoying a safari in Kaziranga.
Although the government has been talking about tea tourism for quite some time now, the necessary infrastructure has not been put in place yet. This step will add one more sector to the highly seasonal tourism market of the state. This addition not only adds an extra tourism avenue but also aims to attract additional tourists. The engagement of local people ensures that the local economy benefits from the tourist footfall. It also opens up new avenues of entrepreneurship in the tourism-ancillary sectors.
