Umananda the amusing tourist spot of Assam
The city of Guwahati has numerous temples and tomb . As It is boost of heritage temples and other ancient religious guildings. It makes the city an irresistible attraction for the tourist from all over the world. Out of many numerous ancient temples in the Guwahati city . Umananda temple is worth mentioning into. It is one of the excellent pilgrimage centre as well as an ideal tourist spot which is situated in the midst of the river Brahmaputra at guwahati. Umananda is the world’s smallest inhabited riverine Island . It is built on a small hillock . The mountain on which the temple is built is known as Bhasmacala. This mountain is also called Bhasmakuta.
According to the history, the temple of Umananda was built in the year 1694 A.D by Bar Phukan Garhganya Handique by the order of the famous Ahom king Gadadhar Singha . He was a shaiviate . And he ordered to build this temple to show his gratitude to the lord Shiva. As it resembles the shape of a peacock the Umananda Island is also known as’peacock island’. One can easily reached to the temple from Guwahati and North Guwahati by ferries or privately- hired motor boat .These boat service is available From the kachahari ghat . It almost takes 10-minute to reach the island . And it cost RS 10 per person for ride to temple . The ferries are arranged by the State Tourism Department for the tourists from all the parts of India and world. The motor boats are available everyday from 7am to 5 pm.
“lord shiva has created the Umananda island for his wife Parvati( another name Uma) to give happiness and pleasure (in assamese Ananda) to her. So, this island is called umananda. There is also another temples on the island like the Ganesha, Hara Gauri , Chalantika, Chandrashekhar and Vaidyanath temples.
Umananda temple is a home to the species golden langur. They are found only in parts of western Assam and the neighbouring foothills of the Black mountains of Bhutan. Like the one- horned rhino they are also the pride of Assam. The golden monkey is a great treasure to be preserved carefully.
Everyday many pilgrims come to visit Umananda temple to worship the lord Shiva and the presiding deity. It is considered as one of the five principle pilgrims centres of Kamrup district. People from all over the world come to visit this island. The whole sorroundings of Umananda grant beauty to it. The golden langur looks majestic in their natural sorroundings. In, fact the golden langur is one of the major attraction of Umananda temple.
A Ferry rider remarks,” more than 500 people visit to Umananda temple everyday . out of which more than 5 people are foreign tourists. And the other visitors are from out of Assam like Delhi, Calcutta, Haryana and the like and the rest people are from the Assam itself and the local people of the city. Maximum the local people comes to visit here.”
However , some rock- cut figures which represent Ganesha, Shiva, Parvati, Vishnu , surya and other hindu deities were also seen on the temple.
Thus, the Umananda temple which is surrounded by the mighty Brahmaputra on all the sides attracts a number of devotees every year. It is famous for its angelic beauty. A10- minute ferry ride from the river banks is very lovely and sedative .The place has a historical significance. It is an exotic place where you can enjoy both spiritual & scenic beauty .And the atmosphere here is a pure delight for activities like picnic, chilling and hanging out with friends or family members, short trip, leisure day outing and much more. People can enjoy the unique beauty of island Umananda from the river banks.
