There is a number circulating in Indian travel circles that is hard to ignore. 

According to Skyscanner's Travel Trends 2026 report, searches for Jorhat in Assam have risen by 493% among Indian travellers, making this quiet town in Upper Assam the country’s fastest-rising domestic destination. The figure is striking. 

Jorhat is not usually spoken of in the same breath as India’s famous hill stations, beach towns, or heritage cities. It is better known for tea estates, a regional airport, and the unhurried rhythm of Assamese life. What, then, is drawing so many people here?

For many, the answer lies beyond Jorhat itself. The town opens the way to one of Assam’s most memorable journeys: the ferry from Nimati Ghat to Majuli across the Brahmaputra. 

The ferry ride that changes the pace of travel

About 14 kilometres from Jorhat town, the road ends at Nimati Ghat, a busy riverfront terminal on the southern bank of the Brahmaputra. 

The ghat (riverfront landing point) is alive at all hours with passengers, shared tempos, motorcycles being wheeled onto flat-bottomed boats, and the kind of organised chaos that characterises river life in Assam. 

Government-operated ferries usually run from here between 8 am and 3 pm. Tickets cost around Rs 15 to Rs 30 per person, and the crossing to Kamalabari Ghat in Majuli takes roughly one to one and a half hours, depending on the river’s mood.

That crossing, unhurried and vast, is an experience in itself. The Brahmaputra here is wide enough to make you forget about the edges of things. Fellow passengers share food, children watch over the railing, and the water carries the particular blue-grey of a river that knows it is among the mightiest in the world. 

By the time you step off at Majuli's bank, something in the pace of thought has already shifted.

An island shaped by faith, floods, and memory 

Majuli is among the world’s largest inhabited river islands. Located within the Brahmaputra, it covers about 352 square kilometres today, though its landmass was once far larger. In the 1790s, Majuli spanned over 1,300 square kilometres. 

Over time, the Brahmaputra’s shifting channels and severe erosion have steadily reduced its size. Several villages and Satras (cultural monastic institutions in Assam) that once stood on firm ground have either been relocated or lost to the........

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