Majuli Island Guide: Ferries, Satras, Stays & Festivals
Updated · Nomadic Travel team
How to reach Majuli by ferry, which satras to visit, where to stay and when to catch the Raas festival.
Majuli, a vast inhabited island in the Brahmaputra, is the spiritual heart of Assamese Vaishnavism and one of Northeast India's most peaceful places. This Majuli island guide covers how to get there, what to see and where to stay.
How to reach Majuli
Drive or take a taxi to Nimati Ghat, about 15 km from Jorhat, and catch the government ferry to Kamalabari Ghat. Crossings take roughly an hour or more depending on river levels, and several ferries run each day in daylight hours. Vehicles can be carried on larger ferries. Jorhat has the nearest airport and railway station.
Satras to visit
- Kamalabari & Uttar Kamalabari: Sattriya dance and music.
- Auniati: museum of manuscripts, utensils and royal gifts.
- Dakhinpat: grand Raas celebrations.
- Samaguri: Bhaona mask-making — see Majuli satras & mask-making.
- Garamur: one of the island's older satras.
Beyond the satras
Cycle through Mising villages with bamboo stilt houses, watch potters at Salmora using a traditional hand-shaped technique, and enjoy sunset on the river banks. Majuli's wetlands also attract migratory birds in winter.
Where to stay
Bamboo cottages and homestays around Garamur and Kamalabari offer simple, comfortable rooms and home-cooked Mising and Assamese meals. Stay at least one night — two if you can.
Raas Mahotsav
Majuli's most famous festival, Raas Mahotsav, is celebrated over several days around the full moon in October or November, with satras staging dramatic performances of Krishna's life. Accommodation fills up quickly at this time.
Combine Majuli with
Kaziranga, Jorhat's tea gardens and Sivasagar's Ahom monuments — all included in our Assam heritage tour.
