Places to visit in Sibsagar district

Sivasagar is one of the most popular historical places in Assam. It is situated at about 360 kilometres (224 mi) north east of Guwahati city. The place is famous for the monuments of Ahom kingdom. The important visiting places are

Shiva Dole: Shiva Dole is one of the tallest Shiva temples in the world which is located at the heart of Sibsagar town. It was built in 300 years back. The temple is 180 feet tall and 195 feet in diameter. The walls of the temple are sculptured with statues of Hindu Gods and Goddesses. Maha Shivaratri is the main festival celebrated every year in this temple. Thousands of visitors visit this temple during this festival.

Vishnu Dole:Vishnu Dole is another Hindu temple located near the Shiva temple. The temple is dedicated to lord Vishnu. This temple has a unique architectural value in itself. It is 60 feet tall and 120 feet in diameter. Inside the temple there is no sculpture of God but one can find many holy books of Vaishnavism. Srimanta Sankardeva's sacred 'Namghosha' is also preserved in this temple. Although the temple can be visited in any time but the ideal time is the "Bhada" month of Hindu calendar. Near this Vishnu Dole there is a Ram Temple built in recent days.

Sivasagar Tank: Another worth visiting place in Sibsagar town is the Sibsagar tank popularly known as 'Borpukhuri' dug by Ahom king. There is three tall temples on the bank of this tank which makes the place very beautiful and holistic.This tank was built by Ahom queen Ambika in 1734 and named it after her husband. It covers an area of 130 acres and is at the height of 40 feet above thwe surrounding plain area. It is believed that this tank was built in one night. There are many parks, gardens and a museum near this tank. Apart from these one can see a Church, a Buddhist Monastery and a Masjid on the bank of this tank. This tank is also one of the important habitats of the migratory birds that comes during the winter season.

Joydole:It is a Vishnu temple popularly known as the 'Kesavanarayan Vishnudole' or 'Joydole' that was built during the reign of Ahom king Rudra Singha. There are two small temples behind the main temple and are known as Surya and Ganesha temple respectively. Though Rudra Singha was a great follower of Vaishnavism, yet he showed due respect to the devotees of Durga and Shiva and thus built the two temples named Shiva Dole and Durga Dole contiguous to the Vishnu Dole.

Joysagar Tank: Adjacent to Joy Dole is the Joysagar which was built by king Rudra Singha in memory of his mother Joymoti. It is considered as the largest man made pond in India. It covers an area of 318 acres with four banks.

Ranghar : This two-storeyed building is towards the north east side of the Royal palace. It was constructed during the reign of Swargadeo Prmafta Singha in 1746. It was the royal sports-pavilion of Ahom kings.

Kareng Ghar and Talatal Ghar: It is about four kilometers south to Sivasagar town. This is a seven storied building called Kareng gharwhich was the capital and military station of the Ahom kings. It was first constructed by the Ahom king Rudra Singha in 1700. After that new structures to this palace were made by the, successors, of Swargadeo Rudra Singha. The Talatalghar is a house made of brick and an indigenous type of cement. It was constructed by king Rajeswar Singha. In this seven stories building- four stories are above and three stories are below the ground.

Gargaon Palace: It was constructed by the 15th Ahom king Suklengmung in 1540 AD. This palace was made of wood and stones. It is about 14 kilometers away from Sivasagar town. The present structure of this palace was rebuilt in 1752 AD by the then king Swargadeo Rajeswar Singha.