A ssam has a history dating back to the Vedic age. The modern name of the province Assam is actually of quite recent origin. Prior to the advent of the Ahom, this land is known as “PRAGJYOTISHPURA” or the “City of Eastern Light”. It is also commonly known as “Kamrupa”in the medieval age. It is said that the kingdom of Pragjyotishpura was made up of what now constitutes modern Assam and a great part of northern and eastern Bengal.

The word Assam is an offshoot of a Sanskrit word “ASOM” which means “Unparalleled” or “Peerless”. Assam and the North Eastern States are connected with rest of India via a narrow strip in west Bengal known as Siliguri strip or the Chicken Neck. As per the geologists that Assam is within the belt of the eastern earthquake zone that spreads across and cross- connects the pacific. The earth quack of 15 th Aug 1950 ( measuring over 8.5 on the Richter scale) is the worst in the Country. Assam is divided into 27 Administrative districts. Total number of villages in Assam is 26,247. The total forest area in Assam is 25,977sq kms, having five national park and Seventeen wild life centuries. Since Assam is famous for its Tea, total area under tea cultivation is 267000.

Nestled in the heart of India’s north-eastern region, Assam covers a territory of 78,523 square kilometers, roughly a fourth of it comprising rugged hills and the rest verdant alluvial plans. The Arunachal hills emerge along its northern limit and bend sharply at its northeastern border. Nagaland and Manipur touch the eastern boundary and the Mizoram hills abruptly rise from its southern extreme. Bangladesh lies in the west sharing Assam’s western border with Meghalaya and Tripura. The international border of the region runs in a manner which leaves only a narrow strip in the sub mountain region of the Himalayas as that opens out to the Indian mainland.

The alluvial Brahmaputra valley commands the lion’s share of the territory. The magnificent flow of the mighty river Brahmaputra, reckoned amongst the world’s most majestic rivers, is naturally the most striking feature of the valley. Fed by more than a hundred tributaries flowing down the surrounding hills, the river sweeps gracefully through the entire length of the valley. After a 724 kms sweep through Assam, it turns south beyond Meghalaya to meet the Ganges. The North bank tributaries, debouching abruptly to the valley and obstructed by their own alluvial fans, branch out and form ox-bow lakes before picking up the erring streams again. The Brahmaputra itself is highly braided due to low gradient and tends to form river islands. The largest of them, Majuli (929 sq. kms) is said to be the world’s largest.

The very first thing one notice about the State’s landscape is the immense green stillness, almost impenetrable. The bountiful monsoon, coupled with mostly humid tropical climate, has stimulated and nurtured the luxuriant green against which the diverse flora blooms in a riot of colours. The lush green forests and the fresh running waters shelter a wide variety of the denizens of the sylvan worlds, which further deepens the aura of mystery around the Frontier State. The bewildering variety of Assam’s wildlife has always been an irresistible attraction to tourists.

Assam’s human landscape is no less colourful and varied than her physiography. She has from time immemorial been the meeting ground of diverse ethnic and cultural streams. Through the long columns of history, people of different races and ethnology have migrated into this land and merged into a common harmonious whole in a rare process of fraternization and assimilation. 

Human footprints in the land have been traced to the Early Stone Age. The Copper Bronze and Iron Age cultures of Assam are however, yet to be dug out. The earliest footprints were those of Austric aborigines who later made room for the pre-Dravidians too. The eastern flood gates were finally opened for the successive Mongoloid waves, which almost totally engulfed the land by the time of the Vedas. Most of the present Northeastern tribes are offspring’s of those Mongoloids or the Kiratas as the Vedas chose to call them.

Assam is an ancient land and figured prominently in international trade even before the birth of Jesus. Chang Kien, a Chinese explorer, traced his country’s trade links with Assam as far back as in 100 B.C. Himalayan malabathrum and Chinese silk from Assam according to the Periplus of the Erythrean sea had reached Egypt and Rome in Pre-Christian times. Assam also figured naturally in Ptolemy’s Geography.

The Assamese society is distinguished by its pronounced Mongoloid bias and the Bodos, Kacharies, Moran, Chutias, Misings, Karbis, Lalungs and other tribes living in Assam belong to Mongoloid family. These groups had come in different pre-historic and historic times and contributed towards the evolution of the Assamese society.

Assam had once been the home of Tantricism as borne out by the Sakti temples like the Kamakhya shrine at Guwahati and the Kechaikhati (eater of raw flesh) temple at Sadiya.  
 
Buddhism visited Assam on its way to Burma but its influence was not very strongly felt on Assamese life. There is a scattered Buddhist population amongst the Khamits. Offshoots of Saktaism, crude and primitive faiths, which exalted witchcraft into worship preceded the Vaishnava revival in the middle ages. Sankardeva who founded and propagated the Ekasarana namadharma did away with the esoteric rites widely practiced by the Saktas. He and his disciplies founded satras or monasteries and namghars or community prayer houses as centers for propagating the new faith, which was distinguished by catholicity, democratic outlook and obliteration of caste barriers. 
Assam is a land of fairs and festivals. Most of the festivals celebrated in Assam have their roots in the diverse faith and belief of her inhabitants, but the spirit of togetherness characterizes the celebration of all festivals. The perfect fusion of heritage of her numerous races has made Assam the home of the most colorful festivals which are passionate, compelling and mesmerizing reflecting the true spirit, tradition and lifestyle of the people of Assam. .

Weaving in Assam is an age old tradition, ascending from generation to generation through the pathway of century old history. Almost every house in Assam hums with the sound of looms. The women of Assam weave fairy tales in their looms. Weaving is the national craft of the Assamese and women of almost every household pride of their possession of a handloom in which Silk (Pat), Muga, Eri designs are made. Assam is the home of several types of silks, the most prominent and prestigious being Muga - the golden silk exclusive only to this state. Muga apart, there is Pat, as also the Eri. 
The handicrafts for which Assam is equally famous are also mostly made in village homes from bamboo. The decorated hand fans made out of cane and bamboo is some of the masterpieces of Assamese handicraft. They remind tourists of a distinctive and memorable holiday when taken back home as souvenirs.