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Sightseeing Highlights
Digboi
oil-field has been declared a National Oil
Park as it houses an
oil museum and a wildlife sanctuary as well. You can visit the ‘Discovery Well’
completed in 1889 AD and see other memorabilia connected with those early days
of oil exploration. You can explore the surrounding forests by jeep, where you
may see herds of elephants or if lucky, even a tiger. The area is also a
birdwatcher’s haven with many species of birds.
Digboi was
very close to the action of World War II, when the invading Japanese army was
just three days marching distance away. Visit the War Cemetery
to see the graves of all the brave soldiers who lost their lives in the war.
The town
of Margherita 14 km to the east of Digboi, is
the centre of the tea industry. Visit a plantation to see how this world famous
brew is produced on the hilly plantation slopes.
Dibru Saikhowa Wildlife Sanctuary is 60 km away and is the home to
many species such as the endangered white winged wood duck, the clouded
leopard, elephant, sambar, slow loris, Asiatic buffalo, capped langur, Gangetic
dolphin, Indian wild dog, etc. More than 250 varieties of local and migratory
birds are also found here.
Other Activities
There are several golf courses in the area for
enthusiasts of the game. The 18-holes Digboi Golf Course is the best in the whole
of upper Assam,
while there are many smaller courses between the tea plantations. Tingri Golf
Club, Army Golf Club, Margherita Golf Club, and Dibrugarh District Planters
Golf Club are a few of theseAlso
known as the ‘Oil City of Assam’ Digboi is famous for it oil
fields and petroleum refineries. In fact this is where the first oil well in Asia was drilled. Digboi has the distinction of being the
oldest continuously functioning oil well in India and the country’s first
refinery was started here in 1901. At present oil production is very low,
however, compared to other oil-wells in India. But it is the history and
tradition that make this town significant, which is almost like a living museum
on the subject of oil exploration and production. The entire area involved in
this activity has been demarcated a National
Oil Park
– a unique distinction enjoyed by none other. Largely developed by British
entrepreneurs who came here to make their fortune in the 19th
century, the town still retains the colonial ambience, with sprawling
bungalows, club houses and golf courses |
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