Digboi
(The Oil City of Assam)

Welcome to the Land of Legends :
                    Time seems to have tripped by without disturbing Digboi nestling in the sylvan, lap of 'Mother Nature' in the northeastern most part of India. It seems incongruous that this verdant, beautiful garden city should also be the site where industrial history was created over a hundred years ago. But yes, its true. Young British army officers and civil administrators touring the area by boat, then the only mode of transport in a heavily forested terrain, had been reporting a "peculiar gurgling and bubbling" in the river beds from as early as 1825 - long before the world's first oil well was drilled, but nothing much was done about it. As the saying goes, it was finally an elephant that led the men engaged in laying railway tracks near Digboi to where the oil was, coming into the site with oil on its feet. That, coupled with the initiative and enterprise of Mr. Goodenough of Mckillop Stewart and Co. culminated in the completion of the first successful mechanically drifted oil well in Asia at Nahorpung near Digboi in 1867 - barely seven years after Col.Drake's first well in Pennsylvania, USA.

                  Legend has it that it was Goodenough's excited urgings to his men to "Dig boy, dig" that gave this picturesque town its name. But it was not until 1889 that the first well at Digboi (Well No. 1), still preserved as a monument to the pioneers and their epoch-making endeavour, was struck and real commercial success was scented. Soon Asia's first oil refinery went on stream in 1901. Today, Digboi boasts of two modern wonders of the world - a hundred year old oilfield still producing and the world's oldest operating oil refinery producing in excess of its capacity.


Nostalgia :
                   It has been a roller-coaster ride for Digboi through the hundred years of its existence - soaring joy at the discovery of major new oilfields and then, of course disappointments and frustrations gaiore, so endemic to such innovative initiatives. However, the pioneering spirit of adventure and the determination to succeed led the early explorers on to lay the foundation of the flourishing oil industry in India today. At Digboi, modernity and old world charm co-exist in harmony, the spacious bungalows, the sprawlin lawns, the gracious life style - a rarity in today's world of hustle and bustle. Perhaps the most dramatic event in the town's history took place during the World War II days when thear Cemetry, praying for a young life nipped in the bud at battle in a strange land far, far away from home... areting India with China through Myanmar. These images come back as one kneels at the headstones at the Digboi War Cemetry, praying for a young life nipped in the bud at battle in a strange land far, far away from home...


Neighbouring Areas :
                   The drive down to Digboi from the nearest airport at Mohanbarl, 60 kms away, is through a breath-taking landscape with the tea gardens stretching out like a lush green carpet into infinity on both sides of the road and the tall shady trees standing guard over India's biggest foreign exchange earners like' silent sentinels. Short drives away from Digboi are Duliajan, India's second oil town and Margherita, the queen of coal towns. A visit to Digboi necessarily entails a trip to the Namdapha National Park in neighbouring Arunachal Pradesh, a mere two hour drive away from the oil town. The latest entrant to the Project Tiger fold, the park stretches to 1984. 4 sq. kms with a core area of 18.07 sq. kms. and a buffer area extending to 177.4 sq. kms. The virgin wilderness of Namdapha is home to diverse species of flora and fauna including big cats like tiger, leopard, clouded leopard and snow leopard, elephant, gaur, sambar and is perhaps the last home of the hoolock gibbon. The floral treasures include species which are no longer found elsewhere in India including a wide variety of orchids. On the way back from Namdapha, a brief stop at the Tibetan carpet centre in Miao opens up another mesmerizing world of colour. At prices beginning Rs. 600/- per square foot, the intricately woven carpets stand testimony to the labour of love of these people exiled from their beloved country.

Recreation and Facilities :
                     If you are the sporty kind, Digboi has no dearth of facilities - tennis, badminton ' squash, table-tennis, boards, swimnu,ng, soccer, cricket, even kabbadi and kho-kho ! The jewel in the crown is a rolling 18 hole golf course developed by the Scottish pioneers in their inimitable style. In fact, Digboi can almost be called a golfing resort with as many as eight golf courses within its vicinity, each with its individual character and challenges. If you are more adventurous and crave for the challenging, Digboi offers parasailing and river rafting. And for nature watchers, the tropical evergreen rain forest fringing Digboi is a veritable paradise vath innumerable species of flora and fauna, resplendent in their natural habitat. And if you're a health freak, you clan even get a complete check up just for the heek of it ! Digboi has a 200 bedded modern hospital with specialist doctors, trained paramedical staff and the new generation equipment.

A Rendezvous with Digboi :
                     So welcome to Digboi a land of legends and be a part of the legend yourself. All we ask of you is to come here once and experience Digboi. About whether you- will be willing to return home after the enchanting encounter - well, we can't guarantee that !