Did you know that 83 percent of all statistics are made up? Equally interesting is that while Umananda Island claims to be the smallest inhabited river island in the world, that might not actually be true.
This is because there is no officially recognised “smallest inhabited river island in the world”, as countless tiny river islands have permanent residents and there is no global ranking.
And I know this because I looked it up on ChatGPT, notoriously one of the most ill informed and dishonest AI tools out there. Regardless of these “facts”, Umananda Island claims the crown and is a pretty cool place to visit.
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What is Umananda Island?
Umananda Island sits in the middle of the Brahmaputra River, directly opposite Guwahati in Assam. Locally it is also known as Peacock Island because of its shape, and despite being tiny it has a surprisingly interesting history.
The island is most famous for Umananda Temple, a Shiva temple built in the 17th century during the reign of the Ahom king Gadadhar Singha. According to Hindu mythology, this is the place where Shiva meditated after burning Kamadeva, the god of love, with his third eye.
The island itself is very small, but it is inhabited and also serves as a conservation area for the endangered golden langur monkey. The claim of being the smallest inhabited river island in the world is difficult to verify, but it has become part of the island’s identity and tourist appeal.
How to get to Umananda Island
This is an island, so to get here you will need a boat. This gives you two options, a private boat or one of the ferries. The ferry costs around ₹20 to ₹30 per person each way, roughly US$0.25 to $0.35, and the crossing takes about 10 to 15 minutes.
On the way out it leaves from the main ferry terminal and I have to say it is a very pleasant way to spend your day. The boat ride is nice, there is cover and you can even buy an ice lolly for about 10 cents.
The journey back, at least on our adventure, was somewhat different, but I shall get to that later….
What to do on the island
The main reason to visit Umananda Island is the temple. The Umananda Temple complex is small but interesting, with several shrines dedicated to Hindu deities and views across the Brahmaputra River back towards Guwahati.
Aside from visiting the temple, the island is a nice place to walk around, enjoy the views and look out for the golden langurs that live here. It is not a place where you will spend an entire day, but it makes for a good short trip away from the noise of Guwahati.
There are also some hawkers selling masala fruit, which includes watermelon, mixed platters and mangoes. I will do a full Street Food Guy style article about this dish another time, but it is fast becoming one of my favourite Indian street foods.
Getting from Umananda Island to Guwahati
Here is where shit got real – so after 30 minutes on this pleasant island, you “line up” over the existing boats to get a place on the boat to take you back. Notice I said line up, or queue, something we at least tried to do.
Alas, not everyone respected the line. This was clearly not the UK, or Moscow circa 1978. Things started to get so heated, and indeed so cramped, that our local guide had to lay the smackdown a bit.
This was quite a strange occurrence, but it got us on the boat and thus back into Guwahati and onto the next part of the tour.
It was at this moment that I was truly pleased I had arranged a tour during the offseason. Do not travel to Indian tourist attractions during tourist season unless you honesty have a death wish. People ask why we take tours when we do, but believe me some rain beats pain.
Click to see our India Tour.
