As a student of Carmel School Digboi I still remember getting up at 4.30 AM in the morning to undertake the 2 hours drive to Digboi from Tipong Colliery by School Bus. Though the journey was long enough for an young school going boy it never wore me out. And all this was Maybe because of this place, Digboi – the Legendary Oil town of Assam! A beautiful town surrounded by hills and as the legend goes, home to Asia’s oldest oil well and Oil Refinery. At present, Digboi has the oldest operational oil well in the World.
Digboi town was under British rule ’til India’s Independence and the British had transformed this place with well-developed infrastructure and a number of bungalows unique to the town. These bungalows still stand and now are unique and nothing less than an attraction for the tourists. Digboi also has a splendid 18 hole golf course as part of the Digboi Club. It has guest houses and tourist residential apartments laid on Italian architectural plan to promote tourism in upper Assam.
And as legend goes in 1867 Italian Engineers, commissioned by the Assam Railways and Trading Company, to build a railway line from Dibrugarh to Margherita ( Headquarters of Assam Railways and Trading Company ) accidentally discovered oil at Digboi around 10 miles from Margherita. ‘Dig boy, dig’, shouted the English engineer, Mr W L Lake, at his men as they watched elephants emerging out of the dense forest with oil stains on their feet”. This is possibly the most distilled – though fanciful – version of the legend explaining the siting and naming of Digboi.
Places of Interest at Digboi are ~
- National Oil Park: National Oil Park of Digboi is not just an Oil refinery, but also has a National Wildlife park and an Oil Museum. Digboi oil well discovered in 1869, is the oldest one in entire Asia.
- War Cemetery: The Digboi War Cemetery is one of the 3 in Assam and the 23rd in entire India. The other ones are in Guwahati and Lekhapani area of Assam. This is the eternal resting place of those brave people who lost their lives during the World War II. Earlier this Cemetery was located on a hilltop, but after the massive Earthquake of 1950, the cemetery was destroyed. It was then relocated to its present location afterwards.
- Ridge Point: The Ridge point is located near Digboi town, in the Tinsukia district of Assam. The view from this point is simply magnificent and breathtaking. People come to this place to catch a glimpse of the bird’s eye view of Digboi town. On clear days, one can even see the snow-capped mountains of the Eastern Himalaya from this point.
- Golf Course: The Golf course in Digboi is among the best in North Eastern part of India. It is an 18 hole course where many national and international tournaments are played.
Jungleideas welcomes you to India’s North East to visit Asia’s Oldest Oil Refinery & the Oldest Operational Oil Well in the World at the Legendary Oil town of Digboi, the State of Assam, Incredible India!
