Tezpur, Dec. 8: The Sonitpur district administration in association with several organisations here is all set to celebrate Tezpur festival, with a three-day programme from January 2 to 4 next year.

The essence of the festival evolves from its tremendous potential as a tourist destination because of its serenity and heritage. Tezpur festival began in 2002 with a view to entertain and attract foreign and domestic tourists.

Situated on the northern bank of the Brahmaputra, Tezpur, also known as Sonitpur in the ancient days, is famous for its beautiful parks, ancient Hindu temples and archeological ruins.

Chitralekha Udyan (Cole Park) is a picturesque park, which was given a facelift by British deputy commissioner Cole in 1906. The park has two massive ornamented stone pillars and other sculptural remnants. The then deputy commissioner M.G.V.K. Bhanu later renovated it in 1996, adding facilities like water sport, walkways, a restaurant and an open-air stage.

Agnigarh, a hillock with a landscape view of the Brahmaputra, is the site of legendary romance of princess Usha. According to myth, Usha was kept on this hillock, which was surrounded by fire, hence the name Agnigarh. It was later developed as a park by the district administration, which became a major attraction for tourists.

Likewise, the historic Da Parbatia gate, a ruin of the door frame of Da Parbatia temple, a few kilometres from Tezpur, is perhaps the finest and oldest specimen of sculptural art in Assam's early Gupta era.

More than 41 important tourist destinations of Tezpur lie on the north of the city, including Mahabhairav temple. King Bana is believed to have built this temple. The Shiv ling in the temple is the second largest one in Asia. In the later years, the temple was developed with the help of donation received from tourists and people from every walk of society.

Another important tourist spot about 40km from Tezpur, is the 212 square km sprawling Nameri National Park that has been a habitat for wildlife like tigers, elephants, rare species of birds and fishes like wild mahseers in the Jia Bharali river.

Sonitpur deputy commissioner Lalit Gogoi told The Telegraph that the Tezpur festival will be marked with events like crafts mela, sightseeing trips, a food exhibition, beach bonanza, river dolphin spotting, daredevil show by security forces and other activities.

,fishingintraditionalponds,raftingandtrekking,conductedtoursoftheruralareasandtouristspots,awiderangeofsportingactivitiesfromarchery,golf,marathontothetraditionaldhopkhelandotherculturalfunctions.GogoisaidearlierthefestivalwasconfinedwithinTezpur,butthistimeitwillcoverareasfromOrangNationalParktoBiswanathGhatandfromtheBrahmaputratoBhalukpongandNameriNationalPark.