Jatinga,Assam,India

Commonly known as valley of death for birds, Jatinga is a small village on a ridge, is located in Dima Hasao district (DHD), in the north-eastern state of India, Assam.   

The place has damsel like beauty with scenic mountains surrounding it and an ideal. It is famous for The Bird Mystery. Here the birds come from different places to commit suicide. Its natural phenomenon nobody has been able to explain. But Jatinga’s  mysterious annual event of migratory birds committing mass suicide has now attracted the eyes of many scientists. But not only the migratory birds,but the local birds also do similar things here in Jatinga.

Yes, it is an mysterious phenomenon as birds are not known to have suicidal tendencies. There are certain criteria for this phenomenon to take place, there should be fog, cloud, and mist. It happens in the late monsoon months between September and November and ideally the Phenomenon is seen between 7 p.m to 10 p.m. Earlier it was held by the villagers the the evil spirits flying in the skies are responsible for bringing these birds down. And only some species of birds that offend the spirits are brought down.

Various studies have been conducted to unravel the causes behind this phenomenon. The record maintained show that 44 species have been attracted to the light sources. It has been established that the birds are not attracted to the entire Jatinga ridge but only to well-defined strip, 1.5 km long and 200 meters wide. Invariably the birds come in only from the north and attempts at placing the lights on the southern side of the ridge to attract the birds have failed. Another interesting fact has been brought out is that no long distance migratory bird gets attracted to the light traps. The victims are resident birds of the adjacent valleys and hill slops.      

Locals have been witnessing the eerie phenomenon from September to November for the last couple of years. As the sun sets, hundreds of birds descend on the village and fly full speed towards building and trees, crashing to their deaths. The repeated episodes are confined to a 1.5 km strip of the village. They consider the coming of the birds a gift  of the Gods. This valley falls on the migratory route of locally migrating birds. That is how villagers get the opportunity to trap them, but still these birds come here every year and get trapped.

There is a bird watching centre in Jatinga, where one may be capable to stay if one can get authorization from the district forestry office in Haflong. Buses to Silchar pass through, but it may be easier to build a day-trip from Haflong by auto-rickshaw.

How to Reach

By Air

Rowraiah (394 km) is the nearest airport to Jatinga and LGBI Airport (Guwahati) is 369 km away. Buses, jeeps and auto-rickshaws are available from the airport.

By Train

The nearest station to Jatinga is Lumding junction around 140 km away. Guwahati is an important terminus on the North-East Frontier Railway. It is well connected with several major cities of India like Kolkata, Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and Bengaluru. Travel to Guwahati by rail, road or air. Then take the Shatabdi Express to Lumding and continue travelling on the Hill Queen to Lower Haflong Junction. Auto-rickshaws are available from the station.

By Road

State-run bus services and those operated by private agencies run between Guwahati, Tezpur, and Upper Assam. Buses to Silchar stop at Jatinga, but tourists prefer to visit Jatinga for day trips from Haflong by auto-rickshaw.