Guwahati is ubiquitously referred to as the ‘Gateway to the Northeast’, which is just a polite way of saying that the only reason to come here is to get out again. But while your reasons for visiting may be logistical, Assam’s capital can actually be rather charming — all the more so if you venture beyond the small handful of destinations that every guidebook recommends.

Guwahati is one of the fastest growing cities in India and, as ever, it’s easy to bemoan its development into a prosaic modern sprawl of shopping malls, construction projects, hotel chains and KFCs. But this is a city with a history that goes back to the 2nd century BCE — it’s seen rulers come and go for centuries, from the Hindu Kamarupa to the Yunnanese Ahoms, the Mughals, the Burmese and the British.

Some remnants of old Assam cling on: Christ Church, one of the oldest in India, and a liberal smattering of Hindu temples — including one on the smallest inhabited river islands in the world, and another where Shiva’s wife’s yoni (vagina) is said to have landed when he scattered her body parts across the land.

The Brahmaputra River marks the north of the city, and a walk along its banks will take you past Assam-style houses, the State Museum, a boating lake that was once an Ahom naval dockyard, and a river island where submerged temple ruins are exposed at low water. A ropeway sweeps you from here to North Guwahati in a few minutes, where you’ll find trendy cafés and boutiques, Hindu temples, and a River Heritage Center in a colonial bungalow.

Guwahati’s markets are well worth wandering, too. Paltan Bazaar offers fresh juices and hot momos alongside black rice, honey jaggery, pink salt and bamboo crafts. Pan Bazaar has bookshops and Muga silk, while Fancy Bazaar has pretty much everything else. There are also various emporia specializing in local artisanal handicrafts — handloomed fabrics, glazed pottery and handmade earrings — and a couple of big, shiny malls.

Guwahati might not be a star attraction in India’s crowded firmament, but sometimes it’s the unassuming places where you end up having the most fun.