Arunachal Pradesh is more similar to Nepal and China than India.
Arunachal Pradesh is one of the seven sister states and one of two Buddhist states together with Sikkim in North East India, and the last one you need a permit to visit. I have already covered two of the other states: “Nagaland, The forgotten India on a budget” and “Kaziranga National Park, Close-up with One-horned Rhinos.”
Arunachal Pradesh is so different from the rest of India. For the most part, Arunachal is unexplored, so you still have places where no western tourists have been.
It’s one of the least developed areas in Asia, so there is a lot of virgin nature and local tribes living traditional lifestyles. For nature lovers, Aruchanal is like untouched Shangri-La.
Normal housing in the western part of Arunachal Pradesh
When I was researching Arunachal Pradesh before I decided to visit I was very surprised that even the latest information was years old. The Lonely Planet was completely useless, and enquiries made on various forums always returned the answer that it’s not possible to travel there on your own – or you are required to have a guide and bla bla bla.
So, I decided, as I always do when I’m not satisfied with my research, to head over and figure it out upon arrival.
Entering Arunachal Pradesh
First of all, YES you do need a special permit to travel in Arunachal. Even Indians do. The permit is not cheap and takes at least a week to receive. Normally you have to go through a registered travel agency in Arunachal. Usually, at least 2 people are required to obtain the permit into the city. Luckily, I received my permit in a week and I travelled alone. If you are planning to go there please can send me a message and I’ll pass on the contact of the contact person who fixed my permit. But I can’t promise that he will obtain it.
When entering Arunachal Pradesh you have to pass a checkpoint where you have to register your permit and passport information.
The first thing you will notice when you enter Arunachal Pradesh from Assam is that Arunachal Pradesh alcohol is tax-free. There are alcohol shops just across the state border, and lots of Indians from the state of Assam are crossing the border just to buy alcohol – in a similar fashion to people back here in Norway travelling over to Sweden.
An older Monpa man.
The first destination I wanted to visit is Tawang, the birthplace of the 6th Dalai Lama. Tawang is also the home of Tawang Monastery, – the biggest monastery in India since 1660. The monastery is also recorded as the second-biggest in the world after Potala Palace in Lhasa, Tibet. It is also the home of the Monpas people.
According to Lonely Planet, the road to Tawang is one of the worst in the world. In fact, it’s not that bad at all. In my opinion, the Lonely Planet is without use for Arunachal Pradesh and the rest of northeast India. It appears that they have simply found old information online and put it in their book without having actually been to do their own research. It is worth nothing that there are a few checkpoints on the way to Tawang.
Since the Lonely Planet informed me that the road is so awful, I decided to stop-over in Bomdila, about half the way between Assam and my final destination in Tawang. Like Tawang, Bomdila also holds stories about the Dalai Lama. The current, 14th, Dalai Lama passed through Bomdila when he escaped Lhasa in March 1958. And it was in Bomdila when His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama received the historic telegram from former Indian Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru granting him political asylum after his flight from the Tibetan capital.
These days, Bomdila is not more than a sleeping village with three small monasteries, a few hotels and restaurants. The road to Bomdila is not actually bad at all. The scenery during the journey from Bomdila to Tawang is even more stunning than the road from Assam to Bomdila, so I was looking out the window and enjoying the view all the way. In my opinion, it’s some of the most stunning scenery in all of India.
Unfortunately stopping in Bomdila proved to be a small mistake since I was really struggling to find a hotel that allowed foreigners to stay. If I had known beforehand that the road to Tawang is not so bad, I would have continued my journey to Tawang on the same day instead of stopping over in Bomdila.
I really can’t do justice to how stunning the road from Bomdila to Tawang and is sure to be a highlight of any Indian trip. I would say that the world-famous road from Manali to Leh in western India can’t compare to the beauty of the Bomdila – Tawang road.
Unfortunately, I was taking a shared jeep on this part of the road. If I had known that the road would be so good, I would have hired a private jeep and done a lot of stops on the way.
A young monk, looking out trough the laundry room
When you finally arrive in Tawang you will feel pretty relieved, there’s no problem to find a place to stay at all. There are quite a few good restaurants, some tax-free liquor store and some very friendly local Monpas people that invited me over for a cup of tea. Tawang is everything Bomdila is not. Tawang is actually a very tourist friendly place, there is even a working ATM there and some of the guesthouses have working WiFi.
The town is small enough to walk around but since it is very close to the Himalayas it’s not flat, there are lots of steep hills. I never found a problem hitchhiking around the area, every car stopped; I assume they are not accustomed to seeing foreign tourists in the area.
For most people, the main reason to visit Tawang is the amazing Tawang Monastery. And with good justification, it’s breathtaking. I have previously travelled to Tibet Lhasa in Tibet and visited Potala Palace. While Potala Palace is even more stunning, it’s a bit disappointing since Potala Palace has been converted into a museum and you are not allowed to walk around freely.
Tawang Monastery.
A young monk
Tawang Monastery is still a functioning monastery with around 450 monks; you can walk around freely and hang out with some of the local monks. I was even invited to be their English teacher for a day, invited to eat with all the monks and had countless cups of tea with them. A perfect day!
Some of the young monks heading to class.
A young monk having a sneak peak into a class
Tawang is the birthplace of the 6th Dali Lama, but, unfortunately, it was closed due to renovation when I was there so I couldn’t visit.
After three days it was time to leave this amazing place, I would have loved to stay longer, but I was starting to run out of time on my visa, and everyone that has ever visited India knows what a hassle it is to obtain a visa extension. I also had a few places I wished to visit in Arunachal Pradesh.
One of those places is Ziro Valley with the Apatani people famous for their face tattoos and huge nose rings but to reach Ziro I was required to pass through Itanagar, the most depressing city in all of India. Upon my arrival, there was a government strike so and no transport to Ziro for four days. Since my Indian visa was running out, I had to leave for Assam to catch my train back to Delhi. Missing out on Ziro valley is one of my biggest regrets since I’ve been travelling.
I will definitely be heading back to Arunachal Pradesh, not only to visit Ziro but more of the northern part, the part that Tibetan monks call Shangrila, I would also love to spend a lot more time in Tawang and the surrounding areas.
Visit Arunachal Pradesh
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Christian L. says
Thanks for you Comment Juliet:) if visitng India and want to get away from the hassle, beggars, and polution is Arunchal the best place to visit:)
Christian
Christian L. says
Im back in Norway now for a short moment, but im planning to return to India and the seven sister seven states, very soon:)
Christian
Christian L. says
Thank you:)
Im currently using Olympus OM-D EM1,
but it it doesn’t matter which kind of camera you use these days, every camera is good, it depends on the person behind the camera and the settings you use:)
Christian
Asha says
Hi, how to contact Christian? I have lot of questions on this trip!!
Christian L. says
Through the email in the “contact section” on this website.
Christian L. says
Im always happy so share my stories,
I find this part of India beeing the “best” and most interesting, and since you still need to get a travel permit to visit Arunachal makes its really unspoiled, i just hope that the Indian gouverment keeps it that way for years.
Christian
Christian L. says
Nothing like it anywhere else in the world:)
Christian
Christian L. says
How did you find India? The north east is very different from rest of India, i will have a lock on your blog:)
Christian
Randy says
I’ll be going that way in early Jan. 2016, traveling solo. Will it be bitter cold? Maybe I can hook up with others along the way. Any advice? Thanks!
Christian L. says
Hii.
Sorry for the late reply, I been bussy hiking and volunteering in Nepal.
Yes Arunachal Pradesh gets cold in January, even the budget guesthouses I used in Arunachal Pradesh had heating and good blankets so it shouldn’t be a big problem. You shouldn’t expect to meet any other travelers in Arunachal Pradesh,
Daniel Jose says
Christian, have you tried South India? I mean… Kerala…
Christian L. says
Hi Daniel. Yes I been to Kerala, I have done booth the Backwaters and the coast
Priyanka says
Beautiful captures!! I hope you find rest of the India intriguing as well….If you ever visit Delhi, let us know!!
TakaTaka says
I never heard of this place before. It’s a great information you’ve provided here. thank you
Christian L. says
Yeah, strangely few people know about Arunachal Pradesh. Even it might be the most stunning state in all of India.
Christian.
Milo tayeng lee says
It’s a beautiful place.arunachal is my homestate.please visit again.and there’s more of arunachal than you think.
Christian L. says
Hello Milo.
I really enjoyed my visit to Arunachal Pradesh and I hope i can visit this beautiful state in the future again.
Dev Thapa says
Hi Chiristian,
Thank for your valuable comments about Arunachal Pradesh. I am Dev belong to AP. I must suggest you about ANINI, because your trip was last but not least, please visit anini then you get to know about natural beauty, try to google it ANINI which falls in Dibang valley district,!!
milo tayeng lee says
Mechuka is much better than anini.
Christian L. says
I would love to visit Mechuka next time
Darrell Chaddock says
I really love your travel blog since I also really enjoy getting out to less traveled locales.
Visited India way back in ’87 but I didn’t get anywhere near Arunachal Pradesh. You’ve got me considering India again after all these years.
I look forward to getting back to this site and reading more of your posts.
Cheers,
Darrell
P.S. I just started my own travel photography/commentary blog called roving-camera.com.
Please check it out sometime.
Madhavi says
Hi Christian,
Such a great post! I’m planning to travel to Arunachal Pradesh in mid September and here is the route I’m thinking:
Guwahati – Tezpur – Bomdilla – Tawang – Itanagar – Ziro
I’d like to know what is the best mode to travel around these places? Is it better to just get a private cab or are the shared cabs / buses good enough?
I definitely want to stop, take photos, soak in the sights but at the same time don’t want to spend too much. So is it possible to mix it up? Are private cabs easy to hire if I just decide one day? Since you mentioned the route from Bomdila to Tawang is so beautiful – I would definitely like to get my own cab for that.
Any help/advice from your side will be much appreciated 🙂
Thanks in advance. Cheers!
Christian L. says
Hello Madhavi.
The best mood of transportation between those places is take shared jeeps/private jeeps.
There´s also a few buses running between those places, but they are very, very slow. I took shared jeeps between all the places, they were fast and comfterbale. Just be in mind there´s no transportation after dark.
The shared jeep I used was happy to stop when I asked it to, the locals in the jeep did´t mind either.
There´s was no problem finding jeeps for hire in either of the places when I was there:)
Christian
Madhavi says
Awesome! Thanks for your help 🙂
Nangom uli says
first of all, Mr Dev Thapa is not a local from Arunachal, he’s a Nepali. and Milo is a tribal of Arunachal and I’m also a tribal of Arunachal.
Mr christian thanks for visiting Arunachal, hope you visit again ?. these pictures are lovely. and i want to say please visit again, you should probably visit Ziro, mechuka, anini, daporijo and Tuting. Please do visit again ??
Nangom uli says
Hi Mahadevi,
you should extend your journey to Ziro – Daporijo – Aalo – pasight – Tuting.
it would be nice 🙂
-Nangom
Madhavi says
Hi Nangom!
I wish I had more days to cover more places but unfortunately I only have about 10-12 days.
Also, can you suggest any homestays in Ziro? Everything seems to be full for the month of September 🙁 Can’t find anything
Nangom uli says
well i haven’t stayed in Ziro for much time but I’ve heard the Abasa Home stay is a nice place for staying, it is located in Siiro village, pretty close to the main town.
also go to this link for more help
https://www.tripoto.com/trip/home-stays-in-ziro-arunachal-pradesh?_e_pi_=7%2CPAGE_ID10%2C2663026339
hope you enjoy your visit to our state:)
Madhavi says
I’ve checked both the places you’ve suggested. Everything seems to be full.
But thank you for your help anyway.. hope I’m able to figure something out 🙂
Really looking forward to exploring Arunachal – I’m sure I will love it !
Partha Das says
Well being an North eastern Indian , I would like to say that the entire North east india is extremely a stunning place. I would like to mention a few places that you can visit . PARASHURAM KUND – Arunachal pradesh , Manas national park – Assam , Shillong , Cherrapunjee , Dawki – Meghalaya , Kohima – Nagaland and a lot more are there ! Google it ! All d best
Christian L. says
Hello Partha. I really wanted to visit Meghalaya last time, but I just did not have time for it:/ But hopefully next time:)
Christian
Maumita says
Nice article…I appreciate your energy & enthusiasm for traveling. Hope you get to see rest of the places very soon 🙂
KUNAL SHIVAM says
hey!
I may be late in reading this. But it was nicely written. The fact about the lonely planet is true. Some of the places were not put in order. There are much more to explore. Do let me know when you visit Arunachal again. Basically, I am from Tezpur. So, we can meet up when you pass by. Have a wonderful year ahead.
sebastian says
Hei Christian.
Det virker som om du er norsk eller svensk, så jeg skriver like gjerne til deg på norsk.
If you are not norwegian please let me know and I will write you in english….
Jeg er fotograf og kort fortalt så har planer om å lage et fotoprosjekt om hvordan klimaforandringer påvirker folka som bor rundt og på Brahmaputra elva. Planen er å komme meg opp til litt forbi Tuting , ved grens til kina i arunashal pradesh og følge elva ned til bengal bukta i bangladesh. Kunne trengt litt info om arunachal pradesh. Ser at du skriver at du har en kontakt som kan hjelpe med å ordne tillatelse for å komme seg inn i staten. Har du mulighet til å sende meg kontakt info? Jeg skal fly Dibrugarh, assam ca 20 februar 2017. Vet du hvor man i assam man kan ordne med innreise tillatelse? Bor forresten i oslo og hvis du også gjør det og du har tid så spanderer jeg gjerne en kaffe på deg for å høre litt om dine erfaringer. Jeg heter forresten sebastian diaz linnerud. Du kan finne meg på facebook ved det navnet om du vil svare meg der. Fine bilder og bra skrevet forresten. håper å høre fra deg.
Christian L. says
Hei Sebastian.
Jeg kan sende en mail til han jeg kjenner der og spøre om han fortsatt kan hjelpe med permiten.
Er en stund siden jeg har hatt kontakt med han nå.
Tillatelsen til Arunachal Pradesh kan være et mareritt, Er bare offisiele reiseagenter eller folk som er i fra Arunachal som har lov og sende ut tillatelsen.
Jeg reiste helt alene med lokal transport ,men teknisk sett så må man være 2stk som reiser sammen for å få tillatelsen.
Når jeg besøkte Arunachal så måtte jeg hente tillatelsen min hos “Arunachal House” i Guwatahi. Men Vær OBS på at tillatelsen må godkjennes hos turist ministeren i Arunachal og det kan ta dager, når jeg søkte var han på møtte i New Delhi så tok noen ekstra dager.
Det posetive med Assam er at de har noen av de beste veiene i hele India så går lett og reise mellom byene, det negative er at de aller fleste hotel i Assam ikke har lov til og la utlendinger bo hos dem. Jeg bor I Halden, men reiser til Afrika denne uka.
Eliza kri says
Thncc Christian… for.. posting about.. arunachal Pradesh.. that is my home town.. and Nxt Tym when u will.. visit.. then.. come to Anjaw dong village.. its very beautiful and it is the first place in India… where sun rises… and.. also try to go to glow lake…
Christian L. says
Hello Eliza
I would love to visit more parts of Arunachal Pradesh, When I go back there will i visit Anjaw:)
Chayanika says
Hey there, is it safe to go to arunachal all alone? And can I find affordable hotels over there if i don’t book it before hand? Your reply will be of great help. Thank you
Debjanj says
Very nice arricle! I am heading to arunachal Pradesh on my solo backpacking trip. I plan to visit ziro valley first, spend some good time there and then head to tawang circuit . Can you tell me if I can get shared jeeps in tawang circuit until higher passes of sela and bomdila ? Also, are there any homestay in that region or in Itanagar ?
Thanks
debjani
Prathik says
Hey Christian..!
I could already feel the adrenaline pumping while kept reading your post..! Reason being I’m gonna be there in the North East for the entire Nov and December.
Have planned a. Solo trip.
Amazing piece of work the photos and the post are..!
Please do suggest if I would need some company to travel to Arunachal..or would I be fine traveling solo?
Regards
Prathik
Ishani says
Great post, great photos. we are planning to visit Tawang this September, hope everything goes well.
Sherab Tenzin says
Those photos look very beautiful. Since you have visited my country Bhutan and also Tawang, I am curious if you can tell one cultural differences between the two.
MILO TAYENG LEE says
MR. TENZIN , as far as i know there is hardly any difference between bhutan and west arunachal. east and central arunachal is more culturally different than west arunachal. west arunachal is culturally buddhist/tibetian influenced while central arunachal and east arunachal is unique in their own way [ they have their own unique culture and traditions ]. the people from central arunachal are a lost/separated tribe from the tibetian tribe called LHOBA.
Keshav Anand says
such a lovely write up!!
I am going to visit all those places.
I’m Delhi(India) based traveler and photographer, You can connect with me at [email protected] whensoever you are in my country.
Thank You.
North East holiday packages says
Arunachal Pradesh and north east india is one of the beautiful place in india to see. it is almost whole year it is cover with green nature and river is always having water.
Sukanta Das says
It’s an wonderful description about Arunachal Pradesh .. Indeed it’s a land of immense natural beauty, serenity and of course Lama’s – who practices Tibetan Buddhism. Thank you for sharing such an amazing info .. Keep Sharing and exploring India – The Incredible India
David Zoey says
Arunachal Pradesh is a nice place for traveling and lot’s beautiful nature. I get the right information on this blog because I am searching for Arunachal Pradesh info for the tour. I am happy with your blog. Thanks for sharing.
Erica Martin says
Very well written and informative blog. For Sikkim, i would say, it’s a good destination for everyone. It has something for everybody to explore. Thanks for sharing
Christian L. says
Hello.
I did visit Sikkim around 10 years ago, when getting the permit was still a pain. I loved that state and I would love to go back and see if it has changed since then.
Jing Jing says
Hey, I read in the comments that you have visited Sikkim before. Did you travel it alone, and did you make it to North Sikkim? I am failing to find foreigner’s experience for North Sikkim – all the sites say you have to be a group of two or more foreigners to acquire the permit to the area + only doable through travel agent. I’m wondering if you have any insight on that?
Christian L. says
Hello jing.
Yes, I’ve been to North Sikkim, but it´s a few years ago so not sure if my information is still correct.
I was able to get the permit on my own Darjeeling without any problems. Just went to the Sikkim office did the paperwork myself and went there. Took me around 1hour. If this is still possible I don’t know.