Where we go
We do not sell the whole of India. We work the corner of it we grew up in — which is why we can tell you which pass is shut this week and which homestay is worth the detour. Open any state below for the full guide.
The high frontier
A river pool in the Dibang valley, Arunachal Pradesh
The largest state in the North-East and the least travelled. Roads climb from riverbed to 4,600 m in a day, and several valleys sit within sight of the McMahon Line. Every route here needs a permit and a driver who has done it before.
Living root country
Nohkalikai Falls near Sohra, Meghalaya
The wettest inhabited place on earth, carved into gorges, caves and waterfalls. The Khasi have been training fig roots into footbridges here for generations — some of them are older than the roads.
The river and the grassland
Boatmen on a Brahmaputra channel near Majuli, Assam
The Brahmaputra runs the length of the state and everything organises around it — the tea, the river islands, and the floodplain grassland that holds two-thirds of the world's one-horned rhino.
Seventeen tribes, one week
The Dzukou Valley south of Kohima, Nagaland
Every December the Naga tribes gather at Kisama for ten days of dance, song and morung hospitality. The rest of the year Khonoma and the Dzukou valley are quiet, green and almost empty.
The full index
The hubs most itineraries pass through, and the offbeat stops that usually decide whether a trip was worth taking. Each one opens at its entry in the state guide.
Tourist hubs
Tourist hubs
Tourist hubs
Tourist hubs
Next step
Tell us which of these you want to see and how long you have, and we will come back with a route that actually fits the season and the permits.