The high frontier
A river pool in the Dibang valley, Arunachal Pradesh
Arunachal Pradesh is the largest state in the North-East and, by a wide margin, the least travelled. It shares borders with Bhutan, Tibet and Myanmar, holds more than twenty-five major tribes speaking over ninety languages between them, and contains terrain that runs from wet lowland forest at two hundred metres to permanent snow above four and a half thousand.
What that means in practice is that no two valleys here feel alike. The Monpa around Tawang are Buddhist and look west to Bhutan and Tibet. The Apatani at Ziro farm rice and fish in the same flooded field. The Idu Mishmi in Dibang keep a shamanic tradition with no written scripture. The Konyak-adjacent Wancho in the far east were, within living memory, a different world again.
Every route in the state needs an Inner Line Permit, and the border sectors — Bumla, Walong, Kibithu — need clearances beyond that. Roads are the real constraint rather than distance: two hundred kilometres can take nine hours, and the monsoon closes several of them entirely. We plan around that rather than pretending otherwise.
The main stops
These are the places that carry a first visit. Well known for good reason, and every one of them worth the time.
Tawang district · 3,048 m
The monastery here was founded in the 1680s and remains the largest in India and the second largest in the world, holding an eight-metre gilded Buddha and a library of manuscripts. The town below it sits in a bowl of ridges that hold snow well into April.
Between Dirang and Tawang · 4,170 m
The only road crossing into Tawang, and one of the highest motorable passes in the country. Sela Lake sits frozen beside it for much of the winter. Jaswant Garh, the memorial to a soldier who held this ground alone in 1962, is a short drive below on the Tawang side.
India–China border, north of Tawang · 4,633 m
The highest point any of our routes reach. The road simply stops at the trijunction, where Indian and Chinese posts face each other across a line of stones. Sangetsar — usually called Madhuri Lake — lies on the same excursion.
West Kameng · 1,560 m
A valley town of apple orchards, kiwi vines and hot springs, with a 500-year-old dzong above the old settlement. Most Tawang itineraries stop here to break the climb, which is also the sensible way to handle the altitude.
Lower Subansiri · 1,530 m
Home of the Apatani, whose paddy fields double as fish ponds — a system of wet cultivation found almost nowhere else and now on the UNESCO tentative list. The music festival in late September fills the valley for four days.
Further out
Longer drives, rougher road, fewer beds — and the reason people come back a second time.
Shi Yomi · 1,829 m
A wide glacial valley 29 km from the border, reached by two hard days on the Siang road. The Samten Yongcha monastery above the village is over 400 years old and belongs to the Memba, who came over the passes from Tibet.
Dibang Valley · 1,968 m
The headquarters of India's least densely populated district. The road in climbs over Mayodia Pass, which holds snow from late December, and drops into Idu Mishmi country — a people with their own shamanic tradition and a distinctive backstrap weave.
Anjaw · 1,240 m
The first place in India to see the sun. Getting there means following the Lohit upstream past Hayuliang to Walong, site of the 1962 battle, then walking up before dawn. Kibithu, a little further on, is the last village on the river.
Lower Subansiri, near Ziro · 2,400 m
A wildlife sanctuary of silver fir and dwarf bamboo above the Ziro plateau, reached on a day walk or an overnight camp. The forest holds clouded leopard and the Pinus merkusii stands that give the ridge its character.
West Kameng · 1,900 m
Two quiet valleys on the western side of the Tawang road, worked by the Sherdukpen and Monpa. Apple and kiwi orchards, trout in the streams, and homestays that are still houses rather than hotels.
Routes through Arunachal Pradesh
Start here