Arunachal Pradesh is the mountain state of the North East, and the hardest one to travel well. This chapter covers its three parts: the west around Tawang, the centre with Ziro and Mechuka, and the far east.
It also covers permits, roads, snow and how many days to give it. Every post we have on Arunachal is listed below the guide.
What we run, and what we don't
Our set packages are all in the west, on the road to Tawang. That is the part of Arunachal we know best, and the part most visitors mean.
We also arrange Ziro, Mechuka and Namdapha as add-ons. The far east is planned case by case. If a route is a bad idea for your dates, we will say so.
The west: the road to Tawang
The road leaves Assam at Bhalukpong, where your permit is checked. It climbs through Bomdila to Dirang, a river valley at about 1,500 metres and the right place for the first night.
Day two crosses Sela Pass at about 13,700 feet. Then it drops and climbs again to Tawang, at around 3,000 metres. Its monastery, founded in the 1680s, is the largest in India.
Read Guwahati to Tawang: the longest road for the drive itself.
Bum La, above Tawang
Bum La sits on the India-China border at about 15,200 feet, 37 km from Tawang. Your ILP does not cover it. A separate permit is issued in Tawang the day before and stamped by the army.
Your own car cannot go. The trip uses local union SUVs, paid on the day. The pass is generally shut at weekends and can close for snow at short notice.
Read Bum La Pass: what nobody tells you before you plan the day.
Beyond Tawang: the quiet valleys
Most people drive past the best of the west. Shergaon is an orchard village of the Sherdukpen people, just off the main road. Sangti, near Dirang, is a flat river valley where black-necked cranes come in winter.
West of Tawang, past Lumla, the road drops to Zemithang and the great white Gorsam Chorten. Zemithang must be named on your permit before it is issued.
Our guide to western Arunachal beyond Tawang covers all of them. It links to the back road to Shergaon, Shergaon, Sangti and Zemithang.
The centre: Ziro and Mechuka
Ziro is a flat green bowl of rice fields, farmed by the Apatani people. They raise fish in the same flooded fields as the rice, and the valley is on UNESCO's tentative list. Each September it hosts the Ziro Festival of Music. See our Ziro valley page.
Mechuka is much further. It is a wide, grassy valley at about 6,000 feet, near the Tibet border, reached from Aalo by 4x4. Give it three days. Read Mechuka: the long way round.
The east: Roing to Namdapha
Eastern Arunachal starts from Dibrugarh, not Guwahati. Roing is the base for Mayodia Pass, at about 2,655 metres, which often holds snow in December and January.
Further east, Parashuram Kund draws lakhs of pilgrims at Makar Sankranti in mid-January. Read Roing, Mayodia and Parashuram Kund.
Anini, at the end of the Dibang valley, is the emptiest road we know. Read Anini and the Dibang Valley. Namdapha, in the far south-east, is primary forest from about 200 to 4,500 metres, entered through Miao.
Permits
Every Indian visitor needs an Inner Line Permit (ILP). Arunachal issues it online, against the districts you name. Foreign nationals need a Protected Area Permit (PAP), which takes longer and has different rules.
Name every place you plan to visit when you apply. A route that does not match the permit is the most common reason people get turned back. Read our full permits guide.
Roads, snow and the season
For the west, the best months are March to June and September to November. Heavy snow can close the road over Sela, usually between December and February.
The Sela Tunnel opened on 9 March 2024. It was built to keep the Tawang road open through winter, but snow and landslides still cause delays. For Mechuka, Anini and the east, come between October and April, and avoid the monsoon.
Expect nine to ten hour driving days, cold at the passes even in June, and empty ATMs. Carry cash, layers and a spare day.
Take the altitude seriously. Rest a day in Tawang before Bum La, drink plenty of water and skip alcohol the first night.
Where you stay
In the west, the best nights are in family homes. Dirang has Monpa farmstays, Shergaon has orchard farm stays and Sangti has riverside homestays. Tawang has hotels, some with heated rooms.
Ziro means an Apatani homestay. Mechuka and Anini have homestays and government guesthouses, and little else. At Namdapha you sleep in the forest rest house at Deban.
Rooms in Tawang and Dirang run short in peak season. Confirm early, and treat the room as the thing that fixes your dates.
Who Arunachal suits
Arunachal suits travellers who enjoy the road as much as the stop. It rewards patience, warm clothes and a flexible plan.
It is harder with small children or anyone who struggles at height. For an easier first trip to the region, start with Assam or Meghalaya, and come back for Tawang.
How many days you need
Seven nights covers Guwahati, Dirang, Tawang with Bum La, and Sangti. Nine or ten days adds the back road to Shergaon and a day to Zemithang.
Ziro needs two nights on top. Mechuka can take up to three days to reach, and deserves two or three days once you are there. The eastern loop from Dibrugarh takes four to five nights.
Our tip: never plan a flight home on the day you come down from the mountains. Stay one more night in Guwahati.
Plan your Arunachal trip
Our Tawang and the Western Passes trip covers Dirang, Sela, Tawang, Bum La and Sangti in eight days. It is from ₹46,500 per person, indicative, on 2 adults sharing, land only.
See our Arunachal page for more. Or tell us your dates, and we will reply within 24 hours.
