Northeast India is eight states, from river plains to Himalayan passes. This guide is the map of the whole region, and the contents page for our deeper guides.
It covers each state in brief, how to get in, which permits you need and when to go. It ends with how many days to give it, sample routes and the chapters to read next.
The eight states at a glance
The eight states are Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim and Tripura. People call the first seven the Seven Sisters. Sikkim joined the North Eastern Council in 2002, and that made it the eighth.
They are very different places. Assam is flat and green, with a huge river through it. Meghalaya is a high, wet plateau. Arunachal is mountains, all the way up to the border with China.
We should be clear about one thing. We are a Guwahati firm and we plan trips in three states: Assam, Meghalaya and Arunachal Pradesh. We know them well. The other five get a short, honest note below, with links to what we have written about them.
Assam: the river and the rhino
Assam is the gateway. Nearly every trip starts in Guwahati, on the Brahmaputra. From there the state runs east through tea gardens to Kaziranga, Majuli and the old Ahom country around Sivasagar.
Kaziranga holds about two-thirds of the world's one-horned rhinos. Majuli is a large island in the river, with monasteries that still teach dance and mask-making. No permit is needed anywhere in Assam.
The full chapter is our Assam travel guide.
Meghalaya: the plateau of cloud
Meghalaya starts about three hours above Guwahati, at Shillong. Sohra, the old Cherrapunji, is about two hours further on.
This is waterfall and gorge country. The Khasi people grow bridges out of living tree roots. Sohra and nearby Mawsynram are among the wettest places on earth.
No permit is needed. The full chapter is our Meghalaya travel guide.
Arunachal Pradesh: the mountains
Arunachal is the hardest state in the region to travel well. The roads are long and the weather decides a lot.
Most visitors mean the west: Dirang, Sela Pass at 13,700 feet, and Tawang with its great monastery. Central Arunachal has Ziro and Mechuka. The east has Roing, Mayodia and Namdapha.
Every visitor needs a permit. The full chapter is our Arunachal Pradesh travel guide.
The other five states
We do not run trips in these five states. Here is what we can tell you, and where to read more.
Nagaland is best known for the Hornbill Festival, held at Kisama from 1 to 10 December. Read our Hornbill Festival guide, the story of Dzukou Valley and how Pangti saved the Amur falcon.
Mizoram has roadside shops with no shopkeeper, where you pay into an open box. We wrote about them in the shops with no shopkeeper.
Tripura has Unakoti, a hillside of giant rock carvings on UNESCO's tentative list. It is in our guide to heritage sites of Assam and the North East.
Manipur needs a permit, and its permit rules are in the courts. Check the current position close to travel. Sikkim lies to the west, next to Darjeeling, and some of its protected areas need permits of their own.
Getting in: Guwahati is the hub
Fly into Guwahati (GAU). It is the region's main airport and rail junction, and the roads to all three of our states start here.
Guwahati is also an e-Visa arrival airport. A foreign visitor can clear immigration here, without a second queue in Delhi.
From Guwahati, Shillong is about three hours by road and Kaziranga four to five. Jorhat, the town for Majuli, is six to seven hours by bus or train. Tawang is two long days north, with a night in Dirang.
For eastern Arunachal, fly into Dibrugarh instead. It saves a day of driving each way.
Permits in brief
Indian travellers need an Inner Line Permit (ILP) for Arunachal, Nagaland, Mizoram and Manipur. Foreign nationals need a Protected Area Permit (PAP) for the same four states. Assam and Meghalaya need neither.
An ILP is issued for the districts you name. The most common problem at a checkpost is a route that does not match the permit. The next is a name that does not match your ID.
Some places need more. Bum La, above Tawang, needs a separate clearance arranged in Tawang the day before. Rules change with little notice, so read our full permits guide and confirm close to travel.
When to go
October to April is the easy window. The rain has gone, the skies are clear and Kaziranga is open. Kaziranga shuts for the monsoon each year and reopened on 3 October in 2026.
Arunachal's high road runs on its own calendar. March to June and September to November are the best months for Tawang. The road over Sela can close after heavy snow in deep winter.
The monsoon, June to September, is Meghalaya's greenest season. The falls run full, but roads slip and plans need slack.
Read the best time to visit the North East for the full picture, and our North East in winter page for November to February.
How many days you need
Distances here are bigger than the map suggests. Roads are slow, and the best things are spread out.
Four days does Guwahati and Shillong, or Kaziranga alone. Six to seven days does one state well, or a short taste of two. Eight to nine days does Assam and Meghalaya together at an easy pace.
Arunachal needs a week on its own, because the drives are long. Add Meghalaya and you are at twelve days.
Our tip: pick two states, not three. One more state is one more long drive, and less time in the places you came for.
Sample routes
These are our own packages. Every price is indicative, per person, on 2 adults sharing, land only.
Four days: Guwahati and Shillong, from ₹17,500. Kamakhya, the river and the Sohra edge.
Six days: Assam and Meghalaya, from ₹27,500. Or rhino, tea and the river island, from ₹33,500, for Kaziranga and Majuli.
Seven days: Meghalaya in full, from ₹31,500.
Eight days: Tawang and the western passes, from ₹46,500.
Nine days: Meghalaya and Kaziranga, from ₹47,000.
Ten days: the Assam Heritage Trail, from ₹1,60,000, with every night in a heritage house.
Twelve days: Arunachal and Meghalaya, quoted on request.
Which state suits you
Assam suits almost everyone. The drives are the shortest in the region, there is no altitude and no permit. It is the easy choice for parents and young children.
Meghalaya suits walkers and anyone who likes weather. Some of its best sights sit at the bottom of long flights of steps, and the double-decker root bridge is about 3,000 steps down. Plenty of the plateau is gentle, though, and a car reaches most viewpoints.
Arunachal suits people who are happy in a car for long days and fine at height. Tawang is around 3,000 metres and Bum La over 4,600. Anyone with heart, blood pressure or breathing trouble should talk to a doctor first.
Travelling with older parents? Our elderly-friendly tours are built around shorter days and fewer climbs.
Where you stay
Guwahati and Shillong have ordinary city hotels. Outside them, the stays are smaller and often better.
In Assam, look at the heritage bungalows on working tea estates. They have very few rooms, so they are the first thing to book. Kaziranga has lodges and resorts near the park gates.
On Majuli, the stays are simple and locally run. Some have hot water by the bucket. In western Arunachal, family homestays in Dirang, Shergaon and Sangti are the nights people remember.
Rooms in Tawang and Dirang are thin in peak season. Confirm early if Arunachal is on your list.
Cash, signal and slack
Carry cash outside the cities. Cards work in Guwahati and Shillong. On the Tawang road, ATMs exist but are often empty.
Mobile signal fades once you leave the towns, above all in eastern Arunachal. Download maps and tell people at home when you will be out of reach.
Leave a spare day in any trip with a mountain road, a river crossing or a pass in it. Landslides, fog and high water are normal here. A spare day turns a closure into a slow morning, not a missed flight.
The chapters of this guide
Each state has its own chapter. They go deeper on places, days and seasons, and list every post we have on that state.
Start with the Assam travel guide, for Guwahati, Kaziranga, Majuli and the tea country. Then the Meghalaya travel guide, for Shillong, Sohra and the root bridges. Then the Arunachal Pradesh travel guide, for Tawang and the valleys beyond it.
If you want to time your trip to a festival, read the North East festival calendar. It runs month by month, from Bihu in April to Hornbill in December.
Plan your trip
Want the mountains and the hills in one trip? Our Arunachal and Meghalaya route takes twelve days. It runs from Guwahati to Shergaon, Tawang and Sangti, then down to Sohra and Shillong.
We price it for your dates and your party. Bum La is an extra day out of Tawang, and the permits are set up before you travel.
You can see all of our North East trips in one place. Or tell us your dates, and we will reply within 24 hours with a plan.
