Frequently Asked Questions

All states require a valid Indian visa. There are different permit rules for Indians and foreigners in some states. No permits are required to visit the states of Assam, Meghalaya and Tripura for either Indians or foreigners.

Foreigners need a special permit called the Protected Area Permit (PAP) for all four of these states: Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Manipur and Mizoram. It must be arranged before you arrive, and it is not issued on the spot. Foreign visitors are also required to check in at the local police station or the FRRO office in some places.

Indians need a special permit called Inner Line Permit (ILP) to visit Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Mizoram and Nagaland. These can be obtained from the respective state House or government offices located at important centers across India.

It can be wise to involve a tour operator to get the permits if one wants to skip the hassles of official work or if one wants to travel independently in a state such as Arunachal Pradesh.

Guwahati, the riverine capital of Assam and the only large city in the region, is the gateway to Northeast India, with good regular rail and air connections to other parts of India. It is suitable as an entry point when visiting Meghalaya, Assam and western Arunachal Pradesh.

Dibrugarh, the riverine tea town of eastern Assam, has decent rail and air connections to other parts of the country, and is appropriate as an entry point when visiting Assam, eastern Nagaland and all other parts of Arunachal Pradesh.

Manipur, Mizoram, Nagaland and Tripura have their own capital-based airports which have fairly routine flights from selected main cities across India.

The region comprising seven states is a really vast and remote expanse of land stretching from the great plains of the Brahmaputra to the northern high mountains of the eastern Himalayas and the thick jungles of the southern hills.

With the long distances between destinations and poor infrastructure, multiple trips are definitely needed if one wants to explore all the states. Assam and Meghalaya are easiest of access with good infrastructure and roads. All other states currently have poor tourist infrastructure and a deeper level of planning is required to visit them.

A visit to the region can last anywhere from five days to a month depending on the time one has and the number of states one would like to see.

With poor infrastructure common in most states, road travel between destinations though necessary takes a long time and is uncomfortable with bad roads especially in the mountain states of Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Mizoram and Nagaland.

Public and shared transport options have limited timings in most states and are unavailable during 'bandhs' or strikes which can be common. The best and safest option is to travel in a private vehicle or join a tour.

With tourism infrastructure slowly growing, there is a lack in quality and choice when finding an accommodation, especially as most destinations are offbeat and not popular.

A good tour operator often has the best knowledge about nice places to stay and it is advisable to use their help if possible. Selected popular destinations in Assam and Meghalaya have a variety of options from luxury to basic.

However, most places in the remaining states have accommodations ranging from basic to fairly standard, where one can expect power outages, small rooms, bucket hot showers and limited eating options.

Northeast India is a treasure trove of hundreds of languages as most religions, tribes and sub-tribes have their own. General communication is mainly done in Hindi and Assamese between different cultures. English is commonly spoken in many areas.

Mobile data covers the towns and a good deal of the countryside, but it thins out in the high valleys and the deep forest and disappears altogether in parts of Arunachal and Nagaland. Wi-Fi at homestays and smaller lodges is there more often than not, and slow when it is.

It is recommended to carry an Indian SIM card when visiting the region to make and receive calls. In our tours, we do arrange SIM cards on request or allow guests to use the guide's phone.