Northeast culture tours

The Jaintia Hills are the eastern part of Meghalaya, split into West and East Jaintia Hills districts. Jowai, the main town, is 64 km east of Shillong on the NH-6 at about 1,380 m. The area is home to the Pnar people and was once the core of the Jaintia kingdom.

Drive 13 km from Jorhat to Nimati Ghat, then take the government ferry across the Brahmaputra to Kamalabari Ghat on Majuli. The crossing takes one to one and a half hours depending on water level. Ferries run several times a day and are suspended in high monsoon floods, so check current status before you travel.

It adds a night at Bhalukpong, a proper stop in Bomdila and a second night in Dirang, so you see Monpa villages, monasteries and the Sangti valley instead of passing through. The extra Dirang night also improves acclimatisation. Tawang still gets three nights, including a Bum La day.

About 120 km by road, a drive of four and a half to five hours through Yazali and the hills. Donyi Polo Airport at Hollongi is 14 km south of Itanagar. Lilabari Airport at North Lakhimpur in Assam is about 100 km from Ziro and is sometimes more convenient.

The Ziro Festival of Music is usually held over four days in the last week of September. The 2026 edition was held from 24 to 27 September in the Ziro valley, Lower Subansiri district, Arunachal Pradesh. Check the next edition's dates with the organisers before you travel and book flights only after they are confirmed.

Drive to Nimati Ghat, about 13 km from Jorhat, and take the ferry across the Brahmaputra to Kamalabari on Majuli, about an hour. Cars travel on the vehicle ferry. Ferries run a few times a day and timings change with the river level, with the last boats in mid-afternoon. A road bridge is under construction; check current status before you travel.

The Hornbill Festival runs from 1 to 10 December every year at Kisama Heritage Village, about 12 km south of Kohima. The dates have been fixed for many years and 1 December is also Nagaland Statehood Day. We still suggest you confirm the programme once the state tourism department publishes it, usually in October or November.

Khonoma is an Angami village known for its 1879 stand against British forces and for its own conservation rules. In 1998 the village council banned hunting and logging across much of its land and set up the Khonoma Nature Conservation and Tragopan Sanctuary. Its terraced paddy fields and stone gateways are among the best preserved in Nagaland.

We say it plainly: as of late 2026, several foreign governments still advise against travel to Manipur because of the ethnic conflict that began in 2023. Imphal and Loktak have been receiving domestic tourists. We run this trip only when current advisories allow, only in the valley and by day, and we confirm conditions with you before taking any booking.