Places to Visit in Arunachal Pradesh: Monasteries, Valleys and Namdapha

The places to visit in Arunachal Pradesh run from a forest at 200 metres to a pass at 4,200. Namdapha holds the tiger, the leopard, the clouded leopard and the snow leopard, which its own forest department calls probably the only protected area in the world to carry all four. Choose between Namdapha, the Tawang monastery and the Sela crossing, the Apatani valley at Ziro, the Siang belt, and the first sunrise at Dong.

The state is large and the corridors do not connect to each other. Two of these in one trip is the practical limit. The guide to preparing for travelling in India takes the practical questions, and this takes the places.

Places to visit in Arunachal Pradesh

Namdapha. The national park and tiger reserve in Changlang, with all four big cats.
Tawang. The monastery town in the far west, reached over or under Sela Pass.
Dirang and Bomdila. The overnight stops on the way up, both worth a day of their own.
Ziro. The Apatani valley, on UNESCO's tentative list since 2014.
Pasighat and the Siang belt. Where the Siang comes out of the hills, on the eastern side.
Mechuka. A valley town further west in the same belt, reached on a long mountain road.
Dong and Walong. The far east, in Anjaw, where the day begins before anywhere else in India.

Namdapha, and the four big cats in one park

The Arunachal forest department calls Namdapha probably the only protected area in the world to hold the tiger, the leopard, the clouded leopard and the snow leopard together. It was declared a tiger reserve in 1983, as India's fifteenth.

The area. A core of 1,808 square kilometres with a buffer of 177, in Changlang district.
The range. 200 metres to 4,571 metres inside one park. Those four cats between them occupy that whole span.
What else is recorded there. 801 flowering plant species, 112 ferns, 73 lichens and 59 bryophytes.
How you see it. On foot from Miao and Deban. There is no safari circuit here.
When to go. November to March, when the low forest is dry enough to walk.
How to reach it. Dibrugarh, then Miao by road, which takes most of a day.

Tawang, the Sela crossing and the road in

Tawang Monastery was founded in 1680 by Merak Lama Lodre Gyatso, at the wish of the fifth Dalai Lama. Its Tibetan name, Galden Namgey Lhatse, is given as celestial paradise in a clear night.

The size claim. The largest monastery in India, and second in the world after the Potala Palace in Lhasa.
What stands there. Around 65 residential buildings, with roughly 60 huts used as monks' quarters.
Sela Pass. 4,200 metres, on the road up, and snowbound for part of the year.
The Sela Tunnel. Opened on 9 March 2024, at about 3,960 metres, roughly 240 metres below the pass.
Why it matters. The tunnel sits below the snow line, so Tawang stays reachable in winter when the pass road is shut.
Where you stop on the way. Bhalukpong, Dirang and Bomdila, over two days from Tezpur.

Ziro and the Apatani cultural landscape

The Apatani Cultural Landscape was submitted to UNESCO's tentative list on 15 April 2014, under cultural criteria three and five. It is a living landscape rather than a monument.

What is unusual in the fields. Fish are reared in the rice paddies alongside the rice, which the tentative listing names as the distinctive skill.
What grows on the bunds. Millet, on the raised earth between the rice plots.
How the soil is kept. Nutrients washed down from the surrounding hills, with crop residues and village waste returned to the fields.
Who runs it. The Apatani village councils, which the tentative listing names alongside the farming system itself.
Where it is. The Ziro valley, in Lower Subansiri district, reached from Itanagar.
It is not inscribed. Tentative list means proposed and not yet listed, which is a different thing from a World Heritage Site.

The Siang belt, from Pasighat to Mechuka

The eastern half of the state, where the Siang comes down out of Tibet and becomes the Brahmaputra a little further on.

Pasighat. The oldest town in the state and the gateway to the belt. Its first commercial flight landed on 21 May 2018.
The river. The Siang, which changes name at the Assam border.
Mechuka. A high valley town to the west, on a long and slow mountain road.
Aalo and Daporijo. The road towns between, each a day's drive from the next.
What is grown and eaten here. Rice, millet and the fermented foods the Adi communities are known for.
The festival. Mopin, in the Galo areas, which has an article of its own.

Dong, Walong and India's first sunrise

Dong sits at 1,240 metres in Anjaw district, on the left bank of the Lohit, about 7 km from Walong. It stands at the meeting point of India, Myanmar and China.

The claim. It is one of India's easternmost inhabited points, and the sun reaches it before anywhere else in the country.
What seeing it takes. A start at around 2 am and a walk of about three hours to the viewpoint.
When the sun appears. Around 4.30 in the morning, depending on the season.
How far it is. About 400 km from Dibrugarh, then Tezu, then shared Sumos for most of a day.
The road. Rough after Tezu, and a vehicle with real suspension is the difference between a long day and a bad one.
When to go. April to July, or September and October.

The state does not reward a route that tries to cover it. Two corridors in one trip is the limit, and the drives between them are measured in days. Our fourteen day cultural journey through Northeast India runs the Tawang corridor rather than the east. Customised tours is where the permits, the corridor and the driving days get arranged around one another.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does Namdapha have tigers and snow leopards?

Both, and two more. The Arunachal forest department calls it probably the only protected area in the world holding the tiger, the leopard, the clouded leopard and the snow leopard together. It runs from 200 metres to 4,571 metres inside one park, and those four cats between them occupy that whole span.

How old is Tawang Monastery?

It was founded in 1680 by Merak Lama Lodre Gyatso, at the wish of the fifth Dalai Lama. Its Tibetan name, Galden Namgey Lhatse, is given as celestial paradise in a clear night. It is described as the largest monastery in India and second in the world after the Potala Palace in Lhasa.

Is Ziro a UNESCO World Heritage Site?

Not yet. The Apatani Cultural Landscape was submitted to UNESCO's tentative list on 15 April 2014, under cultural criteria three and five, and has not been inscribed. The tentative list is a list of proposals, which is a different thing from a World Heritage Site.

Where does the sun rise first in India?

Dong, in Anjaw district, at 1,240 metres on the left bank of the Lohit, about 7 km from Walong. Seeing it means starting at around 2 am and walking about three hours to the viewpoint, where the sun appears around 4.30. It is roughly 400 km from Dibrugarh.

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