India's North East is a land of undulating hills and plains with luxuriant green cover and a wide variety or rare and exotic flora and fauna.
Sometimes the Seven Sisters of the Northeast (the states of Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland and Tripura) hardly seem like India at all. The region's hundreds of tribes and subtribes are slowly embracing modernity, but remain extremely diverse. Nagaland's former headhunters now go to church on Sundays. Many Arunachalis also attend church-like buildings on Sundays – to worship the sun and moon. Cloudy Himalayan valleys near the border of Tibet are dotted with colourful monasteries, echoing with Buddhist chants and clashing cymbals.
Sikkim’s charm lies in the frozen Tsomgo Lake, Rumtek Monastery, Gurudongmar Lake, Nathu La Pass and Gangtok, one of the most popular places to visit in North East India. Arunachal Pradesh blessed with a tranquil peace with Tawang Monastery being the best example as is the spectacular Ziro Festival. Nagaland offers a tribal heritage which is displayed in the annual Hornbill Festival.
The geography is as varied as the culture. While waterfalls thunder down Cherrapunjee's jungle escarpments, blizzards may be blocking the passes to Tawang, and one-horned rhinos go on grazing peacefully in Kaziranga's grasslands beside the mighty Brahmaputra.
Northeast travel can be tough, with atrocious roads and long distances. But the destinations are always worth the effort and there'll be a warm welcome that awaits. You are indeed far from the beaten track: only the adventurous need apply.
