Trip to the North East for 6D/7N in mid March

Can anyone please help with a tentative itinerary for North East - have very less time in hand - 6 Day, 5 nights only. Have heard so much of about the NE states, but haven;t been there before. I realize this is short duration to even start exploring the beauty of this region, but wanted to go anyway. Will be travelling with kids from Mumbai. Please suggest which states/cities to visit in this short trip, how to move around, where to stay etc.

Sincere thanks for every piece of advice. Thanks!

The North East is a very large area and it deserves more than a fve day visit. That's obvious.

But it is impossible for us to help you if you don't give us a little more information. Are you seeking snow? Mountains? When is your visit planned for? What are your interests? What is your budget? Are you thinking of using public transport or a dedicated vehicle?

Thanks for responding. My visit is planned in mid March (18th to 23rd). Would like to enjoy nature and local culture. Planning to fly to Guwahati and take a dedicated vehicle as I will be travelling with 2 kids.

If you arrive in Guwahati, you could then drive by hired car down to Shillong. In Shillong, visit the wonderful Don Bosco Museum, which gives you an overview of the culture of the entire North East. Do some shopping in the bazaar, stroll around Ward's Lake, visit the Archery Stakes. Next day, head for Cherrapunjee. I don't know how old your kids are, but if they are old enough to trek, you could all visit the Living Root Bridges.

You might like to also take a trip to the Bangladesh border. It is very scenic countryside in Meghalaya.

You could easily fill five days between Shillong and Cherrapunjee, and the villages in between.

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A different plan, flying into Guwahati, then going to visit Kaziranga Nature Reserve, to witness the one horned rhino and the other animals there (wild elephants, for example); after a couple of nights you could head up towards Arunachal Pradesh. [N.B. You need to apply for Inner Line Permits if you are going to Arunachal Pradesh; for Assam and for Meghalaya you do not need them.] You could take a sumo up to Itanagar (capital of Arunachal Pradesh) and from there head for Ziro, homeland of the Apatani tribals. You could spend a couple of nights at Ziro, and if you time your trip well, attend the Myoko Festival. Then back to Guwahati to fly home.

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A third plan, from Guwahati you could make for the Garo Hills of Meghalaya. This is the most ambitious plan of the lot. Spend a night at Tura. From there you could visit the Nokrek Bioreserve. Stay in forest houses. Go trekking.

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A fourth plan, Sikkim. But for that, you would be better off flying to Bagdogra.

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A fifth plan, combine Kaziranga with a side-trip to the Dooars of North Bengal.