trip for foreigners in Arunachal Pradesh

sympara

today morning i talked one goverment official of Arunachal Pradesh.. and i askd him about the permit situation.. he told me its done by govt of india, nobody can obtain free permit... . i asked him about (Theyyamdancer's speech of free permit, ) whether tourist can obtain when he applys for VISA, but he told me they can get but have to pay the fees of USD 50..

i am cofused about Theyyamdancer's statements.....

theyyamdancer

Well, I give up. Sympara, you win. The rules must have changed again. Like the shifting mountain mists of the Himalayas, it all depends who you speak to.

By the way, I was not making a speech for a free permit. I was reporting another member's experiences (Mike-in-Cairns) as well as a promise made to me and my husband from a trusted guide.

What does it matter? By the time the next IndiaMiker goes to apply for a permit, the situation may very well have changed again.

I will just add two more anecdotes and then I retire from this discussion. When our friend from Bangalore (who lived in Arunachal back in 1958) tried to get information from travel agents in South India about travelling to Arunachal, the reaction was "Where's that?" And, if you go to the official pages of the Arunachal Government they will still tell you online that you need to be a group of four people and that you may travel for a maximum of ten days, although this is outdated. Other official sites of the Arunachal Government online will tell you that the rules have changed and you need only be two people, and that you may travel for a maximum of thirty days. Furthermore, a friend of mine who is an IM member went on my behalf to the Arunachal representative in Kolkata last autumn to enquire and they reiterated the "4 people for 10 days" rule. And, to add to the confusion, our friend in Bangalore made similar enquiries and got the same answer.

Each prospective traveller seems to be treated differently.

Since you may not have read the relevant section of the relevant thread, I shall quote Mike:

The letters in bold print concern us here.

I rest my case.

__________________
"Wandering seemed no more than the happiness of an anxious man." - Albert Camus

Antrek

Hello,

We are planning to visit Arunachal from Mid Dec. onwards for 2 weeks. Could you please help with the best possible itinerary and hotels. The following is just an idea, we are looking for a better route and really good places to stay. We are interested in more of National Parks and tribal villages, not really interested in towns or cities.

Day 01 : Arrive Guwahati pre-noon. Receive at the airport and drive to Nameri National Park (220kms/5hrs). Evening enjoy a cultural program with bonfire before dinner. Overnight at the Eco-camp for 02 nights.

Day 02 : Early morning go for a nature trek into the park. Return to the camp for breakfast and then go for rafting into the Jia Bhoreli river. Return to the camp for lunch and afternoon trek around the nearby tribal villages of missing Community. Overnight at the camp.

Day 03 : After early breakfast drive to Ziro (230kms/6hrs) – entering Arunachal Pradesh in the Apatani plateau by afternoon. Overnight at the Circuit House / Hotel Blue Pine for 02 nights.

Day 04 : Full day at Ziro - visit the Apatani tribal village of Hong - Asia's largest tribal village. Visit other villages around Ziro in the afternoon. Overnight at the hotel.

Day 05 : Drive to Daporijo (170kms/7hrs) - en-toute interface with the Hill Miri and Tagin tribes. Reach Daporijo in the afternoon and stay overnight at the Circuit House / hotel kanchenjanga.

Day 06 : Drive to Along (160kms/6hrs) - to this Adi Gallong tribal belt. Stay overnight at Hotel Holiday Cottage or Hotel Aangam for 02 nights. Afternoon visit Adi Gallong tribal villages near Along.

Day 07: Full day at Along. Visit the tribal villages in and around Along. Overnight at Holiday Cottage or the hotel Aangam.

Day 08 : Drive to Pasighat (140kms/5hrs) - an Adi tribal belt. En-route interface with the villagers. Drive past the confluence of the Siang and Siyom rivers offering a scenic view. Overnight at Hotel Anne.

Day 09 : Today we cross the mighty Brahmaputra river by boat to Dibrugarh (5hrs) to enter Assam once again. Evening, option to visit a temple and the local market. Overnight at a Heritage Tea Garden Bungalow for 02 nights.

Day 10 : After breakfast go for a Tea Tour. Then drive on to Nam Phake village (60kms/2hrs). Visit the monastery. Afternoon, return to Dibrurgarh. En-route visit the Bells Temple time permitting. Overnight at the bungalow.
Day 11: After breakfast drive to Jorhat (140kms/4hrs). Enrote see the Aho Monuments at Sibsagar. Post lunch drive to Jorhat for overnight stay at a Heritage Tea Garden Bungalow for 02 nights.

Day 12: After early breakfast drive to the Neematighat (20kms) for ferry crossing to Majuli - (3hrs upstream boat cruise- the time depends upon the water level of the river) - the largest inhabited river island in the world and famous for the Vaishnavite Satras or monasteries and its culture. Return to the mainland by evening and overnight at the bungalow.

Day 13: After breakfast drive to Kaziranga National Park (100kms/3hrs). Check into the Wild Grass resort for lunch. Post lunch go for a game drive. Overnight at Landmark Woods or similar for 02 nights.

Day 14: Early morning go for an elephant safari. Post breakfast go for trekking into Panbari Range of the park. Post lunch go for a game drive to another range. Overnight at the Wild Grass resort.

Day 15: After breakfast drive to Guwahati (240kms/5hrs). Noon time arrive at Guwahati, take lunch here and transfer to the domestic airport (25 Kilometers) to board flight for Delhi. En-route visit Kamakhya Temple if time permitting.

Thank you in advance.

Naushad.

__________________
Naushad

The wild places are where we began.
When they end, so do we.

Antrek

Thank you, now with all you people's help my NE tour is quite nicely ready. Shall share my experience in Jan. next year after the trip.

roadrunner23

Hello theyyamdancer,
I have read about your amazing trip to Arunachal Pradesh and, thank you therefor, I can use a lot of your suggestions. I want to visit the area around Ziro in November this year. But I couldn´t find any infos which guide you have taken. So if you could send me an email to friendfinder@web.de I would be happy
Stefan from Munich

roadrunner23

Sorry, posted the wrong email. The good one is friendfiender23@web.de

theyyamdancer

Hello roadrunner23,
Sorry for my late reply; I have only just noticed your request here.

The people we travelled with in Arunachal Pradesh, including Ziro, were:


Travel Agent: Mr. Basant Giri, Ren Tours, Treks & Expeditions, New Delhi, Telephone +91 98103 52728

Driver: Mr. Rinto, Telephone +91 9864 024838
Guide: Mr. Basanta, Telephone +91 99576 12732


So you are planning to travel to Ziro in November? That is really soon. Looking forward to hearing all about it.

I had written these names and numbers elsewhere in my travellogue, but never mind. The website of Ren Tours was still under construction the last time I looked.