Field Guides · Northeast India
Travel Guidesdestination by destination.
Detailed destination guides written by the Living Roots field team — how to get there, when to come, what to do, what to eat and where to stay, for the places we know best across Assam, Meghalaya and Arunachal Pradesh.
Meghalaya
Shillong
Shillong sits at 1,525 metres in pine-forested Khasi hills, an old British hill station that has matured into one of India's most original music and café cultures. This guide covers the best neighbourhoods, when to come, what to eat and how to use Shillong as the base for Cherrapunji, Mawlynnong and Dawki.
Meghalaya
Cherrapunji
Cherrapunji — Sohra — sits at 1,484 metres on a plateau above some of the deepest gorges in India. This guide covers the famous double-decker living root bridge trek at Nongriat, the falls and caves on the plateau, where to stay and how to pace the visit.
Meghalaya
Dawki
Dawki straddles the India–Bangladesh border on the Umngot — a river so clear that on still winter days the boats appear to hover. This guide covers the boating, the camping village of Shnongpdeng, the Mawlynnong combination and how to plan an unhurried two nights here.
Assam
Kaziranga
Kaziranga National Park is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and the world's stronghold of the one-horned rhinoceros — more than two-thirds of the global population lives in its 1,090 km² of flood-plain grasslands. This guide covers the four safari ranges, when to come, what to expect and how to combine Kaziranga with Majuli, tea country and Arunachal Pradesh.
Arunachal Pradesh
Tawang
Tawang sits at 3,048 metres in the far west of Arunachal Pradesh, the spiritual heart of the Monpa people and home to the 17th-century Tawang Monastery — the largest in India and the second-largest in the world. This guide covers permits, the Sela Pass road, altitude pacing and how to design a trip that is scenic rather than punishing.
Arunachal Pradesh
Dirang
Dirang sits at 1,500 metres between Bomdila and the Sela Pass climb to Tawang — an apple-and-kiwi valley that has quietly become one of the loveliest overnight stops on the western Arunachal route. This guide covers the orchards, hot springs, Sangti Valley black-necked cranes, and why Dirang is the right place to acclimatise before Tawang.
Arunachal Pradesh
Ziro Valley
Ziro Valley is a UNESCO-tentative cultural landscape — home to the Apatani tribe whose paddy-cum-fish agriculture is one of the most sustainable farming systems on earth. This guide covers the villages, the famous elder women keepers of the facial tattoo tradition, the Ziro Music Festival and how to design a respectful visit.
Assam
Majuli
Majuli is the world's largest river island — once 1,250 km², now about 350 km² as the Brahmaputra slowly eats its edges. It is the spiritual heart of Assamese neo-Vaishnavism, home to centuries-old satras (monasteries) and Mishing tribal villages on stilts. This guide covers the ferry, what to see and where to stay for two nights of genuine cultural depth.