Season guide
Best time to visit North East India
October to April is the reliable window for the North East, with clear skies and open mountain roads. The region receives some of the heaviest rainfall in the world between May and September, which makes road travel through Meghalaya and Arunachal genuinely difficult.
- Best
- October to April
- Avoid
- May to September, extreme rainfall
- Tawang road
- Best October to April
- Permits
- Required for Arunachal Pradesh
Rainfall on a different scale
Cherrapunji and Mawsynram record among the highest annual rainfall anywhere. Between May and September, road travel across the region is slow and unreliable, and mountain routes such as the drive to Tawang can close for extended periods.
Permits
Arunachal Pradesh requires an inner line permit for Indian nationals and a protected area permit for foreign nationals. These take time to arrange, so they should be started well before travel rather than on arrival.
Questions people ask
Do I need a permit for Arunachal Pradesh?
Yes. Indian nationals need an inner line permit and foreign nationals a protected area permit. Both are arranged in advance and are checked on entry.
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Tours that go there
Every one of these is run by our own team, with the drivers and the permits arranged.
Read next
- Best time to visit GoaNovember to February is Goa’s peak season: dry, warm and busy, with Christmas and New Year the most expensive fortnight of the year. March to May is hot and quieter, and June to September is monsoon, when many beach shacks close entirely.
- Inner line permits for Ladakh, Spiti and the North EastInner line permits are required for Nubra, Pangong, Tso Moriri and other protected areas of Ladakh, for Arunachal Pradesh, and for foreign nationals on parts of the Spiti circuit. They are arranged locally or online before entering, and are checked at multiple points on the road.
- Family tour packages in the HimalayasShimla, Manali and Dharamshala suit families best, because the drives are short, hotels are plentiful and nothing depends on altitude tolerance. Ladakh and Spiti are not recommended for young children or grandparents, since both involve sustained time above 3,500 metres.
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