Arunachal Pradesh

GENERAL INFORMATION:
Location : Arunachal Pradesh is bordered by China in the north, Bhutan in the west, Myanmar (Burma) in the east and shares its boundaries to the south with Assam and Nagaland.
Area : 83,743 Sq Km
Population : 1,091,117(Provisional 2001census)
Capital : Itanagar(Population-34970 (Provisional 2001 census)
Clothing : Summer-cotton,
Winter- heavy woolen
Wildlife Sanctuaries : Itanagar, Pakhui, Laki Mehao
National Parks : Namdapha, Mouling

Hoolock Gibbon

The population of Arunachal Pradesh as per the provisional census of 2001 is 1091117. There are 26 major tribes and a number of sub tribes living in the state. Most of these communities are ethnically similar but their geographical isolation from each other has brought amongst them certain distinctive characteristics in language, dress and customs. Broadly, the people may be divided into three cultural groups on the basis of their socio religious affinities.

Tawang Monastry

The Monpas and Sherdukpens of Tawang and West Kameng district follow the lamaistic traditions of Mahayana Buddhism. Culturally similar to them are Membas and Khambas who live in the high mountains of the northern borders. Khamtis and Singphos inhabiting the eastern part of the State are Buddhist of Hinayan Sect.

The second group of people are Adis, Akas, Apatanis, Bungnis, Nishis, Mishimis, Mijis, Thangsos etc. who worship the Sun and the Moon namely Donyi Polo and Abotani. Their religious rituals largely coincide with the phases or agricultural cycles.

Arunachal finds mention in the literature of Kalika Purana and Mahabharata. This place is supposed to be the Prabhu Mountains of the Puranas. It was here that the sage Parashuram washed away his sins, sage Vyasa meditated, king Bhismaka founded his kingdom and lord Krishna married his consort Rukmini.

The third group comprises of Noctes and Wangchos, adjoining Nagaland in the Tirap district who are known for their structured village society in which the hereditary village chief still plays a vital role. The people of Arunachal Pradesh have a tradition of artistic craftsmanship and sense of aesthetics manifested through a variety of crafts like weaving, painting, basket making, woodcarving etc. Festivals are an essential part of the socio-cultural life of the people and these festivals are usually connected with agriculture to thank god or to pray for bumper harvest. Some of the important festivals are Mopin and Solung of Adis, Lossar of Monpas, Sherdukpens and Boori-Boot of the Hill Miris, Dree of the Apatanis, Sidonyi of Tagin, Nyokum of Nishis, Reh of Idu Mishmis etc.

FLORA AND FAUNA

Out of about a thousand species of orchids in India, over 500 are found in Arunachal alone. These are colourful, spectacular and some bear exotic names such as Sita-Pushpa and Draupadi-Pushpa believed to have been worn by Sita and Draupadi. Some of the orchids are rare and classified as endangered. Arunachal Pradesh Forest Development Corporation has established an Orchid Research and Development Station at Tipi in West Kameng district for propagation and conservation of these species. In addition to Orchidarium at Tipi, two orchid conservation sanctuaries have been established at Sessa and Dirang respectively. The wildlife is equally rich and varied. Elephants and Tigers abound, especially in the grassy foothills and leopard and jungle cats are quite common. The white gibbon is found in Tirap and Lohit district and red pandas and musk in the higher ranges. The 'Mithun' (Bos Forntails) exists both in wild and semi domesticated form. Traditionally, the Mithun has been a unit of wealth and is allowed to move freely in the jungle till it is either used for food on festive occasions, marriage or for barter. Birds found in the state are the great Indian Hornbill, Wood Duck, Green Pigeon etc.

ENTRY FORMALITIES :

FOREIGN TOURISTS : All foreign tourists intending to visit Arunachal Pradesh require Restricted Area Permits. These permits can be obtained from Indian Missions abroad, Foreigners Regional Registration Offices (FRRO) at New Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata (Calcutta), Chief Immigration Officer, Chennai, Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India, New Delhi and Home Commissioner, Government of Arunachal Pradesh, Itanagar for a period of ten days for a group of four or more persons. Foreign tourists visiting Arunachal Pradesh on their own arrangement are required to pay US$ 50.00 per head to the Government of Arunachal Pradesh.

DOMESTIC TOURISTS : Indian tourists desiring to visit Arunachal Pradesh need an Inner Line Permit. The Inner Line Permit can be obtained from the Secretary (Political), Itanagar or from the respective Deputy Commissioners of the districts of Arunachal Pradesh as well as from the offices of the Government of Arunachal Pradesh in the following cities and towns.

Resident Commissioner, Arunachal Bhavan, Kautilya Marg, Chanakyapuri, New Delhi- 110 021 Ph. (011) 23013915/23013956, Fax.23913786

Dy.Resident Commissioner, CE-109, Sector-1, Salt Lake City, Kolkata Ph. (033)23341243, Fax. 23589885

Dy.Resident Commissioner, Chandmari, Guwahati-781 021 Ph.(0361)2452859, 2456720.Fax.2416720

Liaison Officer, Old AP Secretariat Building, Shillong-793 001 Ph.(0364)2224247

Liaison Officer, Parvati Nagar, Tezpur (Assam) Ph. (03712)220241

Liaison Officer, Mohanbari, Dibrugarh(Assam) Ph.(0373)82560/20398

Liaison Officer, Rowriah, Jorhat(Assam) Ph. (0376)320724

Liaison Officer, Lilabari, North Lakhimpur(Assam) Ph.(03752)22186

IMPORTANT FESTIVALS OF ARUNACHAL PRADESH :

APPROVED TOURIST TRAVEL CIRCUITS :
Tezpur-bhalukpung-bomdila-tawang
Itanagar-ziro-daporijo-along-pasighat
Tinsukia-tezu-hayulyang
Margherita-miao-namdapha Roing-mayudia-anini
Pasighat- jengging-yingkiong
Tezpur-seijosa-bhalukpung-tipiCONDUCTED
TOURS : The Department of Tourism, Government of Arunachal Pradesh arranges package tour for foreign and domestic tourists. For further information contact the Director of Tourism, Govt. of Arunachal Pradesh, Itanagar, Ph. (0360) 2214752/2212564 Telefax. 2214745.

For further information log on to http://www.arunachaltourism.com/ http://arunachalpradesh.nic.in

Itanagar and Naharlagun

The capital of Arunachal Pradesh is actually two twin towns, Naharlagun-the older town and Itanagar-the official capital. Itanagar derived its name from Itafort meaning fort of bricks. Frequent bus services connect these two towns, which are only 10 km apart.

How to reach:

Air : The nearest airport is Tezpur in Assam, 216 km. from Naharlagun and 226 km. from Itanagar. Naharlagun is also connected by Helicopter service from Mohanbari (Dibrugarh) and Guwahati in Assam.
ENQUIRIES: Naharlagun, Ph.(0360) 2245261/2243262
Guwahati, Ph.(0361)2412859

Rail : The nearest railway station is at Harmoti in Assam, 23 km from Naharlagun and 33km from Itanagar. Arunachal Express departs daily from Kamakhya station (Maligaon) at 16.15 hrs.

Road : Itanagar is connected by a network of roads with all important cities and towns in the neighbouring states and major cities in the country. Some of the road distances to important places in kilometres are given below.

ITANAGAR TO: Along-321, Bomdila-350, Daporijo-327, Dirang-392, Guwahati-429, Khonsa 630, Kolkata-1611, Lilabari-76, Margherita-482, Miao-546, Namsai-630, North Lakhimpur-64, Pasighat-270, Seppa-412, Siliguri-942, Shillong-495, Tezpur-248, Tinsukia-436, Ziro-167.

(STD/AREA CODE 0360)
To Top
PLACES OF INTEREST IN ITANAGAR AND NAHARLAGUN :

GEKAR SINYI (GANGA LAKE) : Ganga Lake situated in the foothills of the Himalayas is a unique part of the capital in Itanagar. The Lake locally known as Gekkar Sinyi(confined water) is surrounded by land mass and hard rock with slopes varying from 10 to 60. These hill slopes support a dense semi-evergreen type of forest consisting of many interesting plant species.

ITAFORT: A historical fort of an irregular shape, built mainly with bricks. The fort has been identified by some scholars with the Mayapur of Ramchandra, a king of Jitari dynasty dating back to 1360 to 1550 AD. The total brickwork is of 16,200 cubic metre lengths. There are three gates on three sides namely the eastern, western and southern which is said to have been built by Ahoms. It is estimated that more than 80 Lakhs of bricks, 45 cubic metres of stone and 46,300 man-days were required to build the fort. Other places worth seeing in and around Itanagar and Naharlagun are the Buddhist Monastery, Museum, zoo, Naharlagun craft centre, Polo Park, etc.

ACCOMODATION (ITANAGAR) : (Rs. 1500 to Rs. 3000)

Donyi Polo Ashok, Ph.2212626/27/30/31. Fax. 2212611

ECONOMY HOTELS (Rs. 200 to Rs. 1000)

Hotel Bomdila, Ph.2203537
Hotel Arun Subansiri, Ph.2212806
Hotel Itafort, Ph.2213253
Hotel Blue Pine, Ph.2211118
Hotel Alpine, Ph.2214298
Hotel Kosing, Ph.2213074
Hotel Kameng, Ph.2212869
Hotel Aane, Ph.2211289
To Top
ACCOMODATION (NAHARLAGUN) :

ECONOMY HOTELS (Rs. 200 to Rs. 1000)

Hotel Arunachal, Ph.2244527
Hotel Simang, Ph.2247329
Hotel Lakshmi, Ph.2244111
Hotel Chandni, Ph.2244563
Hotel Tosum, Ph.2247228

Other Accomodation :

State Guest House, Ph.2244348
Youth Hostel, Ph.2244730

TOURS OPERATORS IN ARUNACHAL PRADESH :

Liza World Travels, Itanagar Ph.(0360) 2218776, E-mail: laeta@rediffmail.com
Tribal Voyage, Itanagar, Ph.(0360)244731, Fax: 245382
North East Tourist Corporation, Itanagar, Ph.(0360) 2217534, Fax. 212246, E-mail: Netthabung@hotmail.com
Duyu Tours & Travels, Itanagar, Ph.(0360) 2216450, 218056 E-mail: duyutours@yahoo.com
Donyi Hango Adventure Tours & Travels, Naharlagun, Ph (0360) 2244977, Fax. 247642, E-mail: yanedai@sancharnet.in
Tribal Adventura, Naharlagun Telefax.(0360) 2243887, 2245980. E-mail: tribaladventura1@rediffmail.com
Himalayan Holidays, Bomdila, Ph.(03782)222017, Fax.222656, E-mail: Himalayan-holidays@usa.net, Website: www.himalayan-holidays.com
Rainsea Tours & Travels, Bomdila, Ph(03782)228661
Muanglang Tour and Trades, Namsai, (03806)262343
Peak Tours & Travels, Ziro, Ph.(03788)225221, Fax. 25188 E-mail: tilling@sancharnet.in

ROAD DISTANCE AND APPROXIMATE TIME TAKEN BY BUS

INFORMATION OFFICES :

INDIA TOURISM, NAHARLAGUN
GOVERNMENT OF INDIA, SECTOR-C,
NAHARLAGUN- 791 110 (ARUNACHAL PRADESH)
TEL(0360) 2244328

THE DIRECTOR OF TOURISM
GOVERNMENT OF ARUNACHAL PRADESH
ITANAGAR,
TEL (0360)2214745/2214752/2212564, FAX. 2214745
Website : www.arunachaltourism.com E-mail : info@arunachaltourism.com

INDIA TOURISM, GUWAHATI,
GOVERNMENT OF INDIA, REGIONAL OFFICE (NORTH EAST)
G.L.PUBLICATION COMPLEX, G.S.ROAD, ULUBARI
GUWAHATI-781 007
TEL. -- (0361) 2456158 FAX -- (0361)2547407
Website : www.incredibleindia.org E-mail : indtour@asm.nic.in