Travel style · Arunachal
Snow and winter in Arunachal
Gulmarg powder, Auli slopes and white Spiti
Skiing in Gulmarg and Auli, winter Spiti at minus twenty, frozen Ladakh and snowfall weekends in Shimla and Manali. We plan winter trips with heated rooms, road-status checks and spare days for snow.
Photo: Quentin Talon & Mario Geiger · CC BY-SA 3.0 · CommonsWinter shrinks the Himalaya to the places a road still reaches. Gulmarg gets some of the deepest snow in the range from January to March. Spiti stays open from Shimla through Kinnaur when most passes close.
Arunachal is India's far eastern Himalaya: Monpa Buddhist country around Tawang and Dirang in the west, Apatani rice valleys at Ziro, Adi villages along the Siang, and the rainforest of Namdapha in the east. Indians need an Inner Line Permit, foreigners a Protected Area Permit. October to April is the best window.
Trips
Snow and winter trips in Arunachal
Photo: Itrajib · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Saver
Tawang circuit by shared Sumo
Shared Sumos, with one shared taxi day in Tawang
4 places
Where to go
Photo: Quentin Talon & Mario Geiger · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Commons
Mechuka
A wide Memba valley on the Siyom, far up the Siang
Photo: Research Institute of World’s Ancient Traditio… · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Roing
Idu Mishmi foothills below the snows of Mayudia
Photo: Dhrubazaanphotography · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Sela Pass
A 4,170 m pass, a sacred lake and the new tunnel below
Photo: Kthatapalli · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Tawang
India's largest monastery above a Monpa valley town
Experiences
Days that fit the style
Photo: Quentin Talon & Mario Geiger · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Commons
Morning at Samten Yongcha monastery
Walk or drive up to the old Memba monastery above Mechuka for morning prayers, butter lamps and a wide view over the Si…
Photo: Quentin Talon & Mario Geiger · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Commons
A day walking the Siyom valley
Follow the Siyom across Mechuka's wide grassland, over wooden bridges and past grazing ponies and prayer flags, to vill…
Photo: Quentin Talon & Mario Geiger · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Commons
A Memba kitchen evening by the fire
Spend an evening around the hearth in a Memba homestay: butter tea, rice and local greens, perhaps yak or pork, home-br…
Photo: Research Institute of World’s Ancient Traditio… · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
A snow day at Mayudia pass
Drive 56 km up from Roing's warm foothills to Mayudia at about 2,655 m, where snow usually lies from December to Februa…
Photo: Rohit Naniwadekar · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Commons
Forest hike to Mehao Lake
Climb through evergreen forest inside Mehao Wildlife Sanctuary to a lake in the hills above Roing, with a local guide, …
Photo: Arunachal2007 · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
The brick ruins of Bhismaknagar
Walk the fortifications, gateways and palace mound of a medieval Chutiya town in the forest near Roing, a site that loc…
Photo: Dhrubazaanphotography · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Morning at Sela lake and the pass
Stand at 4,170 m beside a sacred lake, with prayer flags snapping and ridges all around. A short, cold, beautiful stop …
Photo: Sdasamdabad · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Nuranang Falls near Jang
A curtain waterfall about 100 m high on the Tawang side of Sela, fed by snowmelt from the pass. An easy walk from the r…
Where to sleep
Stays in these places
Photo: Quentin Talon & Mario Geiger · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Commons
Budget
Memba homestays, Mechuka
Memba family homestays are the main places to stay in Mechuka: timber houses near the Siyom with warm kitchens, ho…
Photo: Kthatapalli · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Mid
Hotel Gakyi Khang Zhang, Tawang
One of Tawang's longest-established hotels, Gakyi Khang Zhang sits in town with views towards the monastery and th…
Photo: Kthatapalli · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Luxury
Vivanta Tawang
A Taj-group hotel that opened in December 2023 a short drive from Tawang Monastery. Heated rooms, a full restauran…
Snow and winter elsewhere