Ziro - Endless Destination

Ziro

Ziro - A picturesque town in Lower Subansiri district, of Arunachal Pradesh, Northeast India. it is home to the Apatani tribe. If you want to spend a few moments of peace with yourself, Zero is the best place for you . This valley is far away from the hullabaloo of the city, where you can meditate with yourself.

Ziro is famous for gentle pine clad hills and lush green high altitude paddy fish farms you can seen here,which is nowhere in the world, apart of the natural beauty of the city, it also hosts the popular Ziro Music Festival in September every year.

If you want to visit the World Heritage Site and the beautiful hill station, then the Zero of Arunachal Pradesh will be a good place. The more beautiful it is, the quieter it is with the crowds of tourists. 

Let us first know what is the Ziro Festival of Music ? 

Started in 2012 by musicians Bobby Hanno and Anoop Kutty, Ziro Festival is currently emerging as an annual outdoor concert in its fifth edition. The Ziro Festival of Music is said to be the most fun outdoor music festival of India. The festival features some of the best talent of the country and abroad, and also showcases local talent from all the 7 states of the Northeast. Visitors to the festival come from all over the world, mainstream.

The location of the festival makes it all the more special, set against the backdrop of paddy fields in Ziro Valley. This festival is celebrate for 04 days end of September every year.

If you want to forget about everything in music, then pack your bag and get out to be a part of Ziro Festival.

Apatani Tribe of Ziro 

The Apatani are one of the major tribal groups in the eastern Himalayas. These tribes reside in the Ziro Valley of Lower Subansiri in Arunachal Pradesh. The people of the Apani tribe follow a different religion, the Doniyi Polo. In this, they worship the sun and moon and offer animal sacrifices to please their traditional deities.

Apatani lies hidden a dark tale behind the tattooed faces and the oversized nose piercings which are synonymous with the women of this tribe. Legend has it that the Apatani women were renowned for their beauty. Their pretty faces and sharp features attracted a lot of undue attention from the men of neighbouring tribes, who started to kidnap and forcefully marry them. The solution that the village elders came up with next was worse than the horrid problem itself. Though this primitive practice of facial distortion has long been discontinued (since 1970’s), but the fading remnants on the wrinkled faces of older women still act as a bridge that connects one from the not-so-distant past. If you like to meet new people, then here you can meet new people, who are in a completely different in the world. 

Adventure & Jungle with The Apatani Tribe in Ziro

Talle Valley trail winds up and down mountains, valleys and across rivers. On this trek, you cross the Pange Valley, Talle Valley and Ziro Valley. All three are picturesque, surrounded by robust, green mountains. There are multiple trekking trails and rivers running through its pristine and colourful landscape which varies from the sub-tropical to the alpine (2000-4000 meters), offering an unmatched diversity. 

Talle Valley: Spend 3 days finding and setting up camp, wildlife locating drinkable water, lighting fires without matches, all done under the watch of our professional guide. During trekking dicover the beauty of Talle valley & try to know Apatani way of life. Stay with them & lean primitive skills. 

Sidheswar Nath Temple, Kardo - Ziro 

World tallest Siva Linga located in Kardo jungle of hill forest. Head quarter of Lower Subansiri District Hapoli, Ziro Arunachal Pradesh. It is the sacred month of Shravana to Worship Lord Shiva. A wood cutter was cutting a tree at right side of Lingam,but tree was changing its direction while falling in ground. So he was surprising about this incident and he started searching by clearing grasses at expected spot of falling direction of tree.Such a way he discovered this Shiva Lingam at Kardo Hill under Ziro.

This Shiva Linga are like as follows, Height is 24 feet, Circumference is 22 feet, Pravati stands in backside, Kartica in right side, Ganesha is sitting in left side, Ganga is flowing from beneath of Shiva Linga. He is wearing Rudra mala and Bhashki Nag at top of head and also Bheel patta at head of left side. Nandi is laying under earth that slightly appearing in surface.

Food & Drinks Trails of Ziro 

Rice Beer

Apatani people grown different varieties of rice in high altitude mountains with the combination of fish. They made their house rice beer which is very popular, homemade rice beer along with a special salt 'Tapyo' which they made in their house along with the ashes of indigenous plants.

So far you must have tasted the taste of beer in glass glasses but in zero you can taste the beer in bamboo glasses but this experience will be new for you.

Food for local people fried frog, roasted rat, pork etc. This is the basis food which they eat with rice. 

Two Birds with One Stone: Rice with Fish Farming 

A unique experience for traveler to visit Rice-fish culture involves farmers introducing fish into their rice fields especially in high altitude .This technique is good for both the fish and the rice. Safely hidden from birds, the fish thrive in the dense rice plants, while they in turn provide a source of fertilizer with their droppings, eat insect pests and help to circulate oxygen around the rice field. Farmers tell us that keeping fish in rice fields can increase rice yields by up to 10% – plus they have the additional supplies of fish. 

Restrictions to Visit Arunachal Pradesh 

For Indian Tourist: To visit Arunachal Pradesh Inner Line Permit (ILP) require. To get the permit you can visit near your city Govt. office like Arunachal Bhavan in Delhi, Arunachal Bhavan in Kolkata, Tourism Office, Guwahati International Airport, Assam Prayan Bhawan in Guwahati,

While applying for ILP require your identity card & 02 Passport size photo & INR 200 for permit charge. 

For Foreign Tourist: To visit Arunachal Pradesh need to apply Protected Area Permit (PAP). while you are going to apply visa for India where you can mentioned in the Visa form. Please try to apply before 01 month because PAP approx take 30 days from Ministry of home affairs of India for approval

Minimum 02 person require to visit this area. Single tourist is not allowed.

In case if you are in India & wants to visit Arunachal Pradesh shall have to pay USD 50 per person as Royalty to the Pradesh & application for PAP are to be applied through local approved tour operators only.

Permit allow for 01 month to visit Arunachal Pradesh 

Exception: Citizens of Pakistan, Bangladesh, China and Myanmar (Burma) can get the PAP only with the approval of the Ministry of Home Affairs.

For more details please visit : http://arunpol.gov.in/ilp.html

How to Reach Ziro

By Air:

The nearest domestic airport from Ziro is at Jorhat, Assam which is approx. 95 km away. Another airport is at Lilabari, which is at a distance of 120 km from Ziro. The nearest international airport of Ziro is at Guwahati at a distance of about 450 km.