Northeast in December: Snow, Hornbill and Christmas Plans

December is the month the Northeast turns dry, cold and clear. You trade the monsoon greens for sharp views, snow on the Tawang road and some of the region's biggest festivals. Our December calendar fills faster than any other, mostly with Christmas in Shillong, the Hornbill Festival in Nagaland and snow at Sela.

The trick to December is planning around three limits: short daylight, fog on the plains, and peak pricing in the last ten days of the month.

December weather, place by place

These ranges are approximate long-term averages. Cold snaps and warm spells happen, and fog is common on the Assam plains.

Two practical facts matter more than the numbers. Sunset in Guwahati is around 4:30 pm in December, and it is dark by 5. And a clear, dry December night in Shillong or Tawang feels colder indoors than outdoors in many older buildings, so heating in hotels is worth paying for.

What's open, what's closed

All status items change year to year and even week to week, so check current status before you travel.

Snow at Sela and the Tawang road

For most of our December guests, snow means Sela Pass. At about 4,170 m on the Dirang–Tawang road, it usually has snow cover from December onwards. The Sela Tunnel, opened in 2024, has made winter crossings more dependable, but you still get snow on the approaches and at the pass viewpoint if you take the old road for photos.

In Tawang itself, snowfall happens on some December days but is not a sure thing. Bum La at the border has a better chance of snow, and also a better chance of closure. We always keep a buffer day in Tawang in winter. Our Sela Pass guide explains the tunnel and the old road, and the Bum La permit guide covers paperwork and timings.

Drives are slower in winter. Leave Dirang by 7:30 am to cross Sela in good light and reach Tawang before dark. Carry snacks and water; roadside stops are few above Baisakhi.

Hornbill Festival, 1–10 December

The Hornbill Festival is held every year from 1 to 10 December at Kisama Heritage Village, about 12 km from Kohima. Each day brings dances, games and food from Nagaland's tribes at the morungs (traditional community houses) set around the main arena. Evenings in Kohima often bring music and night markets.

What to know:

• Permit. Most Indian visitors need a Nagaland Inner Line Permit, applied for online (₹200 for 30 days at the time of writing). Foreign nationals should check current Protected Area Permit rules, which were tightened in late 2024.
• Stay. Kohima hotels fill fast. Many travellers use homestays in Kigwema and nearby villages close to Kisama.
• Timing. The first three days and the weekend are busiest. Midweek days in the second half are calmer.

Our Hornbill Festival guide has day-by-day detail, and our Hornbill Festival package adds Khonoma and Dzukou Valley.

Christmas and New Year in Shillong

Shillong is a largely Christian city, and Christmas is its biggest week. From mid-December, Police Bazaar, Laitumkhrah and the church neighbourhoods are lit up. Carol services and midnight mass fill the cathedrals and churches, and the cafe and live music scene runs late.

This also makes it the most expensive week of the year. From roughly 20 December to 2 January:

• hotels in Shillong raise rates and often set minimum stays
• Sohra resorts and Dawki camps are heavily booked
• traffic into Shillong on 24–25 and 31 December moves slowly

Book 8–12 weeks ahead. If you only need clear weather and not the festive buzz, the first two weeks of December give you the same sky at noticeably calmer prices.

Kaziranga and Dawki in December

Kaziranga is at full operation in December. Early safaris often start in fog that lifts between 8 and 9 am; the afternoon jeep safari usually gives clearer viewing. Winter migratory birds are present, and the grass is starting to thin after the monsoon growth. See our Kaziranga safari guide for ranges and slots.

The Umngot at Dawki is at its clearest from November to March. December is excellent for the see-through water photos, and the riverside camps at Shnongpdeng are operating.

Meghalaya beyond Shillong in December

December is the best month of the year for walking in Meghalaya. The trails are dry, the leeches of the monsoon are gone, and the air is clear enough to see the Bangladesh plains from the southern edge of the plateau.

• Sohra. The big falls are thinner than in October, but the views are cleaner. Nohkalikai still has a pool below and a ribbon of water; Seven Sisters may be down to one or two strands. Mawsmai Cave and the eco-park viewpoints are easy days.
• Nongriat. The Double Decker root bridge trek is at its most comfortable. The steps are dry, the pools are cold but clear, and you can do the round trip from Tyrna in about four to five hours at a steady pace.
• Laitlum. Winter sunrises here are often sharp and cloud-free. Leave Shillong by 5:30 am and carry a jacket; it is cold on the edge before the sun reaches it.
• Mawlynnong and the Dawki road. Dry and pleasant. Combine with the river for a long day, starting by 7:30 am to fit it all before dark.
• Krang Suri, near Jowai. The blue pool is at its clearest, though the water is cold. Swimming rules vary by season, so check on the day.

Assam beyond Kaziranga

The Assam plains are at their most comfortable in December, and several parks and islands worth adding are open.

Manas National Park, on the Bhutan border, is open for the winter season and quieter than Kaziranga. Pobitora, about an hour from Guwahati, has a high density of one-horned rhinos and suits a half-day trip before a flight. Majuli, reached by ferry from Nimati Ghat near Jorhat, is calm after the November Raas celebrations, and the satras are easy to visit in cool weather.

Ferry timings to Majuli can shift with river levels and fog, so leave room in the day.

Fog, flights and daylight

December brings morning fog to the Brahmaputra plains, and flights into and out of Guwahati can be delayed on some mornings. We avoid booking the earliest departure on the last day of a trip; a late-morning or afternoon flight is safer.

On the road, fog in Assam usually lifts by 9 or 10 am. Kaziranga to Guwahati, or Guwahati to Shillong, is fine by late morning. The bigger limit is daylight. With the sun down by about 4:30 pm in Guwahati and a little earlier in the hills, a six-hour drive needs a 9 am start at the latest. In Arunachal we aim to reach the night halt by 4 pm.

Crowds, prices and booking lead time

December has two clear halves.

1 to about 19 December. Clear, dry and reasonably priced everywhere except Kohima during Hornbill. Kaziranga lodges are busy at weekends but manageable. This is the best value window of the winter.

About 20 December to 2 January. Peak demand across Shillong, Sohra, Kaziranga and Tawang. Hotels raise rates and set minimum stays, taxis are harder to find at short notice, and popular viewpoints fill by mid-morning.

Booking lead times we work to:

• Hornbill (Kohima): 10–12 weeks
• Christmas–New Year in Shillong or Kaziranga: 8–12 weeks
• Tawang in the last fortnight: 6–8 weeks, with heated rooms booked first
• Early December anywhere else: 3–5 weeks

Other festivals around December

Torgya and Losar fall outside December, but they explain why some travellers push a winter Tawang trip into January or February. Our Northeast festival calendar has the full year. Check current status before you travel for any lunar-calendar festival.

Who should think twice about December

December is not for everyone. We steer these travellers to another month:

• Anyone who wants full waterfalls. Sohra's falls are at their thinnest from December to March. For volume, October is better.
• Seniors with breathing or heart conditions heading to Tawang. Cold plus altitude is a hard combination. Meghalaya and Kaziranga in December are fine; Tawang is easier in October or April.
• Travellers on a tight budget who can only go at Christmas. The same trip costs noticeably less in the first half of the month or in late January.
• Families with toddlers on the Arunachal road. Long, cold drive days with few stops are tough on small children. A Meghalaya and Kaziranga loop is kinder.

Winter food worth planning around

Cold weather suits the region's food. In Shillong, look for jadoh and pork dishes in the small Khasi eateries near Police Bazaar, and hot tea with local snacks in the afternoon. In Kohima during Hornbill, the festival stalls serve smoked pork, bamboo shoot dishes and local rice. In Tawang, thukpa, momos and butter tea are the winter staples, and most hotels serve dinner early.

Packing for December

• Assam and Meghalaya: warm jacket, sweater, cap, closed shoes, a light scarf for evenings.
• Tawang and Sela: thermal top and bottoms, padded or down jacket, gloves, woollen socks, waterproof boots, sunglasses for snow glare.
• Everywhere: moisturiser, lip balm, a refillable bottle (dry air), and a power bank, since cold drains phone batteries fast.

How we'd plan it

We build December trips around the fixed dates first, then the snow, then the rest.

1. If Hornbill is the draw: fly into Dimapur, spend four or five nights around Kohima between 1 and 10 December, and return via Guwahati.
2. If snow is the draw: eight nights covering Kaziranga, Dirang, Sela and Tawang, with Shillong at the end. Our Northeast in Winter package follows this shape; the shorter Winter Tawang and Sela Snow package focuses only on Arunachal.
3. If Christmas in Shillong is the draw: arrive by 22 December, keep Sohra and Dawki for 23 and 26 December, and stay in Shillong for the 24th and 25th.
4. If you want a bit of everything in a week: Shillong, Sohra, Dawki and Kaziranga, as in our Northeast in a Week package, ideally in the first half of the month.

In every case we finish long drives by 4 pm and keep one buffer day in the hills.

Send your December dates through the contact page and we will tell you which of these fits and what needs booking first.