Northeast Photography Tour

• Shillong
• 1,525 m
• 125 km · 4 hrs with stops
• Dinner

Land at Guwahati by noon if you can. The 100 km drive up to Shillong on NH-6 takes about three hours, with a stop at the Umiam Lake viewpoint, where the reservoir's arms curl between pine-covered hills. We check in and head straight out 25 km to Laitlum Canyons, which face south-west and catch the late sun across layered ridges and deep gorges. Walk down the first flight of steps from the rim for a lower angle with the village of Rasong below. A 24–70 mm and a longer lens both earn their place here. After sunset we return to Shillong. Tonight your guide goes through the plan, light times and gear list for the week.

• Sohra
• 1,480 m
• 55 km · 1.5 hrs, plus sightseeing
• Breakfast, Dinner

A slow morning in Shillong, then the drive south across open grassland to Sohra, with a stop at the Mawkdok Dympep gorge viewpoint, which is best before 11 am when haze is low. After lunch we go to Nohkalikai Falls, a 340 m plunge from the plateau into a turquoise pool; afternoon light falls across the cliff face. Flow is strongest from June to October and thin from December to February, so expect a slender ribbon in winter. Late afternoon, set up at the Mawsmai viewpoint for the Seven Sisters cliffs and the Bangladesh plains below as the sun goes down. We stay on the plateau edge in Sohra tonight.

• Shillong
• 1,525 m
• About 200 km · 6.5 hrs with stops
• Breakfast, Dinner

An early start takes us east through Pynursla to Mawlynnong, where the village lanes, bamboo bins and flower-lined paths photograph best before the tour buses arrive around 10 am. The Riwai living root bridge is 2 km away, a short walk down. We reach Dawki by late morning, when the sun is high enough to light the riverbed of the Umngot through clear green water and the boats seem to float. The water is clearest from November to April. Hire a boat at the ghat, priced per boat, and shoot from the suspension bridge as well. We drive back to Shillong in the afternoon, about 2.5 hours, arriving around dark.

• Kaziranga
• 70 m
• About 250 km · 6.5 hrs
• Breakfast, Dinner

We leave Shillong at 6.30 am and descend to the plains at Jorabat, then drive east on the highway through Nagaon. From Jakhalabandha the road runs along the southern edge of Kaziranga, and you often see rhinos and wild buffalo grazing in the grassland from the highway itself. We reach Kohora in the early afternoon. If the drive runs to time and slots are available, we take an afternoon jeep in the Central Range; otherwise we walk a tea garden in the last hour of light, when the pluckers finish work and the rows glow. Tonight we confirm tomorrow's jeep slot at the range office. Park entry and camera fees are paid at the gate.

• Majuli
• 85 m
• About 95 km · 2.5 hrs, plus ferry 1–1.5 hrs
• Breakfast, Dinner

The morning jeep enters the Central or Western Range around 7 am, the best light of the day for rhinos in the tall grass, swamp deer at the beels and pelicans, storks and fish eagles along the water. Sightings of rhino are close to certain; tigers are rare and never promised. Bring a 100–400 mm or similar, and a bean bag rather than a tripod, since jeeps are tight. After breakfast we drive to Nimati Ghat near Jorhat and take the ferry to Majuli, a crossing of about an hour with wide river views. In the evening photograph the prayers and lamp-lighting at a satra, one of the island's Vaishnav monasteries.

• Tezpur
• 48 m
• About 250 km · 7 hrs including the ferry
• Breakfast, Dinner

Sunrise over the Brahmaputra channels from Majuli is the reason for this stop: fishermen in wooden boats, mist on the water and cattle on the sandbars. By 7 am we are at Samaguri Satra, where monks make masks for Majuli's religious theatre from bamboo, clay and cloth, and a Mising village of stilt houses nearby. We take a morning ferry back to Nimati, then drive west along the south bank past Kaziranga and cross the Brahmaputra on the Kalia Bhomora bridge to Tezpur. Arrive in the late afternoon. If you still have energy, the view of the river from Agnigarh hill at sunset is worth the short climb.

• Dirang
• 1,560 m
• About 190 km · 6–7 hrs
• Breakfast, Dinner

Indian travellers show their Arunachal ILP at the Bhalukpong check gate; foreign nationals show their Protected Area Permit. The road follows the Kameng river gorge, a good place for a slow stop with the river below, then climbs through Tenga and over the Bomdila ridge at about 2,400 m. We descend to Dirang in its valley at about 1,560 m. In the late afternoon walk up to the old Dirang dzong village, a cluster of stone houses with carved wooden windows and prayer flags, which catches warm side light before sunset. Tonight is an acclimatisation stop: drink water, skip alcohol and rest, since tomorrow crosses 4,000 m.

• Tawang
• 2,670 m
• About 135 km · 5 hrs
• Breakfast, Dinner

We leave Dirang at 7 am to reach Sela Pass (4,170 m) while the sky is clear, which is usually before cloud builds after 10 am. When the old pass road is open, we stop at the top for the gateway, prayer flags and Sela Lake below, often frozen from December to March; when it is not, we use the Sela Tunnel, opened in March 2024. Keep your time at the top short and move slowly. The road then drops past the Jaswantgarh war memorial and Nuranang Falls near Jang, a 100 m drop worth a short stop. We reach Tawang by mid-afternoon and rest. An easy evening walk in the town market is enough today.

• Tawang
• 2,670 m
• About 25 km around town · 2 hrs
• Breakfast, Dinner

Tawang Monastery, founded in 1680–81 and the largest in India, is at its best in the early morning, when young monks cross the courtyard for prayers and the sun lights the assembly hall. Photography is allowed in the courtyard, but ask before photographing inside the halls or close up of monks. After breakfast visit the monastery museum, then the Tawang War Memorial for the 1962 war. In the afternoon, the view back across the valley to the monastery from the Giant Buddha statue area gives the classic wide shot with the town below. Indian citizens can add Bum La Pass on an extra day with Army permission; foreign nationals cannot go there.

• Bomdila
• 2,415 m
• About 170 km · 6 hrs
• Breakfast, Dinner

We leave after breakfast and cross Sela a second time, which is your backup chance if the pass was cloudy on the way up. Then the road descends through Dirang's valley, with a stop at the apple and kiwi orchards if they are in season, and climbs to Bomdila, a ridge town at about 2,400 m. In the late afternoon we photograph Gontse Gaden Rabgye Ling monastery above the town as the light turns warm, and on clear evenings the Kangto and Gorichen ranges show to the north. Tonight is the last night in the hills; back up your cards and batteries before the long drive tomorrow.

• Departure
• 55 m
• About 340 km · 9–10 hrs
• Breakfast

We leave Bomdila at 6 am for the long drive back to the plains through Tenga and Bhalukpong, where the forest gives way to tea gardens and rice fields. After a breakfast stop, the road runs past Tezpur and across the Brahmaputra toward Guwahati. Expect to reach Guwahati Airport between 4 and 5 pm, so book a flight after 7.30 pm or ask us to add a night in Guwahati. With an extra night, you can photograph the Brahmaputra at sunrise from Uzan Bazar ghat or the old stone steps below Kamakhya. The driver helps with your bags at the terminal. Send us your favourite frames; we like seeing them.