North East India Tour: Assam & Meghalaya

An off-the-beaten-path tour through India's North Eastern states of Assam and Meghalaya, known for their rich tribal culture, unique food, music, dances, and landscapes.

This is an immersive, slow-travel experience in a part of India where not many travelers go. North East India comprises seven sister states and shares its borders with Myanmar, Bangladesh, Bhutan, and Tibet. This tour introduces you to two of these states, Assam and Meghalaya, offering a particularly special visit to travelers seeking the opposite of cookie-cutter experiences.

Assam is known for its national parks, including Manas National Park and the UNESCO World Heritage Kaziranga National Park. Here, you can enjoy safaris, rural community visits that include cooking, song, and dance, tea gardens, a weaving experience, and an optional visit to an orchid farm.

In Meghalaya, you'll visit a local farmer's market, sacred forests, caves with stalactites and stalagmites, and see the incredible living root bridges. You'll have the opportunity for some hiking, spend time with another indigenous community, and see silk weaving firsthand.

You will be delighted to discover a refreshing side of India that feels wild and soulful!

• Hike to several stunning waterfalls and living root bridges (an architectural marvel unique to this region)
• Spend a day with the indigenous tribes of this region, experiencing their village life and cuisine
• Participate in a cultural dance and music session with the communities
• Join an immersive textile workshop with a women's collective and learn the process of silk weaving, from the silk worm to the final cloth
• Rejuvenate in carefully chosen boutique hotels and family-run homestays for a local experience and cultural exchange
• Embark on several stunning safaris in Assam's national parks (Manas and Kaziranga), where you may see tigers, one-horned rhinoceros, wild buffalo, and Asian elephants
• Learn from meaningful storytelling throughout
• Participate in Indian festivals (mostly in November)
• Optional: Visit an orchid park

The best time to visit North East India is between mid-September and March. The weather is sunny and dry, with colder temperatures between November and January. This is the time of most of the festivals, wildlife safaris, and cultural interactions.

If you don't mind the rain and would like to trek, the monsoon turns this landscape into a stunning region. You can consider a walking or trekking trip to this region between April and August.

As an award-winning tour for our sustainable practices, we prioritize responsible tourism by limiting our visitor capacity to 500 per season and embracing the principles of slow travel. We are committed to supporting the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals, specifically numbers 1, 5, 8, 10, 11, 12, 13, and 15. By doing so, we aim to contribute to a sustainable future for both the environment and local communities

• Environmental Initiatives

This trip is designed to prioritize environmental sustainability and the welfare of indigenous communities. We are committed to adhering to strict standards that ensure no animal-harming or baiting during safaris at Kaziranga and Manas National Parks. Our focus is on conserving ecosystems and preserving biodiversity during this holiday.

We have taken measures to minimize waste, including avoiding single-use plastics and water bottles. You will be provided with a reusable stainless steel bottle that you can take back home after the trip.

To trim our carbon footprint, all of our cars are in line with the latest emission standards. However, we always recommend taking trains whenever possible. If our guests choose to travel by car, we ensure that it is an eco-friendly option.

While we focus on sustainable eating and vegetarian meals, we also acknowledge that the food in this part of India offers a variety of non-vegetarian options. Our artisan visits ensure that guests only buy sustainable and Indian products, supporting local communities and businesses. Additionally, all our raw materials for meals are sourced locally, promoting sustainability and reducing our carbon footprint.

Our approach to tourism involves steering travelers away from popular tourist destinations and instead introducing them to lesser-known areas. By doing so, we promote tourism dispersal, which can help alleviate over-tourism. Additionally, we educate travelers on responsible behavior in the destination to raise awareness and promote sustainable tourism practices.

The food and spices used are locally sourced to avoid carbon emissions from long-distance transport. This also provides a dining experience that would not be available in typical restaurants.

• Sociocultural Initiatives

We offer a unique and authentic travel experience that connects travelers with the local community and culture. We prioritize meaningful engagement with local communities and offer opportunities for travelers to stay overnight with them, providing an immersive experience and a deeper understanding of the local traditions and lifestyle. On this trip, you visit the Boro, Karbi, and Khasi tribal communities.

We are committed to being mindful of local health and natural resources, ensuring that our trips are conducted sustainably and with minimal impact on the environment. We train and employ local guides only, and take great care to hire staff and contractors without any religious, racial, or gender bias, ensuring an inclusive and non-discriminatory work environment.

Our experiences encourage interactions between guests and communities, while also educating both parties about each other's cultural aspects and promoting sensitivity. We offer small groups and private tours to ensure that we do not overwhelm the communities we visit and that each trip is conducted with respect and sustainability in mind.

• Economic Initiatives

Your days in India will support local businesses and the local community as a whole, not just a few businesses. With this trip, we provide local employment and fair wages as well as good and safe working conditions. This will be clearly visible as you travel with us.

Our travel company is committed to supporting local communities. One of the ways we achieve this is by training and employing local guides exclusively. This not only helps support the local economy but also ensures that guests have an authentic and insightful travel experience.

In addition, we engage local craftsmen and marginalized communities in workshops that we offer to our guests. This not only provides an opportunity for guests to learn new skills and crafts but also helps support local artisans and makes their traditional crafts visible.

We are proud to have a fair-wage policy that sets higher pay compared to the government guidelines. This ensures that our staff is well-compensated for their hard work and that they can support themselves and their families.

Our employment policy is also gender-neutral and based solely on a person's skill set. This ensures that all individuals, regardless of their gender, have an equal opportunity to be employed and contribute to the local community.

By purchasing goods directly from local artisans, you can be sure that any income generated goes directly to the grassroots community, helping support local businesses and families. We believe that supporting local communities in this way not only benefits them but also enriches the travel experience for our guests.

All the sustainable practices this trip implements have made it an award-winning one.

Be sure you have traveler's insurance.