Indian Cuisine: Best cuisine of east India

We look at the best cuisine of east India and the delicious dishes you should sample in Bihar, Orissa, West Bengal and Sikkim.

Three common threads connect the cuisine of the eastern states of Bengal, Bihar and Orissa. The first is the use of opium, or rather poppy seeds. The seeds are considered highly nutritious, and the paste of white poppy seeds is added for thickness, texture and a unique flavour.

East-Indian-Food-Thali

Bengal makes the alu posto made with potatoes and gourd. A paste of posto made with ground seeds seasoned with mustard oil, green chili and salt is also had with hot steamed rice. Orissa has jahni alu posta (a potato and gourd dish), and Bihar loves postaa-dana kaa halwa, a sweet pudding made of poppy seeds.

The second common thread is the use of the strong and pungent mustard oil as a cooking medium.

The third is the use of paanch phoron (literally ‘five seeds’ – aniseed, mustard seed, fenugreek, carrom, and nigella seeds). Beyond this, the cuisine of Orissa and Bengal overlap quite a bit with both states laying claim to inventing several famous foods (like the rosogolla, a famous sweet made of cheese).

Bihar

The cuisine of Bihar is a mixture of North and Eastern Indian cuisine. Chickpea flour is used in a variety of ways including the popular litti (baked and stuffed bread made of roasted chickpea flour, pictured below) served with chokha (potato, tomato and brinjal mash), sattu parathas stuffed with chickpea flour and the sattu drink, used in summers to cool down and get quick energy. The sattu along with Bihari kebabs are two signature dishes of Bihar that are popular outside the state as well.

Litti-From-Bihar

Orissa

Orissa, though famous for its food, often gets overshadowed by Bengal. It is believed that most of Bengal’s famous cooks came from Orissa, and quite a few Bengali dishes are derivatives of Oriya cuisine. Dalma is a unique and famous dish prepared in Orissa with vegetables and dal. All meals have a khatta – a sweet and sour dish. The famous khattas are dahi baingan, tomatoes khatta and amba khatta. During scorching summers, the cooling pakhal (pictured below),  made of rice, water, and yogurt fermented overnight, prevents heat strokes.

Pakhala from Orissa

Bengal

Bengal loves fish and no meal is complete without ‘maachher jhol and bhaat’ (fish curry and rice). If you have a sweet tooth, you will be spoilt for choice here as Bengalis are famous for their sweet concoctions (pictured below) – fried, steamed and baked.

Mishti doi, rosogolla and sandesh from Bengal

Try the mishti doi (sweet curd), rosogolla and sandesh (both made from cottage cheese).

The city of Kolkata has its own special cuisine, different from the rest of Bengal. It is influenced by the passage of conquerors and immigrants the city has witnessed over centuries. Street food like kathi kebabs and rolls are influenced by the Mughals. The footprint of the Brits can be seen in the varieties of cutlets including the kabiraji cutlet, the Jews gave alu makallah, the khaw suey came from the Burmese, and the Chinese contributed chowmein and noodles. A signature dish of Kolkata, the Chingri Malai Curry, has Malaysian roots.

Sikkim

Further up from Bengal, towards the Himalayas is the state of Sikkim, which has its own distinctive culinary style influenced by neighbouring Tibet, Bhutan and Nepal. A popular food is the momo (pictured below) – a dumpling stuffed with chicken, pork, beef or vegetables.

Sikkimese people love noodle-based soups with or without meat to keep the chill out. Thukpa, thanthu, gyathuk, and fakthu are one-pot soup meals.

Sha-phaleys are fried patties filled with minced meat had as a snack. Chhurpi is a local cheese made from cow or yak’s milk, commonly used by mountaineers who chew it to maintain salivation.

Momo from Sikkim

Sikkimese use a lot of fermented foods – like kinema, a fermented soybean with a high protein content, and the sel roti made with fermented rice. Gundruk soup (prepared using leaves of mustard, radish and cauliflower) is a great option for vegetarians. So is Sinki made from roots of the radish.

Rice isn’t the only grain, Sikkim uses a wide variety – finger millet, wheat, buckwheat and barley. When the Himalayan chill gets to you, try the local drink chhang, a millet beer served in bamboo tankards, sure to warm you up.

No matter where you travel you’ll find the cuisine of east India offers plenty of variety to get the mouth watering and taste buds tingling!

Swaad with Sharmaji

The Living Root Bridges of Cherrapunjee, India

The lower reaches of the southern slopes of Khasi and Jaintia hills, in Northeastern India, are humid, warm and streaked by many swift flowing rivers and mountain streams. On the slopes of this hill, among the dense undergrowth, a species of Indian Rubber tree – (Ficus Elastica) -  thrives and flourishes. These trees shoot out many secondary roots from their trunks. The trees, supported by these secondary roots, can comfortably perch itself on huge boulders along side the riverbanks or in the middle of rivers and send its roots down to the riverbed.

Root Bridges

The ancient War-Khasi people, a tribe in Meghalaya, had noticed these qualities of this tree and had adapted it to serve their need for building bridges across rivers and streams. In order to direct the roots in the desired direction, the Khasis sliced betel nut tree trunks half in the middle for their entire length, hollowed them out and passed the thin and long tender roots through them. The roots start growing towards other end of the stream and when they are reached they are allowed to take root in the soil. Given enough time, a sturdy, living bridge is produced.

Root-bridges in day

Some of these root bridges can carry fifty or more people at a time and can be over 100 feet long. These bridges take 10 to 15 years to become fully functional, and they keep growing in strength by the day. Some of these bridges are well over 500 years old.

Woman washing cloth under root bridge

These bridges are unique to Meghalaya only and are being used daily even today by people living in many villages around Cherrapunjee. One special bridge has two bridges stacked one over the other. The villagers of Nongriat where this bridge is located at the bottom of the valley call it 'Umshiang Double Decker Root Bridge’.

Side look root bridge

Seven sisters of India

The Seven Sisters of India are relatively untouched, unexplored and isolated states of north east India. North East states are heavily forested and land of tribes peoples. These states are full of natural beauty,exotic places and wide variety of beautiful wild animals like rhinoceros, elephants and numerous species of birds. North east region consist of seven contiguous states Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland and Tripura. Northeast India is ethnically distinct from the other states of India. Assam is the gateway through which the seven sister states are connected to the mainland. Sikkim and some parts of North Bengal is also come under the north east India. India’s Northeast is one of South Asia’s hottest trouble spots.These seven sister states has major population of tribes peoples in India.

Seven Sisters of India

Assam: 

The gateway of seven sisters is surrounded by other six states. Assam is one of the richest biodiversity zones in the world and consists of tropical rain forests, grasslands and numerous wetlands ecosystems now protected as Kaziranga and manas national parks. It is also know for its beautiful dark green tea gardens, Deep forest of Sal trees. Assam is the home for one-horned Indian rhinoceros, along with The Royal Bengal Tiger and numerous species of birds, it also provides one of the last wild habitats for the Asian elephant. Assam and other states offers so many big festivals like Bohag Bihu,Cheiraoba and Losoong.

Assam Tourism - Tea Plantation

Arunachal Pradesh: 

Land of the rising sun has many undiscovered places to attract tourist form many parts of the world. Tourist attractions include Buddhist monastery in tawang, Sela lake near Bomdila with its bamboo bridges overhanging the river and undiscovered scenic beauty of tuting. Rafting and trekking are also main attractable sports. Namdapha National Park located in Arunachal Pradesh, is one of the unexplored national park of India, It is also home for some of the giant animals, the great Hornbills and Red Giant Flying Squirrel.

Arunachal Pradesh - Bamboo Bridge

Manipur: 

“The originator of Polo game” is lies in an oval-shaped valley surrounded by blue mountains. There are four major river basins in Manipur and all the rivers in the valley area are in the mature stage. Manipur may be characterized in two distinct regions – Outer area of rugged hills and narrow valleys and the inner area of flat plain. The climate of Manipur is largely influenced by the topography of this hilly region. The valley region has a number of hills and lakes, The Loktak lake is an important feature of vally.

Loktak Lake in Manipur

Meghalaya: 

Meghalaya means “The Abode of Clouds”. Meghalaya lies in strip of hills in the eastern part, one third area of the states is forested. Meghalaya forest is also know for its biodiversity of mammals, birds, and plants. There are several falls around Shillong. The Shillong peak is highest in the state and is good for trekking. Meghalaya is the wettest place on earth, annual rainfall as high as 1200 cm in some areas. Cherrapunji holds the world record for most rain in a calendar month, while the village of Mawsynram, holds the distinction for heaviest yearly rains. The Langshiang Falls at Meghalaya is one of the largest waterfalls in India.

Waterfalls in Meghalaya

Mizoram: 

Also called “land of the Mizo people” Mizo means “highlander”. Mizoram is a land of rolling hills, valleys, rivers and lakes,it has the most varicolored hilly terrain. Blue Mountain is the highest peak in Mizoram. These hills are separated by rivers, these rivers created deep gorges between the hill ranges. Hilly regions gives it a mild climate all year. Mizoram is rich in flora and fauna and many kinds of tropical trees and plants thrive in the area. The Palak lake is major attraction and it is the biggest lake in Mizoram.

Palak Lake in Mizoram

Nagaland: 

Nagaland is the one of the smallest as well as largely mountainous state of India. Mount saramati is the highest peak of Naga hills in state. Nagaland is rich among all other states in flora and fauna and in evergreen forests. The Great Indian Horn-bill is one of the most famous birds found in the state. Naga tribes also found in most of the sister states, There are total 15 recognized tribes in the present state of Nagaland.

Nagahills in Nagaland

Tripura: 

Tripura is a landlocked hilly state with many rivers including the Manu River which originates here. Tripura has a rich cultural heritage of music, fine arts, handicrafts and dance. Music is an integral part of the tribal people of Tripura. Tripura is rich in flora and fauna and many species of trees and plants. Dance is an important to the tribal in all states of north east.

Tribal States of India

Tribes in India: India is a land of multitudinous culture and peoples.Every state of India has its own culture and tradition. The different forms of people found here out numbers any country.There are certain states in India where the number of tribal  population is much more than that of the other states. Due to the presence of these tribes India has receive various flavors and the tribal people are the real treasures of our countries. Major population of tribes are found in Chhattisgarh, Orissa, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesha and North East “The Seven Sister States of India. The tribes peoples of India are also know as “Adivasis”. The specific meaning of Adivasis is the original inhabitants of a given region. The Andaman and Nicobar Islands  are also the home for various tribes like The Great Andamanese, Onge, Jarawa and Sentinelese.

Tribes of India

It must be very interesting reading to know tribes peoples and their culture.

Chhattisgarh: 

“Rice bowl of India” This is a newly formed state and situated in situated in the heart of India, it is very well known for its cultural heritage, attractive natural diversity and for tribes community. Tribes of Chhattisgarh are unique in their lifestyles and have beautifully retained their own culture and traditions for centuries. Bastar is the largest tribal district of Chhattishgarh and Gonds tribes Gonds of Bastar being the most prominent among them. The Gond Tribes include the Baiga, Korba, Abhuj Maria, Muria and Dhurvaa tribes.The tribal women love to wear ornaments made of cowries, shells, bones, mixed metals, copper and bronze.

Chhattisgarh tribes peoples

Orissa: 

The number of tribes that reside in Orissa is the highest anywhere in India. Chhattisgarh is the neighbor state of orissa, so Gond and Baiga tribes also found in some part of Orissa. The major tribes of the state are Kondhs, Koyas, Gadabas, Oraon, Juangs and Santals. Tribes of Orissa are very hard worker, they work in mills and plants. The major occupation of tribes are agriculture, fishing or hunting. Bamboo is used to make arts and crafts by the tribe peoples, and these are really very attractive. Tribes women wear a lengthy cloth material that they wrap around themselves, girls are seen with tattoos on their faces. The tribal state also offers best natural beauty in India, sparking waterfalls, magnificent lakes and big dams are the major attraction.

Baiga Girls of orissa

Jharkhand: 

State of tribal peoples, it is one of the most industrialized states of India, including Wildlife Sanctuaries and Forest. The tribes of Jharkhand are expert in making plates made up of Sal leaves joined together by tiny sticks. Kharias are one of the important tribes of Jharkhand, other tribes of Jharkhand are are Baiga, Asur, Santals, Oraons, Mundas and Hos.The tribes of Jharkhand also use bamboo for making baskets,hunting & fishing. Tribal peoples have tattoos called Godna, on their bodies instead of wearing ornaments, Bow and arrow is the symbolic weapon of the tribal of this area.

Tribes of jharkhand

Madhya Pradesh: 

Madhya Pradesh is a medley of ethnic groups and tribes, castes and communities. Tribes of Madhya Pradesh also known for well preserved traditions presented in the form of tribal music and dance. Madhya Pradesh was the largest state in India before the state of Chhattisgarh was carved out. Dhar, Jhabua and Mandla  districts have more than 50 percent tribal population. The main tribal groups in Madhya Pradesh are Gond, Bhil, Baiga, Maximum population is Gond tribes. The Bhils live in the mountain regions in the states of Madhya Pradesh and Bhils are considered as the third largest and most widely distributed tribal groups in India. Bhils tribes also found in some states of Rajsathan.

Traditional bils tribes

North East States: 

Also know as seven sisters of India, The north eastern states of India holds a large number of tribal population. The tribal chiefs enjoying a lot of power and status in the region. The northeastern states comprise thick forest and the virgin land are home of several North east tribal. The main tribes of north east states are Naga, Garo, Khasi, Maram, Tripuri, Reang, Monpas, Bamons. The Naga tribes had social and political links with tribes of Assam. Each tribes is having its own custom, language, dress and jewelery. The main occupation of these tribes is cultivation.

Naga Tribes of NorthEast

Sikkim Tourism - Things to do in Sikkim

Sikkim is one of the “Seven Sisters” in India. This term is used to describe the seven tiny states that together form India’s North-East. The small and truly untouched state of Sikkim has majestic landscapes and lush green hills. It is indeed blessed with nature’s bounty. Even after a considerable rise in tourism over the recent years, its sanctity and beauty have been preserved by its proud people and conscientious authorities. Sikkim is divided into four districts – North, South, East and West. We explore some of the highlights to help you with your Sikkim travels.

View from Hanuman Tok - Gangtok -Sikkim

North Sikkim: 

Here you will find the revered Guru-Dongmar Lake, which is considered sacred by both Buddhists and Hindus. Its mystical powers are heightened by the fact that even in the harshest winters parts of the lake remain unfrozen. The lake is considerably inaccessible and requires a two-day expedition. A popular destination closer to the capital, Gangtok is Yumthang – the Valley of Flowers. In spring, Yumthang is bathed with scarlet rhododendrons and wildflowers, a sight to behold.

Buddhist Temple in Sikkim

East Sikkim: 

Gangtok, the capital of the state lies in this part of Sikkim. In Gangtok, one can enjoy the local cuisine and shop for handicrafts. Many beautiful tourist destinations like the Rumtek and Enchey monasteries, Jhakri Falls and Tashi Viewpoint are a short drive from the city. Perhaps the most enchanting attraction of the state is the Nathula Pass-Tsomgo Lake-Baba Mandir trinity. Although these destinations aren’t in this part of the State, taxis and tours to reach them are best hired in Gangtok itself. Nathu-La is located at over 14,200 meters and offers one of the most breathtaking sights in India. En route to Nathu-La stop at the still and crystal-clear Tsomgo/Chhangu Lake, where you can ride on a yak, shop for locally produced goods and catch a bite to eat. Tourists require special permits to visit Nathu-La. It is closed on Monday and Tuesday

Sikkim Assembly Building

South Sikkim: 

This is the sleepy and peaceful part of the serene state. The hub of this district is Ravangla, which is located at the height of 7,000 meters. The township, famous for the Temi Tea Garden and wildlife, comes alive during the Lhabsol festival in August-September. Before leaving the district make sure you visit Samdruptse. In the Bhutia language, Samdruptse means ‘Wish Fulfilling Hill’. Here stands the 135 feet high statue of Guru Padmasambhava, made of concrete and copper.

Monastery at Ravangla

Western Sikkim: 

While South Sikkim is a haven for peace lovers, Western Sikkim is for thrill seekers. Rafting and kayaking on River Teesta draws people from far and wide to this small region. For visitors who prefer to tame the mountains, rock climbing and mountain biking expeditions can be organised.

Teesta River in Sikkim

Top Festival and Fairs of India

India is the land of festival and fairs, each day of year is celebrate as a festival at some part of country. To know India and its different culture and traditions explore the sites with us during these major festivals of states. There are so many major festival in India celebrate on the different point of year at different region some of the famous Indian festival and places are Makar Sankranti in Gujarat Krishna Janmashtami in Mathura and Maha Shivaratri in Varanasi and Deoghar Yatra.

Ganesh Festival - Mumbai

The Mumbai Ganesh festival is celebrated on the auspicious Occasion of birth of  the Lord Ganesha. The elephant headed god Ganesha is a Hindu deity of success,remover of Obstacles and intellect and wisdom. Lord Ganesh is the patron deity of Maharashtra but also worshiped all across India. The 11 days Ganesh Festival is celebrated with a huge pomp and show on the streets of Mumbai, Juhu Chowpatty beach is the popular immersion point in Mumbai. Ganesh Chaturthi usually falls between 20 August and 15 September every year.

Ganesh Visharjan @ Juhu - Mumbai

Durga Puja/Navratri - Kolkata

Navratri, the festival of nine nights dedicated to the Hindu Goddess Shakti.This festival is known as Durga Puja in Kolkata. Durga Puja is the biggest festival of West Bengal state and celebrated for 10 days across the state as well as in country. Kolkata Durga Puja is very famous as thousand of Durga pandals are set up across the streets and adorned with lights. Festival of Durga Puja falls in the month of September-October every year.

Durga Pooja - Kolkata

Kumbh Mela - Allahabad

Kumbh Mela is a the biggest Hindu pilgrimage where Hindus gather from every corner of the world for at the bank of holy rivers Ganges and Godavari for a holy bath for purification from sin.Kumbh Mela is the largest human gathering in the world for a religious purpose. Kumbh Mela is celebrated in every 12 years and attracts around 70 million people around the world, Major attraction of Kumbh Mela is the saints,sadhu,naga sadhus and yogis who live in caves and jungles gather here to bless the people. The Kumbh Mela will start on 27-January-2013 at Allahabad.

Naga baba's at Kuimbh - Allahabad

Carnival - Goa

The state of Goa celebrates its one of the biggest festival of the year, the Goan carnival festival. Carnival at Goa is not stop three days and nights festival of fun,entertainment,song,music and colors. Goa Carnival is one of the most awaited festival and attracts many tourists from all over the world. Konkani dance, Street plays and Grand feast are few major attraction of Goa Carnival festival, It will be starting in February 2013,get ready for food,dance,music and fun.

Goa Carnival

Braj ki Holi - Barsana

Holi is the most popular festival of colors, celebrate by Hindus across the Indian subcontinent. Its a religious spring festival celebrated for the beginning of the new season and a religious purpose of Holika Dahan and Prahlada. The Braj region of India is famous for its 16 days traditional holi celebration,some time Braj Region of Mathura, celebrate Holi for a month and two. Latthmaar Holi of Barsana is the major attractions of the city where women beat up men with sticks.

Lathmar holi in Braj

Bihu Festival - Assam

Bihu is the biggest festival of Indian state Assam, there are three Bihu festival celebrated at the different point of years Bohaag in the middle of April,Maagh in the middle of January and Kaati in the middle of October. The Bohaag is called as Rongali Bihu is the major Bihu celebrated on the occasion of the Assamese New Year. Bihu dance and Bihu folk songs are the major attraction of the festival along with the tribes of Assam.

Bihu Festival - North East India - Assam

Dussehra - Bastar

Dusshera or Vijayadashmi is the most popular Indian festival celebrated on the 10th day of Navratri. Vijayadashmi is celebrated on the marks of victory of good over evil,victory of Goddess Durga over Mahishasura and Lord Rama over Ravana. Bastar is a district of Chhattisgarh, where the Danteshwari Temple is located, one of the 52 Shakti Peethas in India. Every year during the Dusshera all tribes of Dantewada, Bastar region,surrounding villages and jungles gather at Danteshwari Temple to pay homage to the goddess Danteshwari. Bastar Dussehra festival is one of the most popular tourist attraction of the state.

Dusshera - Vijayadashmi - Batsar

Chhath Puja - Bihar

Chhath Puja is the oldest Hindu festival dedicated to God Sun or Surya, the god of energy and life.The festival is celebrated mostly in Bihar, Jharkhand, Eastern region of Uttar Pradesh. Chhath Puja is a four days festival include holy bath,fasting and offering prayer to setting and rising sun. Its unique religious and the most respectable festival in state of Bihar. Chhath Puja will be celebrating on the month of November in 2013.

Chhath Pooja - Bihar

Jagannath Rath Yatra - Puri

The Festival of Chariots of Lord Jagannatha, held every year at Puri in the tribal state of Orissa. The 10 day’s ratha yatra is commemorates Lord Jagannath’s, annual visit to Gundicha mata’s temple a short distance away. Thousands of pilgrims come to Puri during the festival with an desire to help pull Lords chariot with ropes. This is the only day when devotees who are not allowed in the temple premises such as non-Hindus and foreigners, can get their glimpse of the deities.

Jagannath Rath Yatra - Puri - Orrisa

Sabarimala Temple - Kerala

The Grand festival of Sabarimala Temple is celebrated in honor of Lord Ayyapa, Sabarimala is located in the Pathanamthitta District in Kerala at Western Ghat mountain ranges. Sabarimala Temple Festival is the largest annual pilgrimage in the world with 45–50 million devotees per year. The Hindu God Ayyappan worship only during the days of Mandalapooja one of days between November 15 to December 26.

Sabrimala Temple - Kerala

Incredible India' of the Northeast: 'Paradise Unexplored'

The 'Incredible !ndia' of the Northeast: 'Paradise Unexplored'

North East India is indeed a paradise unexplored and one of the best destination for nature lovers, trekkers and wildlife enthusiasts. North East India includes 7 contiguous states Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Meghalaya, Manipur, Mizoram, Nagaland and Tripura, Hence also known as Seven Sister States of India. The North Eastern region also host one brother called Sikkim and some parts of Bengal as Darjeeling, Jalpaiguri, and Koch Bihar. It is one of the most treasured and Eco-friendly area in India with vast natural resources and a cauldron of different people and cultures.

Loktake-Lake-Manipur

Culture: 

The unexplored paradise of India is well known for its distinct culture and traditional lifestyle. North east region offers a mixed culture of Hindu,Christianity,Muslim and Buddhism,Buddhist Cultural is occupies an important place and large number of ethnic groups as compare to other religions. Every tribal group of these states has its own unique tribal culture, tribal folk dance and food and crafts.

Culture-of-Arunachal

People: 

North-East Indian people offers a colorful reflection of their land and traditional lifestyle. The Mongoloid faced people of this region’s are very distinctive in characteristics of dress,customs and language. Major tribes of hills like Khasi, Garo and Jaintia are the people with very rich in culture and traditions and tribal people of valley’s have religious beliefs, music,dance and arts.

Assam-tribal-people

Lifestyle: 

Lifestyle of North Eastern Indian states are vary from one place to other, people of states are divided into tribes and sub-tribes. Hill region tribes live a simple lifestyle as they inhabit in  high mountains so hunting and fishing are the prime occupations. Agriculture and weaving are the two major occupations of the people, Tea farming in Assam is one of the main source of income along with traditional handicrafts. Tea gardens of Assam are world famous for the aroma and rich flavor and taste.

Assam-tea-gardens

Cuisines: 

Cuisines of North East India offers dishes that reflect the culture and lifestyle of the region. Staple food and cuisine of the states are rice along with dry fish, spicy meat and lots of green vegetables. Chicken, Mutton, Duck, Pigeon are some most popular non-veg dishes from north east along with a variety of rice beer. The unique cuisine of seven states of the north east India are Jadoh,Momos, Aakhol Ghor, Tung-rymbai,and pickled bamboo shoots.

Food-of-Assam

Festivals and Fairs: 

Fair and Festivals are the integral part of tribes along with traditional dance and folk music. There are numbers of festivals celebrated by various tribes of different states throughout the year. Festival season is the best time to know the culture and traditional costumes of a paradise unexplored called North East India. The major festivals of northeast India are Bihu,Brahmaputra Festival of Assam, Hornbill and Sekrenyi festival of Nagaland,Torgya Monastery Festival Arunachal Pradesh,Shillong Autumn Festival, Chapchar from Manipur,Ningol Chakouba Festival Manipur and Kharchi Puja from Tripura.

Bihu-Festival-Assam

Music and Dance: 

These seven states are not only rich in terms of landscape,natural beauty and flora and fauna but also in Music and Dance. North east India not only offers a completely different world of traditional music and folk dance but also emerged as one of the prime industry of rock music. While Shillong is music capital of India and Guwahati is one of the major destination for live rock band performances. Music and dance festivals like Hornbill National Rock Contest and folk music and tribal dance festivals are organized across the states. Tribes of North East India use some musical instruments like Tamak folk drum,flute, khamb and lambang which are made of bamboo.

Folk-Dance-north-east-india

Art and Craft: 

North East India is well famous for its unique culture, handicrafts, scenic beauty and martial arts. People of these state’s got great skills in art,weaving, The sister states got a rich variety and skill on making of wood-carving, Cane Crafts,jewellery and bamboo stick work. Arts and Craft culture is one of the very old tradition along with the making of musical instruments,Carpet and silk weaving. Every tribe excels in craftsmanship and offer a wide variety of traditional crafts and arts.

Arts-Craft-NorthEast

Mountains and Hills: 

The Northeast region Physical geography falls in the category of Eastern Himalayas ranges and Patkai-Naga Hills along with mighty Brahmaputra Barak river systems and Valley Plains. The valley of Meghalaya is surrounded by Garo, Khasi and Jaintia Hills from all sides and home to some of the largest waterfalls in India. The route of mountains and hill of north east is best for Mountaineering and adventures sports like hiking,mountain climbing and trekking. Magnificent hill stations of north east India are one of the major tourist destinations.

Khasi-Hills-Meghalaya

Natural Beauty: 

The seven sister states are a slice of paradise on earth,this place is blessed with natural beauty and colorful flora and fauna. The picturesque location of meandering water bodies, astonishing waterfalls, lush green forest and Blue Mountains ranges along with pleasant weather offers a beautiful view of in the country. Brahmaputra river area is covered with mountain peak,lush evergreen forests and grasslands, which provide a picturesque view of the amazing Brahmaputra Green Valleys. North Eastern region offers one of the most beautiful Eco-Tourism destination in India.

Waterfall-in-Mizoram

Water Bodies: 

The region is known for highest annual rainfall is India and Mawsynram and Cherrapunji are the two wettest place on earth with an annual rainfall of 11872 millimeters. North East India’s river systems,lakes and ponds are the life line of people and one the main source of income. Brahmaputra one of the biggest river in India flows through the North east region and its numerous tributaries flowing through the different states. Wettest area is home to big waterfalls and beautiful lakes such as Tsomgo Lake, the frozen lake of India, Chandubi Lake,Umiam Lake,Kamalasagarand Loktak lake, the largest fresh water lake in India. Waterfalls includes Langshiang,Nohkalikai,Nohsngithiang and Vantawng,Langshiang is one of the highest waterfalls in India.

Tsomgo-Lake-Gangtok

Deep Forest: 

The dense semi-evergreen forest reserves of North East India are inhabited by many tribes as well as by wild species of animals. There are 51 types of forest found in this region classified into six major types- tropical moist deciduous forests, tropical semi evergreen forests, tropical wet evergreen forests, subtropical forests, temperate forests and alpine forests. The mountain terrain and slopes of region is covered by natural forest vegetation like Zizypphus jujuba,Bombax ceiba, Sterculia villosa, Dalbergia sisoo,and other non-aquatic grassland species.The grasslands and rain forests of regions supports diverse flora and fauna and several crop species.

Forest-North-East-India

Wildlife: 

The least explored region host one of the highly diversified wildlife area in the country and offers a wide varieties of flora and fauna. The dense forest of region is home to some of the most beautiful but endangered and rare species of wild animals and birds. 13 major national parks and 30 wildlife sanctuaries are the treasure and heritage of the states. These Biodivers wild parks are provide shelter to rare species as many as 55 mammals, 50 reptiles, 380 birds and amphibians. Also home to Great Indian hornbill,Great Indian One-horned Rhinoceros,Indian elephant, red panda, Indian civet,Indian flying squirrel, and big feline species such as Clouded Leopard, Snow Leopard, Royal Bengal Tiger, Indian leopard and Lesser cats.

Wildlife-NorthEast

Tribal Tour: 

These seven states offers a unique experience to known tribal culture and ethnic diversities of tribal world in India. The North-east India is home to 220 ethnic groups and equal number of dialects makes it a hugely diverse region of the country. Every tribes of each states have its own culture, languages, dress, custom and tradition and festivals to celebrate. The hill station is predominantly inhabited by tribal people, few major tribes are Bishnupriya Manipuri,Tripuri,Adivasi,Assamese, Bhutia, Bodo, Garo, Khasi, Mizo, Naga,Tamang and Tripuri. 

naga-tribal dance

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