Ziro Music Festival 2019 Blog

So finally I decided in September to take a 15-day trip to the Northeast to break my drudgery of life. At first I was just planning to visit Tawang (Arunachal Pradesh) and Sikkim, but I stumbled at the Ziro Festival in Arunachal Pradesh during my analysis. The event took place around the time I got back from Tawang, and looked like my love of music and traveling merged in a perfect way. I have booked my festival tickets, my tents for my stay and my budget ride from Guwahati to Ziro. These are some of my thoughts from my Ziro music festival.

Nonetheless, I recommend you first learn "how to plan an epic experiences of the Ziro Music Festival" to schedule your trip step by step. It will help you plan your trip to Ziro Valley easily, based on personal experiences. The blog already contains all necessary details, such as links to Arunachal Pradesh, travel modes and transport items.

Six Days Itinerary for Ziro Festival of Music

Day 1 – Guwahati to Naharlagun

I entered Naharlagun  in the late evening After a whole day Train journey of 332 kilometers in about 7.30 hour. Naharlagun is Ziro's nearest railway station from where you could carry on to the valley. Please note that a month before your travel date you will book your hotel to ensure that the train ticket is validated at festival season.

Few other people were on the coach with me, all of us solo travelers. I was very happy because I thought I was all alone on this tour, but I learned that solo trips makes you to meet the greatest people in the world. My Ziro experience has brought me few such great friends whenever and wherever possible, with whom I have to go.

Day 2 – Naharlagun to Ziro

If you booked it with Encamp Adventures in advance together with your camp stay and festival passes, your taxi will be waiting in the parking area. Taxis ply on a sharing basis and usually carry nine to ten passengers in one fleet.

It takes almost four hours to reach Naharlagun to Ziro, 102 kilometers. The road is a scenic climb with small picturesque villages enroute through the pine hills. The roads are bad in places and it gets dirty when it rains, but the sight of the beautiful hilly landscape won't dissuade your spirits from entering Ziro. Have breakfast on your way to a place called Putin, halfway between Naharlagun and Ziro.

If the hilly road leads to a flat valley dotted on both sides with golden paddy fields, it means you've entered Ziro. The traffic lines must be crossed in Hapoli to reach the village of Biirii, where my camping site is situated. Check in at my tent upon arrival and rest before heading to the festival grounds for the Ziro Festival of Music inauguration. The place is only a 20-minute walk from camping site.

You'll need to grab your festival wrist band from the box office first to access the venue. If you don't wear the wrist band, the local volunteers won't let you reach the festival area. The method is very simple; you just need to supply the unique code you got when you bought the festival pass online at the box office. The volunteer will add their collection to the key and send you the wrist band of the festival.

Day 3 – Exploring Apatani Village & Festival

Now you'll need the local guide to grasp the culture and lifestyle of the Apatanis, one of Arunachal's oldest tribes. A guide to the camping site to visit the village Hong will be required to walk around the Apatani village.

The Apatanis are primary in agriculture and live in total harmony and equilibrium with Mother Nature. They are unique in their ecological farming and social forestry practices, which have brought Ziro Valley into the UNESCO World Heritage List. Their sustainable methods are unique. We cultivate wet rice along with fish farming and even produce millet with high partitions.

Hong village is the second largest village in Asia and you will see Apatani lives and the surroundings in this village. The houses are made of vertical wooden stilts, and behind each home, there's a flag of Donyi-Polo and a wide bamboo groove. Donyi-Polo is a shamanic indigenous religion that has faith in the sun and the moon.

In a local family household your guide can show you where the center of the house is not just a fireplace where you can rest and talk but also a kitchen where food is cooked. Sit around the fire and drink the popular homemade rice beer, the Apatani salt known as Tapyo, composed of ash made from native plants. Speak to the house elders and understand their culture and methods of agriculture. Photographs of elderly Apatani people who are known for their face tattoos and big nose plugs can also be obtained.

As you walk through the town, you will see that almost everything consists of bamboo that makes this place an environmentally friendly destination. You can go directly to the festival ground or return to the campsite after a visit to the village.

Day 4 – Visiting Tao Tiibi & Festival

You can either hold a cab for the whole day or take the taxi to and from the Tarin Fish Farm (the point of departure for the trek) to the Hapoli stand. Tarin Fish Farm in the village of Bulla occupies a 7.4 hectare field. The farm is an altitude fish farm.

From the farms of Tarin you will be taken to Tao Tiibi an hour walk through the forest. It is an exciting experience because of the remoteness of this route, and the countryside is beyond imagination. The family of Roto Pani, the special ecosystem of this area which resides and cultivates here since 1968, lives in Tao Tiibi. Your farmland has mountains on every side and is now commonly referred to as Roto Pani Organic Farm. The farm owner, Roto Pani, won a state award for his sustainable farming activity for' Best Farmer' in 1991.

Roto Pani and Roto Yamin are one of the oldest living couples in Ziro Valley now in their nineties. You will talk about how they have grown without any equipment or farm animal by walking along their agricultural land. You're shocked that even on such a hill you can see systematic rivers and waterways. You can even dirty your hands by steping into their farm to help if it is not enough for you.

Come back to the festival in the evening before it becomes cold. Later in the evening have a nice dinner and sleep in your bed after all day tiredness.

Day 5 – Ziro Festival of Music

It's Ziro Festival's last day, so enjoy the festival on the ground all your time. Go to the arena to see all of the shows on the day stage after lunch. Then return to the campsite to relax or sleep in the lobby and return to the festival ground for the final finale.

I noticed some bands and artists I would not have known if I hadn't attended the event, thanks to the Ziro Music festival. Some of these great musicians are on my playlist now. My Ziro favorites are Lucky Ali, Rounak Maiti, Zokova, That Boy Roby, Amrit Rao & The Madrascals, Aparamparagata and Dreamhour . There were several great folk music gatherings that I was able to catch.

Day 6 – Ziro to Guwahati

It's the last day of your itinerary for the Ziro Music Festival, and it's time to go back home! After breakfast, hop on a pre-booked taxi to reach Naharlagun. You will arrive at the Naharlagun railway station in the late afternoon and board to the train late evening. Take some fruit or other food items for dinner. End of service after you've been dropped off at the railway station.