Day 2 of the cycle · Northeast

Arunachal Pradesh

Arunachal Pradesh lies in the far north-east of India, its name meaning ‘land of the dawn-lit mountains’ for the way morning light first touches its eastern peaks. The state is bordered by Bhutan to the west, the Tibetan plateau to the north, Myanmar to the east, and the states of Assam and Nagaland to the south.

Almost the whole state sits within the eastern Himalayas, its terrain rising from subtropical foothills to snow-capped peaks above 7,000 metres. Dense forests cover much of the land, drained by the Siang, Lohit and Subansiri rivers, which flow west to join the Brahmaputra as it crosses into Assam. This range of elevation gives Arunachal Pradesh some of the richest biodiversity in India, home to rare orchids, birds and mammals found in few other parts of the country.

Itanagar, the state capital, sits in the lower hills of Papum Pare district on the northern edge of the Brahmaputra plain. It takes its name from the centuries-old Ita Fort that overlooks the town, and serves as the seat of the state government and the largest urban centre in Arunachal Pradesh — the gateway between the plains of Assam and the mountainous interior beyond.