Memorable tour of the Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh - We just got back from a tour of Northeast India, organized by Rajiv from Northeast Explorers. The first part of the tour was around the 2025 Hornbill Festival in Kisama,... read more Nagaland, which was followed by a couple of days each in Mokongchuk and Mon, Nagaland. This was followed by a five-day tour of Arunachal Pradesh that we added on.

The Hornbill Festival is hugely popular and deservedly so. The performances by the various tribes of Nagaland in their colorful costumes are spectacular (check out videos of their performances on Youtube). The festival also is a chance to taste Naga food, some of which can be deliciously spicy. The remainder of the tour gave us a glimpse into other parts of Nagaland and the history and culture of the region. We ended with a visit to Longwa, right at the border with Myanmar.

Our tour of Arunachal Pradesh offered a chance to sample something a bit different. This is the most lightly populated state in India and very green. We stayed at an outstanding homestay in Miao (Tikhak Homestay) with superb food and saw a bit of the Buddhist culture common in this part of India.

Some comments about the tour organization. While not perfect, it is a tribute to Rajiv and his team that we had a very enjoyable experience. Traveling in this part of India is sometimes an adventure and visitors are well-served by an attitude of flexibility and a sense of humor. Very fortunately for us, our group of 10 visitors got on very well, and had a blast! The places we stayed in were for the most part fine, but be advised that if you are expecting four-star luxury, this may be disappointing. The roads were a bit rough in places and dusty (recommend wearing masks to avoid dust-induced allergies, exacerbated by the cooler weather in December), but that's what we needed to get through to see and experience what we did - which was amazing and memorable.

We started planning for this tour in March of 2025 (book early for the Hornbill Festival as places to stay fill up fast). Throughout the entire process, Rajiv was accessible and quick to respond. He was easy to work with when we wanted to make small changes in our joining the tour of Nagaland. The Arunachal Pradesh portion was entirely our choice of itinerary and he made all the logistics arrangements for places we picked. This level of flexibility was super helpful for us.

He helped get our Protected Area Permits for Arunachal Pradesh, which made that fairly easy for us. Touring Northeast India can be a challenge and it helps to have a good tour operator to help plan the trip and make sure that things go smoothly!

  A memorable Experience - If you are looking to travel to North East India, you are at the right place. Look no further.

This was our 4th trip to India and by far... read more better than any other.

Rajiv provides the best service you can expect. From first inquires through multiple iterations during contemplation of the trip. Always available, prompt and honest answers, gives you the good feel from the start.

The trip itself, 22 days through Maghalaya, Arunachal Pradesh, Assam and Nagaland was absolutely flawless. We had the best driver ever, Jamir, who was with us during the total time of the trip. Homestays were fine, clean, with friendly hosts and great delicious local food. Rajiv was hands on at all times. The highlight was the Hornbill festival in Kisama village. Everyone who wants to come to NEI should time the visit with this festival. This was an exceptionally memorable experience.

  Offbeat but wonderful Mizoram  - Four of us friends had a wonderful trip to Mizoram in Nov end, 2025 . Rajiv was very prompt right from the time I enquired through the prop up on... read more their website. I had asked for addition of Dampa tiger reserve and a guide who would be a nature guide too.

In Henry, we had an extremely knowledgeable guide who was very passionate about his work . His knowledge about anything in nature from spiders to clouded leopards was very insightful.

Stays and food, though a little basic were neat and comfortable and we thoroughly enjoyed our experience.

Rajiv was in touch with us daily and kept enquiring about our experiences. Would highly recommend North Eastern explorers to anyone going to that part of India.

  10 days of spectacular Arunachal. - Had a wonderful experience on a 10 day tour of Arunachal Pradesh. Our drivers, Anil and Hazarika were excellent and very informative. Highly recommend using their service

  Fabulous Meghalaya trip  - We recently went for a trip to Meghalaya through North East Explorers & it was a fantastic experience!! For anyone considering to visit any state of north east India, North... read more East explorers is highly recommended.
The destination of Meghalaya for a family trip was decided long back, then I came across North East explorers during my travel research. I connected to Mr Rajiv through their website, he was very responsive & accomodating for all my queries and doubts. Since I was travelling with my 60+ year old parents I had many questions & many more requests to ensure their comfort during the trip. Mr Rajiv patiently answered all queries & accommodated my request for ground floor stays on all possible locations. We had booked the trip for month of May but could not go through due to some issues & hence rescheduled for October. Mr Rajiv was very accomodating during this entire process too.
The trip was very well organised. All stays were comfortable, clean and at good locations. Mr Pranjal who accompanied us for the trip as our driver was also fantastic. Mr Rajiv met with us at the Guwahati airport before we started the trip n also at the end of it. He was constantly in touch with us during the whole trip to ensure that everything was going well.
Our trip included Shillong, Cherrapunji, mawlynnong, Dawki, Jowai. My parents wished to visit Kamakhya Devi temple in Guwahati at the end of the trip, the experience of which was seamless due to help of Mr Pranjal. Overall the entire trip was a fabulous experience, not lacking on any accounts. Whenever we decide to visit any other north eastern state, North East Explorers are going to be our go to travel agency.

  Once-in-a-lifetime Experience - I went along with my school friends to a 9D/8N trip to Meghalaya arranged by NEE. What an experience it has been. I would definitely rate this trip a once-in-a-lifetime... read more experience. Meeting up with school friends after many years is one thrill, and being able to explore such a beautiful state along with them is another level altogether. I initially was hesitant to sign up with NEE as they're less well-known than other service providers, but I took a chance as the reviews seem to be really good. I later found out why. Both Rajiv and Jameer (our driver) has been excellent in showing us around and helping us experience the absolute pristine beauty that Meghalaya has. My friends enjoyed this trip as much as me and they can't stop talking about it. We took a ton of pics to boot. Every one of them will be cherished. Thank you Rajiv and team NEE for such a great experience. I wish you good luck and many more well-deserved awards.

  Explore North East with North East Explorer - North East Explorers prepared already 5 trips during our stay in India. We found them as tour operator for North East on internet and we are more than happy. After... read more Assam Kaziranga trip and Meghalaya trip in November 2018 and Arunachal trip in April 2022 we were looking for Mizzoram in April 2025. And we requested Mr. Rajiv to make itinerary for short trip. Result for this short 4 day trip was amazing. Shirt trip but lot of memories. Excellent choice of homestay with amazing owner Mrs. Mpuah preparing so tasty local food. Wonderful local guide Henry who knows everyrhing about history, nature and also current news. Neverending care of Rajiv about our feelings, petmitts etc. After first trip Mr. Rajiv knows what we expect, what we would like enjoy and see. Definitely we would like to come back again to Mizzoram and North East. And for hazzle free planning of this trip we will adk again Mr. Rajiv to prepare itinerary, arrange guide, car and accomodation. We are happy that we found North East Explorer. Thank you, Rajiv

  Ziro Valley  - We recently traveled to Ziro Valley with North East Explorers and had a truly memorable experience. From the moment we were picked up, everything was smooth and well-organized. The taxi... read more was comfortable, and the logistics were handled seamlessly.

What really made the trip special was the local guide arranged by North East Explorers. His knowledge of the valley was remarkable—he seemed to know every hidden path and story. His ability to communicate with both us and the local tribal communities made our experience so much richer and more authentic.

Ziro Valley itself is a place of quiet, untouched beauty. Inspired by the raw charm and serenity of the place, my son wrote this poem after our visit:

"Nestled", shielded, almost like a cocoon.
A butterfly, amongst the woods,
With her raw and tribal charm,
Perched herself on the rotting pine,
Went to sleep for good.

Her beauty unknown,
To scores of perverted eyes,
Who would strip her off her colours and groan,
"She was too simple, she had to die."

Little do they know,
The sun and moon themselves watch over
Their butterflies, grey or gold.
For their charm, raw and tribal,
Will always find solace amongst the bold.

Thank you, North East Explorers, for helping us discover this hidden gem in such a meaningful way. Highly recommended for anyone seeking a deeper, more personal travel experience in the Northeast.

  Arunachal Pradesh family tour  - We travelled with North east explorers to Arunachal Pradesh. Accommodations were clean with bed heaters and room heaters at tawang dondrum homestay and ziro palace inn at ziro valley. All... read more other accomodations were clean too with hot water in the bathrooms. Special thanks to the staff and owner of dondrum homestay for their hospitality. We had a very friendly driver too. Rajiv kept in touch with us during our entire trip to ensure we were comfortable and all was going well

  First time back after 13 years and inclusion of the festival fully guided made for a very enjoyable trip. Thanks Rajiv. - Booked Myoko festival with Rajiv at a late date but a plan was formulated including my preference to be hotel based rather than home stay which was appreciated. To be... read more honest 4 days for the festival was stretching it somewhat but the inclusion of various points of interest around Ziro coupled with guided tours of outlying villages made the trip worthwhile so thanks to Rajiv and the local guides.

First day was a guided social occasion visiting various households where we were always made welcome with plenty of food and hooch on offer but the big event was day 2 which involved a crack of dawn start to witness the soon to be sacrificed hogs being blessed first by priests then by fabulously adorned ladies of Ziro after which the hogs were dispatched to the various owners homes to meet their end after being blessed once more by the priest. The manner in which these beasts are despatched is not for me to criticise but for this ardent traveller no need to be witnessed a second time.

Next day was taking in the various sights and visiting of villages which for the most part were exactly as I recall when I was last in Ziro in 2012. One tip make sure to include the museum in town when visiting as some excellent exhibits of display, entrance free.