Northeast India was on our wishlist for a long time. Did a bit of research on Google and we decided to go with North East Explores based on the reviews.... read more We did a 8 day trip to Kaziranga - Meghalaya with a 5 year old kid and it turned out to be one of our best trips.

We got in touch through their website and had further discussion with Rajiv. We needed a few customizations like having a relaxed itinerary and addition of a few places. Once it was finalized he took care of the entire trip including Safaris and required permits. We just needed to book flight tickets.

We had Dzire for all our 8 days which was clean and well maintained. All the homestays were neat and clean with all required amenities. Rajiv was in touch with us throughout the trip to ensure we are comfortable and not having any issue.

Regarding the place itself, It’s beautiful. Both Assam and Meghalaya have their unique beauty. We covered Kaziranga where we could spot the Rhinos. In Meghalaya we visited Dawaki, Mawlynnong, Cherrapunjee and Laitlum along with Shillong. Each place has its unique charm.

Finally, a big shout out to our Driver cum guide for 8 Days, Apu. He made us feel comfortable the moment we landed and sat in Car. He has good knowledge of places to visit and good eateries. He took extra efforts to ensure we make the most out of our time there.

If you ever wish to visit North East India, do not hesitate and contact Rajiv and North East Explorers. Highly recommended

  It was a very nicely organized trip. We appreciate that Rajiv was constantly in touch with us throughout the trip. Overall it was a wonderful experience

  Wanna explore North East? Call up Rajiv and forget all your worries! - We, 2 families, explored North East (Arunachal) planned and professionally executed by Rajiv! It’s indeed a wonderful experience to enjoy 12 days in one of the beautiful and serene locations... read more in the world. Our experience throughout the process of booking till each step of the journey handled flawlessly by Rajiv! His passion, caring nature is commendable! Highly recommended those who wants to explore NE! Thanks for everything, Rajiv! And of course, our Innova drivers who became our extended family by end of the trip! Will see you all again soon!

  We first contacted the Northeast Explorers in Feb ’21. For a variety of reasons, we had to postpone that visit. It was finally sometime in July ‘22 that we decided... read more that the late-September/early-October period suited the four of us.

We got in touch with Rajiv Verma of Northeast Explorers once again. We had discussions with him regarding the details and finally settled on an itinerary.
From that point on our trip was Rajiv’s baby. We just had to book our tickets to Gauhati and back.

The itinerary called for most of our lodging to be in homestays. None of us having stayed in homestays before, we were rather sceptical about it. However, Rajiv assured us it was worth the experience. And we are glad we listened to him. He told us what to expect from a homestay and, also, what NOT to expect from homestays.
While on the topic of homestays, I’d like to mention that the hosts were extremely friendly and warm-hearted people who looked after us very well. And the best part was that they were of fount of information on the local customs, places to visit and so on.

The food at the homestays was simple, home cooked and delicious. The menu was limited, as was to be expected, since it was a home kitchen. However, if we wanted something different, we had to tell the hosts much earlier and, if it was possible, they would arrange for it. My suggestion? Try the local cuisine.

Rajiv had arranged an Innova car for us which was very comfortable. The driver was a young chap called Jamir. He was cheerful, respectful, obliging and trustworthy. His expertise on the mountainous roads of Arunachal can only be appreciated. He was also knowledgeable of the towns we were in. Therefore, if we had some spare time, there was no shortage of places to see or visit.

The route that had been planned was extremely picturesque. From the rice fields of Assam to the clouds and mountains of Arunachal, the variety of beauty was spectacular and has to be seen to be believed. Binoculars and a camera are essentials for a visit to this area.

Rajiv is also quite accommodating. When we had to reduce a day’s stay somewhere, he organised a visit to a wildlife sanctuary instead. Unfortunately, it was closed due to rain the previous day. However, Jamir spoke to the locals there and we went on a dolphin-spotting boat ride. We got lucky and saw a pod of dolphins frolicking in the Brahmaputra. After the boat-ride, Jamir, with his mastery of the area, took us along a road bordering the sanctuary and we got to see some rhinos, a grey heron, and a Lesser Adjutant Stork. This unintended change to our itinerary was a highlight of our trip!

Rajiv was in touch with Jamir and with one of us at least once a day to ensure that the trip was going smoothly. If we had any questions, they were immediately taken care of. This personal touch was quite touching!

All said and done, for a tour of the Northeast, leave the arrangements to Northeast Explorers

  Did the Assam-Meghalaya-Tawang tour with NE Explorers from 15th to 28thOct22. Had a wonderful experience. Entire trip was well organised with accommodation in clean, comfortable home stays and local guest... read more houses. The hosts at our accommodations were wonderful homely folk. Travel was via clean comfy cars with helpful and knowledgeable drivers. Overall a great experience!

Suggest that the itinerary must include 1 or 2 nights at Sangti valley which is just gorgeous!

  Just finished an amazing trip through Clouds of Meghalaya.
All was done with perfection!..places & hotels selected were the good ,clean ,amazing .. !..From arrival we felt secure & comfortable with... read more our car driver Jameer who made all efforts in satisfying our tight itinerary!..we fully recommend North east explorers to anyone willing to visit Meghalaya . From the moment you arrive in gouhati and until departure you feel confident and satisfied!.we enjoyed every day in our tour .very well organised and the driver helped with local language and arranging the guide for the places required .we have received very excellent service from everyone who involved .from driver to the hotel staff.
Special thanx to Rajiv to following up.Without you our trip wouldn’t havebeen this smooth.Every stay we are given was very neat and especially we never had the problem with food.they food was good in every place we stayed . 
Thanks for an amazing journey on our lives!
Thanks to northeast explorers

  NE explorers planned an amazing trip to meghalaya. There was a rough itinerary, but we were able to see whatever we wanted on a day-to-day basis. Rajiv and our driver... read more Apu recommended spots based on the weather and our interests. Rajiv was in touch with us throughout the trip, making sure that we were comfortable and happy. The home stays were cute and comfy. Apu was an outstanding driver, guide, photographer and entertainer, and we felt super safe with him. Don’t hesitate to trust NE Explorers for your NE travels.

  Planning -
Northeast as a destination was very high on our agenda for a very long time however we did not know how to go about it. Many of... read more my friend suggested to make arrangements ourselves but having been through tour operators in the past I knew it was better to go through them. I read about Northeast explorers when I was browsing through the website and read very good reviews about them. I particularly liked the focused packages being planned and executed by them. We finalise the itinerary after many interactions over mail and WhatsApp and Rajiv was quite flexible to accommodate our specific demands and also suggest changes basis his experience of the region. The price was also quite reasonable too because I had checked with other tour operators also for the same trip.

Pre-trip - Just two days before the start of the trip I read adverse reviews about the weather conditions in Assam and Meghalaya. Family and friends advised us to cancel the trip however having made such elaborate arrangements we wanted to go for the trip. At the same time the family safety was a priority too and hence I directly contacted Rajiv and Jameer (who was the driver for the trip). Both Rajiv and Jameer gave a very good assessment of the actual situation on the ground and I was convinced that it was a safe trip to make. My wife and daughter were still not convinced and I asked them to talk to Rajiv which they did and after talking to Rajiv they were also assured that it was okay to travel. So, we headed out the next morning.

Actual trip -
Day 1 Jameer met us at the Gauhati airport from where we started for Dirang. Jameer turned out to be a talkative and fun guy. The trip from Gauhati to Tarang had a few surprises in store for us because on the way our car tyre got punctured and immediately after that within next 30 minutes another tyre got punctures again. We lost approximately two hours in the process which delayed our trip. By the time we cross the Assam-Arunachal border it has started to get dark and by 8 o’clock the weather also started deteriorating and it started to get foggy. As Dirang was still a few four hours away from there and because of the weather conditions we decided to take a halt in a small place called Tenga which was not planned as per our Itinerary. There also Rajeev helped us making the booking arrangements in the best hotel available in that small place and we were glad that we made the decision because it was proving to be quite difficult to drive in the foggy condition.

Day 2 We woke up to a beautiful morning and we started from Tenga to Dirang. Jameer had discussed with Rajiv and made some changes in the plan so that we first went to Bomdilla monastery and from there on to Dirang monastery. Both monasteries were simply breathtaking. We spent our night in a beautiful Homestay in Dirang which had a lovely Kiwi garden by its side.

Day 3 We started upwards for Tawang. On the way we saw Sela pass and Sela lake. Area was completely dominated by the Indian Army. We wanted to cover the Jang falls also the same day but it was getting darker and hence Jameer suggested to cover on the day of going back (again a right decision). We spent the night in a beautiful Homestay in Tawang.

Day 4 Relaxed day in Tawang spent on visiting the larger monetary in India and thereafter the Tawang war memorial. There are some good cafe for lunch. Day ended with light and sound show conducted by the Indian Army.

Day 5 We visited Bum la pass and Madhuri lake in a separate vehicle (only locals are allowed). This was a beautiful sunny day and the best day of the trip (literally breathtaking as there is oxygen shortage at 15000 feet above the Sea level). We ended the day with some local shopping and lunch in a local restaurant.

Day 6 We started our downward journey to Dirang. We covered the Jang falls which was again a beauty of the nature. Return journey was again through Sela pass and Sela Lake which we enjoyed again. We reached Dirang in the evening to be welcomed warmly by the host of the Homestay.

Day 7 We started from Dirang for Bhalukpong. There were some small landslides on the way. We stayed in the best hotel there with a nice river flowing by.

Day 8 We started for Guwahati and did some shopping in Guwahati.

Day 9 Went to a popular restaurant and enjoyed local delicacies. Day ended with us taking a flight back to Delhi.

Conclusion -
We can’t thank Rahi and Jamir enough for giving us such memorable memories. Rajiv kept checking with us about our well being throughout and Jameer was the person who made this very comfortable. Excellent driving skills, good knowledge of the region and very flexible and accommodating.

The best part was that both Rajiv and Jamir were in constant touch and would make plans depending on the weather conditions (which is very important for this region). We had earlier planned 2 nights in Shergaon but had to cancel due to landslides and was a good decision to make. This flexibility was needed. There is only one Opportunity for improvement and which I have suggested to Rajiv also to consider a stopover in Tezpur or Bhalukpong on day1 otherwise everything else was perfect.

Me and my family thoroughly enjoyed this trip. North east and Arunanchal are anyway loaded with natural beauty and this was made even more beautiful with excellent trip planning. This made our nine day very comfortable and pleasant, which we will perhaps not forget for a long time.

  It was well planned itinerary, within a short span of time, included major attractions, with good Homestays, very good guide cum chauffeur giving all nit bits of the place. We... read more couldn't ask for more. It was sightseeing cum small treks which was well spaced out to enjoy to the hilt. Lucky enough to see most of the waterfalls en route Sohra from Shillong, in spite of heavy rains and fog/ clouds. A very beautiful place to be.

  We visited Meghalaya and Arunachal Pradesh (M&A) from May 14-23 and it was awesome. To make this memorable it was a combined effort of ours and Northe East Explorers (Rajiv).... read more />
Planning: we planned our own itinerary and were looking for a local tour operator. We found Northeast Explorers and reached out. Rajiv was prompt and very helpful in further tailoring our itinerary as per the season of the visit. (Read: we chucked out Dawki as it won’t be crystal clear, added a day in Tawang for acclimatisation). We locked our dates, our places and of course our tour operator!

Booking: we booked the tour with Rajiv in two Instalments. During this he gathered documents and information from us to get Permits for Meghalaya (permit due to covid rising) and Arunachal (Inner Line Permit or ILP). Just a week before our trip we received our permits, driver details and assurance of a great trip ahead.

Trip: We landed and started our trip from Guwahati to Meghalaya; back to Guwahati and off to Arunachal and then return to Guwahati for our flights. Our driver Nagesh was experienced and very professional. He made additional stops on monasteries and view points not in itinerary but fell on our route. He agreed for our rest stops in exchange of early start of the day (the earlier you start in mountains the better).
All our stays in M&A were pretty homestays and super friendly hosts. The food, location and accommodation in all places were great. In Guwahati we stayed at the heart of the city writhing short drive of important places and markets.
During the entire trip, Rajiv kept asking about our experiences in homestays and drive (to check on weather and landslides).

Sign off: on our second last day back to Guwahati we met Rajiv and signed off the trip with shopping and traditional food in Guwahati.

Thank you NE Explorers for the wonderful trip and numerous memories. If we plan to visit NE, we will definitely reach out to you.