There has been a lot of confusion around the COVID situation in North East India and how has the unlock situation on the ground is panning out. We have had many inquiries about the same over the past few weeks so, we thought we will write a detailed post about COVID 19 restrictions and travel guidelines in North East India.
How safe is it to travel to the North East post-COVID lockdown?
Things on this front are different for every state of the region. After the COVID lockdown, while northeast tourism has resumed in the states of Meghalaya, Assam, Tripura, and Arunachal Pradesh, the states of Mizoram, Manipur, and Nagaland are still not open for tourism.
Is Tawang open for tourists now? | Arunachal Tourism post COVID-19 Lockdown
Arunachal Pradesh tourism resumed in the month of October. The state is now accepting visitors from outside the state as per the SOP laid out by the govt. of Arunachal Pradesh. Also, for the time being, guests are only being allowed if they book their tour through a local tour operator from the region. The entire entry procedure into Arunachal Pradesh post-COVID revolves around having a COVID negative certificate that is not less than 72 hours old. Alternatively, you will be tested at the state entry point.
Is Kaziranga open for tourists now? | Assam Tourism post-COVID-19 Lockdown
Assam tourism was the first to resume post the COVID lockdown, last month. All the National Parks of Assam and forest reserves etc. are open and are functioning normally. Tourism in Majuli islands too has resumed. For people from the North East Region, no COVID test is required while entering the state. But for people flying in from outside the region, a rapid test is conducted on the flight itself, before landing in Assam. If the test result is negative, one can proceed ahead with her/her journey otherwise home quarantine is advised to them.
If you are fully vaccinated, and are carrying a COVID negative RTPCR test report that is not older than 72 hours, you are exempted from having to undergo COVID test on landing in Assam.
Is Meghalaya open for tourists now? | Meghalaya Tourism post-COVID-19 Lockdown
Meghalaya has also resumed tourism with its own set of SOPs. The SOPs are pretty much on the lines of what Arunachal Pradesh tourism is doing. In order to enter the state, you will have to register online for a rapid test and then proceed with your journey on receiving a negative result. Alternatively, you can bring a covid negative certificate that is not more than 72 hours old and that should be enough for you to enter Meghalaya. All tourist spots are now open for tourism in Meghalaya.
Meghalaya has resumed welcoming guests for tourism again, from September 1, 2021. However, there are SOPs to be followed. RTPCR negative report that is not older than 72 hours is required to enter the state, along with the certificate of first/second dose of your COVID vaccine. Unvaccinated people will have to undergo an RTPCR test while entering Meghalaya and will be allowed in only if tested negative and have no COVID symptoms.
Now you can book your Meghalaya tour here if you have waited too long 🙂
Is Tripura open for tourists now? | Tripura Tourism post-COVID-19 Lockdown
Tripura was one of the first states in the northeast to open for tourism post the lockdown. The state is almost back to normal in terms of flights, trains & vehicles plying to and from the state.
Mizoram Tourism post COVID-19 Lockdown
Mizoram has not yet opened up for tourism post the covid 19 lockdowns. And it is expected that Mizoram tourism will only resume after December 2020. The state, for this year, has gone virtual and even conducted the anthurium festival online.
Is Manipur open for tourists now? | Manipur Tourism post-COVID-19 Lockdown
Manipur tourism has resumed tourism now. However, there are SOPs to be followed. RTPCR negative report that is not older than 72 hours is required to enter the state, along with a certificate of first/second dose of your COVID vaccine. Fully unvaccinated people are not allowed as of now.
Is Nagaland open for tourists now? | Nagaland Tourism post-COVID-19 Lockdown
Nagaland tourism has not resumed as of now and the state is expected to slowly open only in December 2021. However, there is no official word around that yet. Last year’s Nagaland Hornbill Festival 2020 too, was done as a virtual event, and about the Hornbill Festival 2021, there is no official word yet.
**This page will be updated regularly, as states change their restrictions. Last updated on 08-Sep-2021.
*** Always follow respective state government’s official websites for the latest on the SOPs.
6 thoughts on “When will North East India open for tourism again?”
This is 7th September, 2021. The site was updated on 2nd August, 2021. Expecting little more attention please.
Hello Mr. Ghosh,
Thanks for pointing it out. This page links to the new page with the latest hence this was not updated.
however, taking your valued suggestion into consideration, we have also updated this page.
Thanks,
Team North East Explorers
What about children of 14-15 years who aren’t vaccinated, do we need to carry their covid negative report for Manipur, Assam & Meghalaya? Plan to visit in end October’21.
Hello Soumya,
As vaccines for people below 18 is not yet available in India, a COVID-ve RTPCR certificate that is not older than 72 hours at the time of your entry in Meghalaya would be needed.
It is already a little late to book your trip to Meghalaya if you wish to travel to Meghalaya in October as most of the dates around the Durga Puja dates are sold out.
However, if your dates are towards the 3rd week of October or later, you still can come down if you book your trip to Meghalaya sooner.
Leave us an email via our Contact Us page or Custom Tour page and we will get back.
I am travelling with my family to arunachal pradesh from 25th dec 2021 to 2nd jan.
Are there any travel restrictions? Should we continue our trip as per planned?
Hi Sagar,
There is not restrictions beyond the standard COVID SOPs if you all are double-vaccinated.
However, this year, there has been a lot of snow in around Tawang. In fact, there has been snowfall in Bomdila and snowfall in Shergaon as well!
So, just be updated about the snow situation and you should be fine.
Happy and safe travels.
Thanks