02 · GALLERY
Five frames.
Arunachal Pradesh is the Indian state most travellers do not visit. Ziro is a UNESCO-listed valley in the Eastern Himalayan foothills, home to the Apatani people, who farm rice on terraced paddies that have not changed in centuries. Four days in September each year, the valley hosts Ziro Festival of Music: two open-field stages, programming that mixes Indian indie rock, folk, and Apatani traditional music. The audience camps in the village. The atmosphere is closer to a small-town homecoming than a music festival. The setting is one of the most beautiful festival sites on Earth. The most pure-ethos festival in Asia.
Stay in an Apatani homestay rather than the central tented camps. The village walks at dawn into the rice paddies are the festival's quiet centre.
The most pure beautiful-music-in-a-beautiful-place entry on the Indian subcontinent. UNESCO-listed valley, indigenous hosting, rigorous programming.
Annual, last weekend of September. Four days in the Ziro Valley of Arunachal Pradesh. The Apatani village hosting means daytime walks through rice paddies are part of the experience, not separate from it.
Annual September festival. Two main stages run from afternoon through to late night. Daytime workshops and village walks 09:00 to 16:00.
Fly Guwahati (GAU) or Lilabari (IXI, closer). From Guwahati, drive 10 hours overland via Itanagar; from Lilabari, 6 hours. Permits required for Arunachal Pradesh, the festival assists with applications. Stay in Apatani homestays.