Nagaland & Arunachal Pradesh - Research Photo Tour.
Join us on a new adventure to visit India’s vanishing tribes.
Join us on an exciting new "research tour" of Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh, two of India’s most remote northern regions, as we document the fascinating traditions of the Apatani and Konyak tribes while they still preserve their ancient ways of life. Our extraordinary journey through India's remote northeastern states begins in Delhi before we fly to the secluded Ziro Valley of Arunachal Pradesh. Here, nestled among pine-clad hills, we'll encounter the fascinating Apatani tribe, renowned for their unique cultural practices and remarkable agricultural expertise. The valley offers exceptional opportunities to photograph their innovative rice-cum-fish cultivation methods and distinctive terraced fields that have drawn the attention of agricultural scientists worldwide.
We'll spend several days immersed in Apatani village life, photographing the elderly women with their characteristic facial tattoos and nose plugs – a vanishing tradition that will soon be lost to time. The villages of Hong, Bulla, Hari, and Hija provide intimate settings for capturing authentic moments of daily life, traditional ceremonies, and the strong community bonds that define Apatani culture.
Our journey continues to the Mon district of Nagaland, home to the Konyak tribe, once feared headhunters of the region. In villages like Hongphoi, we'll photograph the elaborately tattooed former warriors and document their rich cultural heritage through their intricate woodcarvings, traditional attire, and the beating of log drums in their community halls known as "Morung."
A highlight of our Nagaland exploration is the village of Longwa, uniquely positioned on the India-Myanmar border. Here, we'll meet and photograph the Angh (king) whose traditional house straddles two nations – one half in India, the other in Myanmar. This presents a rare opportunity to document a traditional power structure that still holds authority over villages in both countries.
The final leg of our journey takes us through the lush tea gardens of Assam. We'll rise before dawn to capture the ethereal morning light as it filters through the mist while tea pluckers begin their day's work. Along the mighty Brahmaputra River, we'll photograph the vibrant riverside life, ancient temples, and the timeless relationship between the river and its people.
This is a perfect opportunity to document and preserve the vanishing traditions of Northeast India's remarkable tribal cultures, and we are now taking bookings for the initial research tour starting on 23 November 2025. The tour will run for 13 days and is offered at a fixed price of just US$4950. Please note the tour is open to invited guests only and we would ask you to bring a sense of adventure and a willingness to explore the unknown. You can see the proposed full itinerary here although please keep in mind that it’s subject to some small potential changes as the journey unfolds.
Please get in touch for more details of this exciting new tour.