Ziro Music Festival is the perfect opportunity for music lovers to enjoy the rhythmic tunes while swaying amidst the beauty of Ziro Valley. Here you will see an eclectic lineup of renowned local and national artists who bring you songs from all genres – melodies, folk, rock, and even electronica! This musical tapestry makes it a point that there is something for everyone and whoever decides to come here will have a bundle of memories to take back home.
Let us check out what the Ziro Music Festival is all about and what you can expect from this fantastic event!
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Where is Ziro?
Ziro is a picturesque valley with a lot of lush greenery and dense pine forests. Here, you will come across blue pine trees which are so spectacular to look at! Ziro Valley is a beautiful place in the lower Subansiri district in Arunachal Pradesh state. This is where you will find the ‘Apatani’ tribe who are believed to be one of the oldest residing tribes in the country. Because of the Apatani tribe, Ziro also finds its place in the tentative list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites. The Ziro Music Festival is the most anticipated event in this valley.
Best Time to Visit Ziro Valley
Ziro Valley has pleasing weather throughout the year. You can come here whenever you have time and feast on its ethereal natural beauty. The whole place is splattered with rich paddy fields, pine trees, thick bushes, and waterbodies. But if you are planning to come here to attend the Ziro Festival 2023, you will get all the deets in the following sections of the blog.
Summer Season
If you want to go around Ziro without a coat or woollens, then Summer is the best time to visit Ziro. This is when the temperature ranges between 7 to 20 degrees Celsius. The afternoons are warmer but the mornings and evenings are comfortably cold. Tourists choose to come to Ziro in summer because the skies are clear, the trees are vibrant and you can visit more tourist places. April to June are the peak summer months.
Winter Season
Snow lovers will enjoy visiting Ziro in the winter season. This is when you will find the valley covered in thin sheets of snow. Around this time, the maximum temperature will not cross 15 degrees Celsius but the minimum temperature can go down up to -13 degrees Celsius as well. You will need to carry woollen clothes, gloves and headcovers for sure. The valley looks so pristine and gorgeous that tourists come here in large numbers in winter despite the chilly atmosphere. You can expect winters between October to March.
Monsoon Season
The monsoons are absolutely captivating in Ziro Valley. The precipitation is very frequent so you should be okay with getting drenched if you want to step out too often. Moreover, we suggest that you reach Ziro before the heavy rains begin because you will have to come through Assam to reach Ziro. The Assamese terrains can be difficult and roadblocks are not too uncommon.
How to Reach Ziro Valley?
By Road
The best way to reach Ziro Valley is to come to Guwahati first. Guwahati is well connected with other metropolitan cities in India and also other cities in Assam state. If you want to go to Arunachal Pradesh in the shortest time possible by road, we suggest you make a pit stop at Guwahati and take the night bus to Ziro Valley. This bus will be available 4 times a week. Also, you can take a taxi from Guhawati to Ziro. If you are travelling by your own vehicle, you are sure to enjoy the panoramic views, dense pine forests, and captivating roads that will greet you on the way. Alternatively, you can also come to Itanagar first and then drive toward Ziro.
By Rail
People who are coming from any state other than Assam and Arunachal Pradesh can reach Guwahati first. Here, you can find the trains that will take you to Naharlagun which is 100 km away from Ziro valley. Otherwise, you can also take a train to North Lakhimpur which is about 117 km away from Ziro. From these railway stations, you will find shared taxis or you can hire your own private cab and reach Ziro. People travelling from New Delhi need to keep their eyes open for that one train that travels from New Delhi to Naharlagun only once a week.
By Air
The nearest International airport to Ziro is Guwahati Airport. However, folks planning to attend the Ziro Music Festival can also take flights to national airports like Hollongi Airport which is 123 km away from Ziro. Alternatively, there is Lila Bari Airport which is 122 km away. You will find taxis that will drive you from the airport to Ziro Valley.
There was a time when people used to think that attending the Ziro Music Festival was almost impossible owing to the difficult route to reach the place. But now, you have a lot of ways to reach the valley without spending long, tedious hours commuting.
People making a pitstop in Guwahati can book their stays for affordable prices at Hotels in Guwahati.
Significance of Ziro Music Festival
Ziro Music Festival promotes the art and talent of independent music artists who mainly hail from the northeastern states of India. The music genre includes everything from folk and rock to classical music. You will be surprised to know that the Apatani tribe hosts this festival! Yes, they are the ones who come up with the themes, designs and beautiful arrangements of the music festival every year. Now, they are also being supported by the Ministry of Tourism, Government of India and the Department of Tourism – Arunachal Pradesh.
The founding fathers of Ziro Music Festival were Bobby Hano and guitarist Anup Kutty from the band Menwhopause! Later, the Apatani tribal people picked up pace and continued to make arrangements to host the most eco-friendly musical celebration in the country! Here, everything is completely organic, including the stages that are made out of bamboo. Guests can stay in tents and enjoy the scenic nature. It is also a ‘no-plastic’ event and attendees are requested to use paper or cloth bags and not litter the place.
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Dates of Ziro Music Festival 2023
Ziro Music Festival is a four-day event and you can choose to attend either one day or stay for all four days. This year in 2023, you can enjoy this grand musical event from September 28th to 1st of October. You will find the tickets on the festival’s official online website. A one-day pass will cost you INR 2500 and the four-day pass costs INR 6000. Make sure that you buy them only from the website and affiliated sites like PayTM. Early bird tickets will cost you around INR 5,000 for four days.
When you are starting to attend the Ziro Music Festival, ensure that you have a printout of your tickets and also authentic identification proofs like an Aadhar Card, driver’s license, or Passport. Additionally, you should also have two permits to reach Ziro.
Inner Line Permit – Except for the Arunachal Pradesh state residents, everyone else from India must carry the Inner Line Permit. You can get it from Arunachal Pradesh’s official website which is dedicated to issuing these permits to Indians. It will cost you INR 100 for 14 days. This is an e-permit but it is always good to have a printout of the copy.
Protected Area Permit – The foreigners who are coming to India to attend the festival must have the Protected Area Permit. This is available on the official website of the Foreign Regional Registration Office. You have to pay USD 30, approximately INR 2498, to acquire the permit. Please note that this permit is not issued to solo travellers under any circumstances.
Why Should You Visit Ziro Music Festival?
You must visit the coolest and grandest outdoor musical festival of northeast India to see how the music reverberates through the air, makes nature swoon and fills your heart with overwhelming happiness!
1 – Melodious Peace – You see those impressive shots in movies where the main leads walk by dense valleys and sing melodious tunes? That’s what you can experience at this music festival. The low clouds, green trees, soothing breeze and fresh tunes are sung by some of the top artists in the country! – This is a complete package that will soothe your soul.
2 – Budget-Friendly Enjoyment in Nature – Attending this festival will not cost you much. You can stay in tents, eat the local food and drink the best beverages in Ziro! Everything is reasonably priced and depending upon your choices, you can complete the trip within 10K to 15K, including the permits and tickets and excluding the commuting costs.
3 – Local Cultural Tour – The people of the Apatani tribe are very friendly. You can strike up a conversation with them, follow their lifestyle and take a few candid pictures with them. As long as you are respectful, they won’t object to spending time with you.
4 – Northeastern cuisine and home-brewed beer – You will find the best homemade beer at the music festival! Leave behind the Budweiser and Kingfisher to taste the local drinks. The food is equally impressive and includes both veg and nonveg dishes.
5 – Scenic Travel – The road that brings you to Ziro is absolutely enthralling with dense canopies of pine trees and thick bushes. You will find paddy fields, exotic plants and lines of rhododendrons in the season.
Things to Note While Visiting Ziro Music Festival
Here are a few things to note before you set out to attend the Ziro Music Festival –
- Always book your tickets in advance and make sure you book your tickets from the official website only. Eventually, as the festival time nears, tickets will be available on the venue too.
- Take a printout of your tickets Also, carry your Photo ID, otherwise, you won’t be allowed to enter the valley.
- Apply for necessary permits and carry a printout of them while visiting Ziro. Ensure you have more than one printed copy for safety.
- Do not carry plastic to the event. Do not litter or throw around waste.
- Carry cash when you enter Ziro. There are no ATMs and you might not find a signal for using UPI payments either.
- Take raincoats and caps because short showers are common in September and October.
- There are several food stalls near the music festival. They are your perfect chance to have local food. Do try them out but save the food. Throwing away food is highly frowned upon by the locals.
Other Beautiful Places to Visit Near Ziro
Once you are done with the Ziro Music Festival, you can explore these other marvellous places in the Ziro Valley.
Dolo Mando
Dolo Mando is a beautiful hillock that will provide you with a gorgeous view of Hapoli town! You can pack light and trek up the hill to reach a serene spot. There, you can put down your picnic blanket, open the basket of sandwiches and enjoy the view all by yourself.
Tipi Orchid Research Center
Tipi Orchid has a huge glass house that has several species of Orchids in one place! It is a hypnotic atmosphere with so many colours. Here, you will see tissue culture, a herbarium and an entire museum with orchids.
Talley Valley
Talley Valley Wildlife Sanctuary houses 15 endangered plants, 130 species of birds and rare animals like the clouded leopard, red panda, Malayan giant squirrel, and Asian palm civet. Take a safari trip to explore the wildlife, and birds along with splendid coniferous forests.
Kili Pakho
Kile Pakho is a ridge that shows you two sides of our world. On one side, there is Ziro plateau with lush greenery while on the other side, there are snow-capped Himalayan ranges that almost touch the moving clouds! It is breathtakingly beautiful!
If you are a music lover, you should definitely visit the Ziro Music Festival to get a taste of local talent and Indie music.
