The quaint and green town of Ziro in Arunachal Pradesh is a remarkable tourist destination in eastern India. The rural beauty is even more ornamented with the lush paddy fields and fish farms. Tourists visit this pristine location to experience complete peace, disconnected from the city bustles. The tribal heritage of Ziro has also made it one of the prime tourist places of the state.
Situated in the Lower Subansiri district of Arunachal Pradesh, Ziro is considered as one of the most beautiful and green towns in India. The local ethnicity is mainly tribal and the Apani Tabu tribe (also known as Apatani or Tanii) is one of the most predominant tribes in the region. Tapyo Salt is a unique herbal salt prepared by this tribe. The uniqueness of this tribe includes their practice of living in closed permanent settlements, cultivating rice on permanent farming plots, the structure of their bamboo houses with tilted roofs, unique face and arm tatoos, nose plugs used by women and many more. Their language is Tani, and religion is Donyi Polo. Murung, Dree and Myoko are some famous festivals celebrated here.
The main languages spoken in Ziro are Assamese, Hindi, Aptani, and Nishi. Ziro has the maximum number of schools in Arunachal Pradesh. The adventurous oppurtunities in Ziro denotes trekking, which can be done in some nearby spots. With the help of NABARD, many eco-tour
Ziro does not have many restaurants, but few local eateries serves sumptuous local food. Rice is the staple food that is served in different flavours with fish, meat and lots of green vegetables. Tribal dishes are also popular here. The famous snacks here are boiled rice cakes wrapped in leaves and momos. Lettuce leaves specially are prepared by boiling with coriander, ginger and green chillies.
Ziro shops sell local goods like ethnic jewellery, hand woven clothes, handloom material and bags made by local people. There are retails shops in the market area that sell basic neccessities. Ziro has many wine and liquor shops. This tourist guide will lend you more important tourist information eventually. Bamboo and cane handicrafts are a speciality of Ziro.
After you complete the sightseeing in Ziro, you can explore numerous interesting nearby places too.
- Hapoli: This place is the headquarter of Lower Subansiri district, Arunachal Pradesh. The place is notable for the administrative offices it houses and circuit house which offers breathtaking view of Hapoli town. Deriving its meaning from the word Hao Polyang, which means “High Plains”, Hapoli is known for its scenic beauty and hillocks.
- Itanagar: Itanagar, the capital city of Arunachal Pradesh has many administrative, historical and natural grandeurs to attract tourists. The places of interest include Buddha temple, Itafort, Ganga Lake, Jawaharlal Nehru Memorial Museum, Itanagar Wildlife Sanctuary and much more.
- Guwahati: A drive of about 7 hours can take you to Guwahati from Ziro. It is the largest city and a metropolitan in Assam. With beautiful pictoral landscape, Guwahati also has many tourist places like Kamakhya Temple, Guwahati Zoo, Uma Nanda Temple, Dipor Bil, Assam State Museum, and so on. The city has in abundance shopping malls, educational institutions, hotels etc.
- Kohima: This hilly capital of Nagaland is a haven for nature and mountain lovers. Some spots worth a visit in Kohima are Kohima Museum, Zoo, Intanki Wildlife Sanctuary, Japfu Peak, Dzukou Valley and Naga Bazaar.