Ziro Festival of Music
India's greatest outdoor independent-music festival, in a Himalayan rice valley.
The Ziro Festival of Music is India's most celebrated outdoor independent-music gathering, held over four days each September amid the emerald paddy fields of the Ziro valley in Arunachal Pradesh. Thousands of music lovers camp among the rice terraces of the Apatani country to hear dozens of Indian and international artists — indie, folk, rock, electronica — play on open-air stages under the Himalayan sky.
Beyond the music, Ziro is a cultural immersion: local Apatani hosts, bamboo-and-cane stages, home-brewed apong (rice beer), and one of the most beautiful festival settings anywhere in the world. It has done more than anything to put Arunachal on the young traveller's map.
Know before you go
- 2026 dates: 24–27 September. Book passes and stays months ahead — the valley fills up.
- An Inner Line Permit is required for Arunachal; festival organisers often help arrange it.
- Camp among the rice fields for the full experience; carry warm layers for the nights.