News that changes a trip, good or bad: flights and roads, park seasons, festival dates, permits and safety. Checked and dated, with every source linked.
Last checked: 7 October 2026We read the region's news and official notices and keep only what affects a traveller. Each item is summarised in our own words and links to where we read it. Things move quickly in the hills, so reconfirm anything critical before you set out.
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What is open, and what to check
The questions we are asked most, answered as of 7 October 2026. Tap a name for the full guide.
A four-month highway blockade was suspended on 26 September, but violence has continued in the hill districts. The UK advises against all but essential travel to the state, Imphal included.
The weather office had not declared the monsoon over in the North-East in the first week of October. Expect showers, and landslips on hill roads, into mid-month.
Five days of full hotels in Guwahati at the height of the season.
Dates are as published by the organisers or official tourism listings on the day we checked. Festival dates do move, so reconfirm before you book travel around one.
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This season's updates
Worth knowingPermitsArunachal Pradesh
Arunachal's tourist permit: ₹300 for a short stay, ₹500 for up to 14 days
The state's official permit portal shows a two-step fee for the tourist Inner Line Permit: ₹300 for a stay of up to three days and ₹500 for anything longer, up to a maximum of fourteen days. The online permit is for Indian citizens only. Foreign nationals are directed to the national e-FRRO portal for a Protected Area Permit.
What it means for you: A Tawang or Ziro trip always runs past three days, so budget ₹500 a head and keep the whole stay within fourteen days. Many websites still quote older fees and a fifteen or thirty day validity. Apply on the official portal, eilp.arunachal.gov.in, and nowhere else.
Nagaland's permit is online only, and now covers Dimapur
The official portal lists the Inner Line Permit at ₹200 for a domestic visitor, valid thirty days, plus a small payment charge. Under a state notification of September 2024 the Inner Line also takes in Dimapur, Chumoukedima and Niuland, which used to be outside it. Passengers simply passing through with a valid onward ticket are exempt.
What it means for you: Get the permit before you fly or take the train to Dimapur, not after. With Hornbill coming, apply at least a week ahead on ilp.nagaland.gov.in.
A highway blockade is threatened near Kaziranga on 24 October
A community organisation, the Kalita Janagosthi Sanmilan, says it will block National Highways 37 and 39 at Numaligarh in Golaghat district on 24 October, and the highway at Agia in Goalpara on 2 November, unless the Assam government responds to its land-rights demands by 16 October.
What it means for you: Numaligarh sits on the main road between Kaziranga and Jorhat, and on the turn-off to Dimapur. If you are driving that stretch on 24 October, check the news the evening before and keep the day flexible. The protest may well be called off.
Foreign visitors are struggling with Mizoram's permit
An EastMojo investigation reports that foreign nationals can apply for Mizoram's Protected Area Permit only after arriving in India, through the e-FRRO portal, and that approval takes about a week. It describes one visitor fined Rs 50,000, another whose permit came through only as he was leaving, and a scholar who cancelled his trip.
What it means for you: If you hold a foreign passport, do not book flights to Aizawl on a short itinerary until you have spoken to a registered Mizoram tour operator about the permit. Build at least a week in India before Mizoram. Indian citizens are not affected; they need the ordinary Inner Line Permit.
Protests over a dam project turn violent in Upper Siang
Demonstrations against survey work for the proposed Siang Upper Multipurpose Project turned violent in Upper Siang district on 5 October, with a security camp set on fire and vehicles damaged. The report mentions no road closures or prohibitory orders. The farmers' forum leading the protest has offered to meet the chief minister after 11 October.
What it means for you: This is well away from the Tawang and Ziro circuits. If you are heading up the Siang valley beyond Pasighat towards Yingkiong, ask your operator about the situation before you set off.
The road to Gangtok is closed at night for two spells
The highways agency NHIDCL has barred all vehicles from NH-10 between Sevoke and Rangpo, about 52 km, from 9 pm to 6 am on 7–15 October and again from 26 October to 5 November, while it cuts and protects landslide-prone slopes. It says further closures may be announced as the work proceeds.
What it means for you: This is the main road from Bagdogra airport and New Jalpaiguri station to Gangtok. On those dates, take a morning or midday arrival so you are past Rangpo well before 9 pm, and do not plan a pre-dawn dash down to catch an early flight. A landslide at 20th Mile closed this same road for more than a month from 7 July, so keep buffer time in any case.
Sangai Festival is being prepared, with calls to boycott it
Manipur's chief minister chaired a review of arrangements for Sangai Festival 2026 on 9 September, and the national tourism portal lists it for 21–30 November in Imphal. On 5 October the United Peoples' Front asked the government to drop the plan, saying conditions are not right while many people remain in relief camps and movement on the highways is restricted, and urged the public not to run stalls.
What it means for you: The festival may go ahead, be scaled down or be disrupted. If Sangai is the reason for your trip, book refundable flights and decide close to the date.
Orang National Park reopens, and phones stay outside
Orang, the small tiger reserve on the north bank of the Brahmaputra, reopened on Sunday 4 October. It is closed on Tuesdays. Elephant safaris run from 6 to 8 am and jeep safaris from 7 am to noon and 1 to 3 pm. Mobile phones are not allowed inside, following a Supreme Court direction on tiger reserves.
What it means for you: Orang is an easy add-on from Tezpur or Guwahati. Carry a proper camera, because your phone will have to stay behind.
The Dirang to Tawang road is in poor shape after the monsoon
Travellers quoted by the Arunachal Observer describe the Dirang–Tawang stretch of the highway as rough, muddy and prone to landslides, with slips near Sapper Camp blocking about 120 metres of road and holding traffic for hours at a time. This is a report of road conditions, not an official closure.
What it means for you: The road is open, but slower than the map suggests. Start early from Dirang, do not plan a same-day connection out of Tawang, and keep one spare day in the itinerary.
Kaziranga National Park reopened to visitors on Saturday 3 October at its central Kohora range. Jeep safaris are running in two daily slots, 7:30 to 10 am and 1:30 to 3 pm. Elephant safaris have not restarted: the forest minister said they should follow within two to three weeks of opening.
What it means for you: You can plan a Kaziranga visit now. Do not count on an elephant-back ride before late October, and ask your lodge which ranges are open on your dates. Last season drew about 4.68 lakh visitors, 15 per cent more than the year before, so book jeeps and rooms early for December and January.
Assam has set 13 October for the reopening of Pobitora Wildlife Sanctuary in Morigaon district, the last of the state's three big rhino destinations to open after the monsoon. The sanctuary received 35,371 visitors last season.
What it means for you: From 13 October the half-day rhino safari from Guwahati is possible again. Before that date, Kaziranga and Manas are the open alternatives.
The weather office had yet to declare the south-west monsoon withdrawn from the North-East at the start of October; last year it left on 14 October. The season itself was unusually dry: rainfall from June to September was 26 per cent below normal across the region, and 60 per cent below in Meghalaya. Sikkim and Nagaland were slightly above normal.
What it means for you: Carry rain gear and expect the odd landslip on hill roads until mid-October. After so dry a summer, the waterfalls around Sohra may be thinner this autumn than the photographs suggest.
The Tawang Marathon is on 24 October, with more than 4,000 runners expected at about 10,000 feet. The national tourism portal lists the Tawang Festival for 27–31 October, and the tourism ministry's International Tourism Mart brings operators from 27 countries to the town on 29–31 October.
What it means for you: It will be a lively week, and a hard one to find a bed. If you do not already have rooms in Tawang and Dirang for 22 October to 1 November, book now or move your dates. Runners are advised to arrive two or three days early to acclimatise.
Heavy rain left water and debris on the new Bairabi–Sairang line at the start of October. Four trains were held on the way, some services were cancelled and the railway arranged twenty buses for passengers. Officials said the track itself was undamaged and trains would resume shortly. The line marked its first year in September, with more than five lakh passenger journeys through Sairang.
What it means for you: The train remains a good way into Mizoram, with services to Guwahati and Kolkata and a Rajdhani to Delhi. In wet weather, check the running status on the day and do not plan a tight onward connection.
Manas National Park reopened on 2 October. Each range now rests one day a week: Bansbari on Tuesdays, Kuklung on Wednesdays, Bhuyanpara on Thursdays and Panbari on Fridays. The park now holds more than fifty rhinos, with no poaching reported for three years.
What it means for you: Bansbari is the range most visitors use, so avoid arriving for a Tuesday safari. Manas stays far quieter than Kaziranga and is the place to see the golden langur.
The Garo harvest festival known as the Hundred Drums marks its Golden Jubilee, the fiftieth organised edition, this year, and the committee is preparing a performance with a thousand drums at the Chibragre venue. The festival usually falls in the second week of November; the report we read gives no dates yet.
What it means for you: A one-off edition worth building a Garo Hills trip around. Wait for the dates before you book, and expect Tura's few hotels to fill.
Manipur: blockade suspended, but the state is not back to normal
The United Naga Council suspended its four-month economic blockade of National Highways 2 and 37, the roads into Imphal from Dimapur and Jiribam, from 6 pm on 26 September after talks with the state and central governments. It is a suspension, not an end. On the same day two civilians were shot dead in Senapati district, and reports put deaths in this year's violence between Naga and Kuki groups at about forty. The UK's foreign office continues to advise against all but essential travel to Manipur, including Imphal.
What it means for you: Our honest advice is to leave Manipur for a later trip unless you have a pressing reason to go. If you do travel, fly into Imphal, stay within the valley and Loktak, avoid the hill highways, and check whether your travel insurance still applies. Other governments carry their own warnings, so read yours.
Sikkim's Pakyong airport still has no passenger flights
The Airports Authority of India's traffic tables show no passengers at Pakyong in August 2026, and none for April to August as a whole. Separately, the authority has begun early studies of three possible sites for a new airport in the state, which is not a decision to build one.
What it means for you: Plan on Bagdogra airport and the four to five hour drive to Gangtok. Ignore any itinerary that still shows a flight into Sikkim.
A recurring landslide has swept away a section and a culvert on the Rimbi–Yuksom road in West Sikkim, closing it since 14 September. The district plans a Bailey bridge, with no completion date. Traffic is using the longer Legship–Tashiding–Gerethang road.
What it means for you: Yuksom is still reachable, but the Pelling to Yuksom hop past Khangchendzonga Falls is not possible for now. Trekkers heading for Dzongri and Goecha La should allow extra driving time and confirm the route with their agency.
Lachen and Gurudongmar Lake are open again after three years
Lachen has reopened to tourists for the first time since the flash flood of October 2023 destroyed the roads of North Sikkim. Permits for Lachen and Gurudongmar Lake have been issued again since 11 September. Under a district order, tourist vehicles must cross the Toong check post by 4 pm on the way up, and by 4 pm again on the way down.
What it means for you: The classic North Sikkim circuit is whole again. Leave Gangtok early to make the 4 pm check post, book through a registered operator as before, and remember Gurudongmar sits above 5,000 metres.
IndiGo will fly Guwahati to Bangkok from 27 October, with regular flights on Wednesdays and Saturdays from 31 October. The published timings are a 6:15 pm departure from Guwahati and an 8:50 am departure from Bangkok. It is the airline's first international route from the North-East, and is subject to final regulatory approval.
What it means for you: For visitors from South-East Asia, and for anyone pairing the Northeast with Thailand, Guwahati becomes a one-flight hop. Check the schedule on the airline's site before building plans on it.
Shillong Cherry Blossom Festival: 20–21 November, at a new venue
The festival moves out of the city to the New Shillong Highland Grounds, about thirty minutes from Shillong. Khalid, Swae Lee and Boys Like Girls are the first acts announced. Day tickets start at Rs 2,500, and the state says it will run a traffic plan for the weekend.
What it means for you: Shillong's hotels will be full that weekend and the road out to the venue will be slow. Book now, and consider staying a night longer to see the blossom itself in quieter streets.
Hornbill is on 1–10 December, and rooms are nearly gone
The Hornbill Festival runs from 1 to 10 December at Kisama Heritage Village near Kohima. An adviser to Nagaland's chief minister said in August that anyone trying to book then would struggle to find a hotel room or a taxi, because the state's capacity is limited.
What it means for you: If you want Hornbill this year, secure a bed first, whether a Kohima hotel, a homestay or a festival camp, then flights to Dimapur, then your Inner Line Permit. If Kohima is full, look at homestays in the villages around it, such as Khonoma and Kigwema.
Guwahati–Shillong road reopened after the August blockades
After vehicles registered in Assam were vandalised in Shillong in August, drivers' groups blocked the highway at Jorabat and taxi groups blocked it at Umiam. Both blockades were lifted after the two governments met on 22 August. The states set up a hotline, a standing district-level mechanism and a joint committee with the tourist-taxi associations.
What it means for you: The road between Guwahati and Shillong reopened in the last week of August. The older friction over which state's taxis may carry tourists went back to talks in September and we have not seen the outcome reported, so for Sohra and Dawki the simplest choice remains a Meghalaya-registered cab hired in Shillong.
Public transport on the Imphal–Dimapur–Guwahati route along National Highway 2 resumed on 21 August after a gap of nearly three years. The first 125 passengers reached Guwahati safely, and more than 200 left Imphal on the second day.
What it means for you: A sign of slowly returning normal life in Manipur. Most visitors will still fly into Imphal, and you should read the current advisories before planning any road travel in the state.
Shillong airport is being extended for bigger aircraft
Work has begun to lengthen the runway at Umroi from 1,829 to 2,400 metres. The chief minister expects it to be finished within fifteen months, allowing larger aircraft from the metros to land from 2027.
What it means for you: Nothing changes this season. Shillong still has only small-aircraft flights, and almost everyone arrives by road from Guwahati, three hours away.
Figures given to Parliament by the tourism minister put domestic tourist visits in the first half of 2026 at 46 lakh for Assam and 23.5 lakh for Sikkim, with Sikkim receiving the most foreign visitors of the eight states at 43,734 and Assam next at 32,471. Sikkim's own tourism department counts far fewer domestic visitors for the same months, about 12.3 lakh, a gap that officials have not explained.
What it means for you: The Northeast is no longer an empty frontier in peak weeks. For December and January in Kaziranga, Shillong, Gangtok and Tawang, book rooms and vehicles well ahead, or travel in the quieter shoulder months of October, February and March.
Glaw Lake becomes Arunachal's first Ramsar wetland
Glaw Lake, inside the Kamlang Tiger Reserve in eastern Arunachal Pradesh, was declared a wetland of international importance on 3 August, taking India's tally of Ramsar sites to 101. More than 150 tree species and 49 orchids are recorded around it.
What it means for you: A reason to look east of the usual circuit. The lake lies in Lohit district and is reached on foot through the forest; our Tezu guide covers the area.
Kaziranga plans a phone ban, online booking and compulsory guides
In August the park's director said that from this season visitors would not be allowed to use mobile phones inside Kaziranga, safaris would be booked online, every vehicle would carry a trained guide, visitor numbers would be regulated and one range would close one day each week. The steps follow Supreme Court and tiger-authority guidelines. Reports of the reopening do not say how strictly they are being applied yet; Orang is already keeping phones out.
What it means for you: Bring a camera rather than relying on your phone, and ask your lodge how safaris are being booked this year before you arrive.
Tezpur airport remains shut, with no reopening date
Civilian flights at Tezpur stopped on 1 October 2024 so that the runway, shared with the Air Force, could be rebuilt. The planned reopening of 31 March 2026 passed, and the airport director says no timeline has been received. Official traffic data shows no passengers there in August 2026.
What it means for you: For Tezpur, the western side of Kaziranga, Bhalukpong and the road to Tawang, fly to Guwahati and drive.
Several countries have eased their travel advice for Assam
Assam's tourism minister told the state assembly that Australia, Japan and all 27 member states of the European Union have recently revised their travel advisories for Assam, citing better law and order.
What it means for you: Helpful for foreign visitors whose travel insurance follows their government's advice. Always read your own government's current page, which may still treat other North-Eastern states differently.
Weekly flights link Guwahati with Dubai and Abu Dhabi
Air India Express announced the North-East's first direct Gulf services: Guwahati to Dubai on Tuesdays from 4 August and Guwahati to Abu Dhabi on Fridays from 7 August.
What it means for you: Visitors from the Gulf, and from Europe via the Gulf, can reach Guwahati with one connection. These are once-a-week flights, so check the airline's current schedule before you plan around them.
For Dawki, Meghalaya advises the road through Jowai
In June the Meghalaya government advised travellers to avoid the direct Shillong–Pynursla–Dawki road because of construction work and the risk of landslides and falling rock, and to go by Shillong–Jowai–Amlarem–Dawki instead, until further notice. We have not seen a notice withdrawing it.
What it means for you: Ask your driver which road is in use on the day. The Jowai route is longer but lets you add Krang Suri falls, and it changes how neatly Dawki pairs with Mawlynnong.
The Southern Angami Youth Organisation, which looks after the valley, reopened Dzukou to trekkers on 19 February after a wildfire that burned for about 25 days. It requires every party to take a registered local guide, a rule in force since 1 October 2025, and does not allow anyone to set out after 3 pm in winter or 4 pm in summer.
What it means for you: Budget for a guide, arrange one in Viswema, Jakhama or Kohima, and start in the morning. We have not seen a later notice changing this.
Living root bridges are in the queue for World Heritage status
India has formally nominated Meghalaya's living root bridges to UNESCO, under the name Jingkieng Jri / Lyu Chrai Cultural Landscape, for the 2026–27 evaluation cycle. They are nominated, not yet inscribed, and no decision date has been given.
What it means for you: Go now, while the villages are still quiet. If the listing comes, expect more visitors and tighter rules on the trails.
If a road has closed, a festival date has moved or a rule has changed where you are, tell us at wecare@northeastindia.guide. We check every tip against an official or published source before it goes up.