North East India is quite underrated among travelers, and I’m glad it is. I’m not a fan of crowded places; they don’t seem peaceful, and it’s hard to connect with nature when surrounded by so many people.
I have explored Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Assam, and Meghalaya before.
Although Meghalaya is beautiful, it has been crowded in recent years, and traffic is a problem.
The raw natural beauty of Meghalaya is still there, and we need to take care of it before it disappears.
Among all the places I have seen, Dzukou Valley in Nagaland stands out as the best. It was my first solo trip, and I’ve traveled a lot since then, but I’ve never seen anything like Dzukou Valley.
Inu Etc in Dzukou Valley. Photo by Inu Etc
Arunachal Pradesh was also less crowded. Overall, north-east India is not overcrowded, and you can still see raw nature and authentic people.
This time, Rohan and I decided to explore Tripura and Mizoram, two of India’s unique and least-explored states.
21 March 2024 — Guwahati to Agartala, Tripura
I took a flight from Guwahati Airport (Lokpriya Gopinath Bordoloi International Airport) to Agartala Airport (Maharaja Bir Bikram Airport). It was an hour-long flight by Akasa Air.
The worst travel experience of my life
It was my first time in Agartala, I was hungry, alone, in a completely new city. I had booked a hotel (Cheers, near Agartala Airport) online through a company, but when I arrived, the receptionist informed me that they didn’t have any available rooms, despite having multiple vacancies.
I waited at the reception for almost two hours to receive a refund. Once I got the refund, they provided me with a dirty room and charged me ₹700 for it.
It was clear they were only causing this drama to avoid sharing commission with the hotel booking company.
22 March 2024 – Chabimura
In the morning, we rented a car for the whole day and began our trip.
The first stop was Chabimura, famous for its rock carvings on the steep mountain wall along the bank of the Gomati River in the Indian state of Tripura.
There are huge carved images of Shiva, Vishnu, Kartika, Mahisasura Mardini Durga, and other gods and goddesses.
My experience on a speed boat on the Gomati River was one of the most memorable I have had so far. The weather was rainy, and I felt like Ranbir Kapoor from the movie Roy as I sat on the deck of the boat.
At the location, I made a short video that’s available on Instagram and my YouTube vlog as well.
Way to Neermahal, Tripura. Photo by Inu Etc
Neermahal
Next, we visited Neermahal, also known as Twijilikma Nuyung ( Literally: “Water Palace” ) is a former royal palace of Tripura Kingdom, built by Maharaja Bir Bikram Kishore Manikya Debbarma Bahadur in 1930.
It is also the largest water palace in India. The palace is situated in the middle of Rudrasagar Lake ( Twijilikma ), in Melaghar, 53 kilometers away from Agartala, the capital of Tripura.
As the palace is surrounded by water, there is only one way to visit this palace, and that is through a boat ride.
In the afternoon, the driver dropped us at Agartala Railway Station, where we took a train to Kumarghat. In Kumarghat, Tripura, we spent the night at the Debroy Hotel.
Inu Etc in Unakoti, Tripura. Photo by Inu Etc
23 March 2024 — Unakoti
In the morning, we booked an auto rickshaw to visit Unakoti.
It was my favorite place from my Tripura trip.
Unakoti, famously known as Angkor Wat of the North-East, is a sculptural emblem and ancient Shaivite place that hosts rock carvings, figures, and images of gods and goddesses.
It is a place of worship with huge rock reliefs celebrating Shiva. Unakoti literally means “one less than one crore” or “koti” in Hindi. It is known that there are ninety-nine lakh ninety-nine thousand nine hundred and ninety-nine (99,99,999) idols found here.
It was a place that was full of mysteries, a place that was spiritual and unique in its own way.
Kumarghat to Siliguri, Assam
We took a train to Siliguri and arrived there at night.
After that, we took an overnight trip by SUV from Siliguri to Aizawl, Mizoram.
Inner Line Permit
The Inner Line Permit (ILP) is an official document that allows Indian citizens to travel into a protected area for a limited time. A valid ILP is required to enter a protected state for Indian citizens living outside those states. The ILP was introduced to preserve the North Eastern Tribes’ heritage and avoid migration.
After entering Mizoram around midnight, we got our inner line permit. The officer in charge told me I looked like a famous singer. Although I was unable to understand the singer’s name, I felt good, since I have always wanted to become a singer. 😊
24 March 2024 — Aizawl
It was early in the morning when we reached Aizawl. It was Sunday, and we realized for the first time that almost everything (public transportation, shops, restaurants) in Mizoram is closed on Sundays. There was taxi available, and we booked a taxi to reach Reiek Tourist Resort.
We had our lunch in the resort, and we just took some rest as overnight journey made us so tired.
Reiek Trek Sunrise View – Photo by Inu Etc
25 March 2024 — Reiek Trek in the morning — The best sunrise view ever
Reiek, also known as Reiek Tlang, is a mountain and tourist spot in Mizoram, India at an elevation of 1,548 meters. It’s located 29 kilometers from Aizawl, the capital of Mizoram.
The Reiek trek is a 2-kilometer hike that can be completed in 45–60 minutes if you take it at a leisurely pace. It took us almost an hour to complete.
At the top of Reiek, you can enjoy panoramic views of the surrounding valley and Mizo Hills. Most days, you will be able to see beautiful cloud formations from the peak.
We started hiking around 3:30 in the morning. It was dark when we started. After an hour-long hike, I witnessed the most beautiful sunrise at the peak. It was truly a mesmerizing experience.
The experience of sitting on the edge of the cliff was thrilling and filled with adrenaline. You can watch the trek experience in my vlog, and you can see the images I took in my Instagram posts as well.
While we only saw the sunrise, I recommend watching the sunset as well. Both views will look great, I’m sure.
Mizo Village
We saw a typical Mizo village near the Reiek Tourist Resort after the hike. It was fascinating to see how they made their homes, the tools they used, and how they lived in the early days.
From Reiek, we went to Aizawl City with Ruata, a local tour guide who came with another group.
We met him at the resort, and he accompanied us on the Reiek Trek as well.
Aizawl Peak Sunset View – Photo by Inu Etc
Aizawl Peak Restaurant — The best sunset view ever
Our plan was to reach Aizawl Peak Restaurant in the evening to see the beautiful sunset view of Aizawl city from the top of the viewpoint.
We booked a taxi, but Google Maps showed us the wrong route, so the driver was unable to take us there. We had to use two bike taxi services for the two of us.
From the Aizawl Peak Restaurant viewpoint, we witnessed the best sunset view and the most beautiful night cityscape ever.
The most beautiful night cityscape ever. Aizawl City, Mizoram. Photo by Inu Etc
On our way back, we encountered the kindest-hearted woman in Mizoram, Madam Luri. She was friendly, and we engaged in discussions about music, travel, and our experiences.
Upon reaching her home, she generously gave 500 rupees to the driver, even though the total fare was 600 rupees. The original plan was to split the money equally, but she gave it all to the driver and thanked us for visiting Mizoram.
We stayed the night at the Hotel Cosmo in Aizawl.
26 March 2024 — Aizawl to Guwahati flight.
Last day.
Rohan had his flight in the morning, so we arrived early, and I had to wait until 3PM for my flight.
At the airport, I met Zela, a guy who works there. I was waiting for a long time with my travel backpack looking like a passionate traveler, and he got curious about me, and we talked about our dreams, travel plans, etc., after which he invited me to visit Mizoram again.
I became friends with him in a short amount of time. If I return to Mizoram, I will definitely meet him and Madam Luri again.
I took my flight to Guwahati Airport at 3PM from Lengpui Airport. During the hour-long Alliance Air flight, I saw beautiful views of the mountains.
Ups and Downs by Inu Etc. Photo by Inu Etc
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Keep traveling
Wow great experiences, first one about hotel, some online companies like to do these, Same problem happened with me at a time, but luckily i got full refund & take extra also 😂, Great article,..
It’s actually the hotel that creates such drama just for some extra money. They don’t understand that they’re losing customers, getting 1-star ratings, and all. This happens a lot with Oyo hotels (as I recently experienced in Guwahati). My experience with Booking.com is the best so far, and most companies help in situations like this.
Thanks for your comment. 💚