Ziro Music Festival: How to plan, what to expect, expenses for the trip

Nimish Jalan
Nov 1 · 9 min read

Whether you are looking for a break from work, some time in nature surrounded by mountains & beautiful valleys or an experience of a lifetime. Look no further than Ziro Festival of Music as it will help introduce you to new music, food & culture. The festival, spread over 4 days is certain to leave you spell bound and also give a hangover. Set up in a valley among paddy fields, it is one of the most picturesque locations that I have ever attended a music festival in.

Night Stage made entirely of Bamboo. It took them 30 days to build this.

The size of the grounds & event space make it easy to navigate the whole festival without being rushed or feeling extreme crowds. In my opinion, experiences with most festivals get ruined due to the sheer number of people and lack of space. However, Ziro was a pleasant surprise in this regard, barring 1 day of the festival, and more than stood up to my expectations. It introduced and gave me a glimpse into the fabulous cultural diversity of India in a deeper sense, something that I have taken for granted in the past, more often than not. Peoples behaviour, politeness, understanding of the language, clothing, food habits, use of natural resources and waste management were all on display and it really made me proud of our diversity.

Sit outs like this overlooking the valley & paddy fields gave the festival a rustic eco friendly look.

If this inspires you then read on as I share more on my experiences about the whole trip: On how to plan, the cost, what to expect and what essentials to carry for the trip.

Planning: For any trip to be easy, successful and stress free — planning becomes the most important and critical part. With good planning one can really enjoy a trip to the fullest. It is the one thing that I dedicate a lot of time to as I have learnt the value of not planning the hard way. Imagine not having access to most essentials and thinking “I wish I had packed this or I wish I had booked a better connecting flight.” For example: I bought a portable, waterproof chair with a bag that could be easily carried. This enhanced my experience at the festival.

Research Ziro & music: If you are not into music, then the entire point of this experience is lost. It is best that you research the music and figure out if the music scene is something that excites you. From my experience, Ziro is one of the few festivals that gives an opportunity to upcoming bands more often than to well established bands. There are musicians from all across the globe and just like most things — you will love some and dislike some. If you do this well in advance you can use your time wisely and plan other activities that might spike your interest in the periphery of the festival

Travel: North eastern India is not as well connected yet. Therefore, it is important that you plan your travel well in advance. Depending on the amount of time and your budget, this is critical as it helps maximise the experience, reduce time gaps between different modes of transport and also saves the amount of money you spend. The roads can be unpredictable due to landslides and potholes, I would suggest keeping road travel as short as possible and a large buffer between your next mode of transport. My route was the following:

◦ Direct flight Bangalore — Guwahati. 6:50–9:40 (3 hours)

◦ Train Guwahati — Naharlagun 21:20–4:55 (7 hours) same night

◦ By road 6:00–12:00 (6 hours) next morning for 100 kilometers

ILP: Internal Line Permit is additional paperwork needed by Indian citizens to enter into Arunachal Pradesh. Without this, entry into the state is restricted. One can apply online for an ILP for a mere Rs. 100. Please check this site for more details www.arunachalilp.com One can apply on the spot for the ILP at some entry points like Naharlagun & Gumto railway station but for a hassle free experience, I would suggest, that you apply for the permit before hand. It usually takes about 1–2 working days for the permit to arrive in your email. Once approved, simply carry a print out of the permit and the document used for verification when traveling through the state.

Gear: Weather is highly unpredictable in the region, thus, it is important to spend time planning, buying and organising your gear. Depending on your stay type it is crucial that you spend time thinking through about the things that you would like to take with you on the trip. Most people like to camp as did we. So it was important that we packed diligently and light to make the experience pleasant. Some of the things that you might want to consider taking along would be foldable chairs, tarpaulin, insect repellant, waterproof covers for your gear, wind cheaters, torch, sunglasses, water bottle, sunscreen, moisturiser, pocket knife, tissue papers, medicines and dry fruits among other things. Remember it is a 4 day festival & time spent between your camp and the site can be tiring.

Renting tents: One detail that experience taught me was to research the size of the tent before hand. We were a group of 4 in a single Alpine tent which was recommended for 4 people minus their luggage. We had to keep our luggage out in the night as there was just enough space for us to sleep. However, this was a cumbersome process which meant packing and unpacking twice a day. Also because of the monsoon it is best to keep the luggage inside the tent at all times.

In hindsight, we would have been better off renting 2 Dome tents (orange tents) meant to accommodate 3 where 2 people can stay comfortably with their luggage.

Camping grounds of Kite Manja @Ziro. Orange ones are 3 people tents & green ones are 2 people tents.

Gum Boots: The organisers suggest you carry a pair of gum boots due to 2 primary reasons 1. to safeguard against leeches 2. to help walk in muddy/slushy terrain. The reason I am mentioning this separately is because I found my water resistant and ankle length hiking shoes to be sufficient the whole time I was there. If you are planning to buy gum boots at the festival, please ensure that you get the correct size which can be difficult at times. I would recommend that you plan before hand so that you can avoid shoe bites and so that you can experience the festival in the best footwear. During the entire time we barely saw people getting attached by leeches.

Camp location: Ask your organizers to share the exact distance of the campsite from the venue because transport in the valley is not available even if you want to pay for it. It is best to stay near the festival if you want to avoid long walks back and forth on slippery non-roads. It worsens at night. Our campsite was located about 1.5 kms from the venue and after a long, tiring day the walk back to the camp was the most annoying thing.

◦ NOTE: People in Arunachal still tend to drink & drive, it is hard to judge who is drunk and who is not. A lot of people hitchhike around the festival, please be careful about getting into a car as it can be hazardous to your health.

Cost: There are a lot of variables in terms of the costing for the trip. Generally speaking though here is what you can expect:

◦ 4 day festival pass — Rs. 5,000 (Rs. 3,000 if booking super early bird)

◦ Campsite stay, food & cab transport from Naharlagun — Rs 10,000

◦ Flights — Between Rs. 9,000–18,000. (Return). Depending on when you book

◦ Train — Rs. 1,170 Third AC (return). We booked ours in June

◦ Food/drinks at the festival — Rs 2,000 per day on the upper side

◦ Activities — Rs. 1,000 per activity. Hot air balloon, quad bikes, village walks

◦ Gear — Rs 3,000 upwards. (chair, waterproof backpacks, backpack covers, shoes, jackets, etc)

Food: We ended up buying an all inclusive deal that included all three meals and it was a waste since the food was not that great. We ate once during our stay at the camp site. I would recommend that you buy only the breakfast in your package because you will be out of the camp site most of the time. Food at the festival was delicious and unique but a tad expensive. At the festival make sure you ask the price of a thali before you sit down for your meal. To reduce your cost, I would suggest finding local eateries outside the venue as the same overpriced food is available for a lot cheaper. You will also find locals from surrounding villages setting up temporary stalls outside the festival. Do give jhalmuri a try if you find vendors selling them.

Food stalls of Ziro Music festival in the twilight.
Unlimited veg. thali at a local restaurant enroute the festival for Rs. 100. Other meat options were also available.

Activities: There are several activities that the campsite promotes & asks to book in advance. In my experience it is best to reach Ziro and decide depending on your mood. Weather & energy will determine whether or not you should go for any activities. Pre committed activities can turn out to be wasteful in case you have had a long and tiring day before hand. We did the hot air balloon & the experience was quite bad as the time spent in the air was approx. 3 minutes (we were promised 10 minutes) and some of my friends got burnt due to the hot oil that was spilling from the equipment while we were in the air. Most activities have ample space, do not let your FOMO decide.

Hot air balloons add a festive flavour to the music festival. But they are best only to be looked at

Days to attend: In my experience this year the festival was at its worst on Saturday night. The two reasons were that it was a weekend & Lucky Ali, the headline act got a lot of music lovers to attend the festival on this day. Unless there is an artist that you really want to see, I would suggest definitely attending the festival on the 1st & 4th day as the number of people at the venue are a lot lesser and as a result not as cramped.

Stay: Living in a camp for city dwellers can become challenging & stressful unless you are already in the habit. Living in cramped places with different set of people for 4 odd nights brings its own challenges. There are several options like home-stays, hotels & airbnb’s. I would suggest pick the one you & your friends are most comfortable with so that the overall experience becomes memorable and reduces the strain on your relationships.

Have you been to Ziro or are planning a trip in the future? Please share your experiences in the comments section below. Happy to hear from you. In case you want to collaborate please email me at nimishjalan@gmail.com

These permanent toilets at the campsite with running water made life very convenient.
Our camp site — Kite Manja. The oldest camp site at Ziro Music Festival.
Our campsite transformed at night time.
The coolest tree house for socialising that doubled up as a beer shop on our camp site.
Front view of the whole lobby where people would hang out, play music, interact, sit next to a bonfire & eat food.
Local Dogs of Arunachal. We came across a camp site that had a separate tent for these 7 little monsters and their mother.

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