Arunachal Pradesh—the last frontier

Arunachal Pradesh is the largest state in the North East with a forest cover of more than 80 percent and shares international borders with Bhutan in the West, Burma in the East and Tibet in the North. The last of the great Shangri-La, this land of the dawn-lit mountains with the thinnest population density in the country is inhabited by 26 major tribes and many sub tribes. The state is bestowed with an amazing variety of flora and fauna as it is an abode to more than 500 varieties of orchids and some very rare rhododendron species. It is the only state that can claim to be the home to the four big species of cats―tiger, common leopard, snow leopard and clouded leopard. This place offers the heady combination of spiritualism and adventure with its innumerable and tastefully decorated gompas (monasteries) along with opportunities for trekking, angling, paragliding, river rafting and mountaineering. “mithun” is the state animal of this region and the great Indian hornbill is the state bird. The people of Arunachal Pradesh have a tradition of artistic craftsmanship with weaving, painting, pottery, smithy work, basket making and wood carving as dominant works of expertise in their day to day life.