Header image courtesy of Vidhi Dedhia
We were three girls, out on an adventure. Our friends and families had raised a million concerns regarding our safety. “You are going alone? Just you girls?” they exclaimed. My instant retort to that had been, “We are three of us… How does that make us alone?” But they never got it. The presence of a male friend was mandatory, according to Indian society, but I was ready to strap on my seat belt—and there was no looking back from here.
We decided to visit three of the Seven Sister States in Northeast India. Fun fact: Even though these states are sure to take your breath away with their virgin beauty, in India, only a handful of people know about the diversity that they have to offer. And so, they remain fairly unexplored. We had chosen the road less travelled, quite literally, which meant we had to first arrange for an Inner Line Permit. Even though these states fall into the jurisdiction of the Indian subcontinent, all Indians need a permit to enter one of them—Arunachal Pradesh. So we knew we had an adventure waiting for us to unravel. This is my story, amidst the deepest valleys and highest peaks in the northeastern states of India.