Ziro awaits you
The most sought and beautiful hill stations of Arunachal Pradesh in the North Eastern Region in the midst of the pine clad mountains is the Hidden plateau-Ziro the headquarter of Lower Subansiri District. It is one of the quaint oldest towns in Arunachal Pradesh with a throbbing pulse. There is always an aura about it that grips every visitor and its cool weather in summer is its major attraction.
Famous for its pine clad gentle hills around it and rice field all around, Ziro is home to the Apatani tribe. The Apatani tribe is a unique Arunachal tribe and one of the rare ones that are not nomadic in nature. They cultivate wet lands and were once famous for their facial tattoos; practice of the latter is stopped recently.
Festival: Colors of Life
In Arunachal Pradesh a festival occurs almost every month. Though times have changed, festivals are firmly blended with the life of the people as occasions to bring kit and kin together, to share food, offer sacrifice and please the gods. Many of the festivals today are celebrated as mega events to showcase the state’s rich legacy of diverse cultures.
Throughout the year festivals are celebrated by one or other of the tribes. The Apatani people, who belief and worship nature God, extend hospitality more so during festivals like Myoko, Murung and Dree as these celebrations reawaken the collective memory of the tribe.
Myoko Festival: This festival is celebrated during the month of March every year amongst three villages namely Diibo-Hija, Hari-Bulla and Hong of Apatani plateau on rotational basis with traditional gaiety and festivity. The festival is celebrated by the whole villager for well being of society in which people from other villages are invited for local beer ‘OHO’ and meat, besides, merry making like BUSHII and AYU (traditional song). Each individual sacrifices the pigs during the festival.
MURUNG FESTIVAL: This festival is celebrated during the month of January by individual in which all the villagers participate. The festival is celebrated for well being of individual and immediate kit and kin. In this, Mithuns and cows are sacrificed that are distributed to the whole villagers of Apatani before “PENII SOLIN DU” traditional festivities in which young and old goes to other villages of Apatani plateau by chanting “HO-HO” in a queue.
DREE FESTIVAL: This Agricultural festival is celebrated during the month of July, centrally on 5th July every year at Nenchaleya, Old Ziro to propitiate the Dree God to protect the agriculture crops from pests and diseases. In this festival traditional songs and dances are also performed. The people of all villages of Apatani take part, besides people from other areas are also invited for community feast at festival ground.
Delectable delights
The people of the region have wide variety of food. Some of the mouth-watering delicacies are Paro & hikhu (chicken cooked with dried bamboo shoot) Alyi yo & hikhu (pork cooked with dried bamboo shoot), Sudu cooking (steamed items) like Ngyi panii (fish steamed in bamboo vessel), Papu & Paro panii (egg and chicken cooked in bamboo) etc. But the most preferred food item that lingers the taste buds of everyone is the Pikey Pila literally it translates as the ash-juice filtered from piyu (ash) is a specialty and whereas Tapyo is a popular condiment of the Apatanis. However, making of alcoholic beverage from rice is common trait among the Apatani tribe. Men and women consume it with relish and it is offered as an essential element that binds friend and relatives together and makes people happy and it goes by name ‘O’ (millet & rice beer extracted with addition of water).
Places of Interest
The destination has some of the well known attractions such as sanctuaries, temples, orchards, farms, national parks and many places of interest which will surely lighten our senses and brighten our day to chill and relax amidst the ever smiling hospitability of Ziro.
KILE PAKHO: A ridge located at 7 km. from old Ziro. In a fine morning, one can have clear bird’s views of Ziro plateau on one side and snow range of Himalayas called “NYIME PEMBU” in the other.
PADDY CUM FISH CULTURE: This practice of rearing fish in the paddy field is one unique feature for which Ziro is known all over, but more than that the hallmark of Apatani agriculture is its traditional irrigation system which has made the paddy cum fish culture possible. After transplanting of paddy from the nursery in wet rice cultivation field (W.R.C.), the fish fingerlings are put in Pakho/Hetey (channels in paddy field for drainage of water) at knee-deep height that are kept for 2–3 months before harvesting of fish. Though there is hardly any gap in the agriculture calendar of the Apatanis but the main activities i.e., sowing starts in February with harvesting in October. The rearing of fish in the paddy field starts from May and its harvesting is done from July to September.
ZIRO PUTU: Also called as Army Putu by the localites is a Hillock at old Ziro where first administrative centre was set up after India’s independence and ARMY cantonment was located in sixties. From this hillock one can have bird’s eye view of Apatani plateau. The Airport is also located beneath this hillock in the midst of the scenic paddy field.
Talle Valley Wildlife Sanctuary: It has diverse flora and fauna ranging from sub-tropical to alpine forests. It is covered with impenetrable vegetations marked by giant silver fir trees, a variety of rhododendron, orchids, ferns and varieties of bamboo. This biodiversity hot spot is approximately 32 km north east of Ziro and makes a perfect route for trekking.
MIDEY: A place famous for gigantic SAT-NII PIISHA and SAMENII, a Blue pine tree (Pinus wallichina) being biggest and tallest tree in the Apatani valley measuring about 7 (seven) metre at GBH (girth at breast height). One can trek through bamboo groove beneath the paddy field to see this gigantic blue pine trees which is 2 Km from old Ziro.
PAAPU: First administrative centre established before independence in 1944-45 by a foreigner Mr. F. Heimendrof famous anthropologist, author of “Himalayan Barbary”, “Apatani and their Neighbours” and “A Himalayan Tribe: From cattle to cash”, as a Special Officer appointed by British Administration.
BAMBOO GROOVE: One stem monopodium Bamboo, (Phyllotachys bamboos ides) grown with blue clad pine, is one of expert practices of farm forestry followed in this part of the world. One will appreciate their expertise when one venture inside in this groove in conjunction with hiking and picnic.
Shiva Linga at Kardo: It is about 4 km away from Hapoli town. The height of Shiva Lingam is 25 ft height with 22 ft width. Large number of devotees visits it every day.
ORCHID AND FLOWERS: Ziro is famous for rare orchids and other flowers like Rhododendron arboreum (SANJI APU), Hedychium ellipticum (PAPPI APU), Hedychium densiflorum, etc. The climate of the area is congenial for cultivation of orchids and varieties of flowers. At present one local entrepreneur has developed an orchid farm in which large variety of rare and exotic orchids are cultivated for sale and research purpose. The farm, M/s Nanakoo Orchid Farm, half a kilometre from Hapoli on Hapoli-Talley Valley road is a place worth visiting.
Best time to visit
The climate in Ziro is mild through the year, making it comfortable to travel all year round. Summer starts from the months of April through June, temperatures ranging from 20o - 30o Celsius. This season, just before the monsoon, is considered a good time to travel to Ziro. Monsoon is from July to September and the winter season lasts from November to February.
The Fine cool climate, well conserved community forests, cluster of old villages, rich social and cultural heritage provide the right ingredients to give everyone a unique experience of the eco-cultural landscape and true flavor of the way of life of the Apatanis which allures everyone to turn up to visit this places again and again.
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