Apatani Tribal Village of Ziro in India 2024-2025
The fascinating tribe has preserved traditions and way of life
Best time: July–March
Apatani Tribe, also known by the name Tanw and Apa, live in the Ziro valley in the Lower Subansiri district of Arunachal Pradesh, north-east India. It's a quiet secluded area with beautiful pine hills, mountain rice paddies, and fascinating people. The village of Ziro is located 115 km from Itanagar, the capital of Arunachal Pradesh. UNESCO considers the Apatani valley as a World Heritage Site for its unique way of preserving the environment. One of the most distinct agricultural methods is growing rice and fish in the paddy fields.
The best time to visit Ziro is during the dry season from July through March when the weather is more pleasant.
The main occupation of the Apatani is agriculture and fishing. They practice an animistic religion Donyi-Polo. Donyi means the Sun and Polo is the Moon like yin and yang. This is a typical religion of many Sino-Tibetan tribes of Arunachal Pradesh. The older women of the tribe have distinct facial tattoos and nose rings. This tradition dates back to when representatives of other tribes kidnapped the Apatani women, this made the Apatani men tattoo their faces and make them wear massive nose plugs. This tradition has now diminished, when the government imposed a ban on the nose plugs incisions in the 1970s.
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