Arunachal

Namdapha National Park

Orientation

Namdapha is one of the easternmost forests in India. The forest of Namdapha is spread over a large area of about 2000 square kilometres. It is situated between Assam to its West, Nagaland to its South, Myanmar to its East and Arunachal Pradesh to its North. It is one of the least explored forests anywhere in the world. Much of the forests of Namdapha are still inaccessible. Tourism activity at Namdapha is limited to its western fringe in Deban and Miao areas.

Orientation

Nam in the local language means Water and Dapha mean source. Namdapha name is originated from the river that flows east to west through Namdapha called the Noa Dehing river.

About the Forest

Namdapha has first declared a wildlife sanctuary in 1972, later in 1983, it was converted into a National Park and Tiger reserve. The forests of Namdapha are well known for their population of tigers and other wildlife. As the forests of Namdapha is spread over a wide variety of altitude, you can expect a variety of wildlife that live in different altitudes here. Bengal tigers, leopards, clouded leopards and even snow leopards are found here. There are several unique wildlife species here that may not be available anywhere else. One such species is a flying squirrel named the Namdapha flying squirrel. It has not been seen in the wild in the last 40 years or so and is considered an extremely endangered species of wildlife. Apart from land animals, there is a wide variety of birds and butterflies that can be found here. Namdapha thus is considered to be one of the largest biological hotspots in the world.

Tourism in Namdapha

Tourism activity at Namdapha centres around Miao town. It is a small settlement to the west of the forest and close to the Arunachal Assam border. The town has some tourist attractions including some waterbodies and a mini zoo and museum. It is also possible to go for an elephant ride inside the forests of Namdapha from here.

Getting there

Dibrugarh is the nearest major rail station and airport. It is about 4 hour drive away (170 km). Tinsukia station is nearer about 112 km away (3 hours). Guwahati is the most important city in North East but the drive time can be well over 15 to 16 hours as it is close to 600 km from Miao. If you are coming here by train, then Tinsukia is the best place to alight. If you are travelling by flight, then you have to get a connecting flight to Dibrugarh either from Kolkata or Guwahati. Dibrugarh also has direct flights to Agartala.

Where to Stay

In the recent past, some tourist accommodations have started to come up at Miao and its surrounding area. Except for Miao, there is no other place so far where tourists can spend the night. The accommodation at Miao is basic but there are a few decent hygienic facilities that have come up in the recent past. For information about the latest options regarding accommodation, get in touch with our travel experts by feeling out the form below.