North East region of India geographically refers to the seven states of the North East and Sikkim. The seven other states are

• Assam
• Meghalaya
• Arunachal Pradesh
• Mizoram
• Nagaland
• Tripura
• Manipur

I often meet people who have a very different idea about this region and most are under the belief that this is not a safe place to visit. Well to some extent that feeling may be justified but things are definitely changing.

The entire region is a mix of people from different ethnic backgrounds and most societies are tribal societies. There is always some community that is feeling deprived and this eventually leads to the formation of a militant outfit and we sure have a lot of them here. I once read somewhere that there were about 30 militant groups in Assam only.

Forming a militant group has become somewhat of an industry in this region. They start off with a lot of ideology but eventually get caught in the system and it is all about the money after that. They are nothing but criminals looking to make fast money who masquerade behind false ideologies.

My advise to anyone wanting to visit this place would be to leave out Manipur and Nagaland form the itinerary. These places are not at all safe. Besides that I don’t believe there is any problem in travelling to any of the other states of this region.

Assam is home to the world famous Kaziranga National Park. Besides this there are more than 10 other national reserves in Assam only.

Meghalaya is home to Cherrapunjee, which once had the reputation of  being the wettest place on earth. Shillong is the capital of Meghalaya, a vibrant town that is often considered the capital of western music in India.

Arunachal Pradesh is paradise on earth. It is one of my favourite places. There are just too many places to visit there and I have just seen a few.

I have been to Mizoram just once and it is a beautiful place in the hills. Tripura is one place I am yet to visit and hopefully will be there soon.

Even though Sikkim is part of the North East it is geographically quiet far away. We have to go through West Bengal to reach Sikkim. I have been there once long back and it is another great place to visit.

Forget about all the tales you hear about the North East being unsafe. It is as safe as any other part of the country excepting two states, Manipur and Nagaland. So if you are looking for a great place to visit do consider coming here.