Ziro Valley Diaries : A journey into the heart of the Apatani Tribes of Arunachal Pradesh

This September, I had the rare privilege of spending four unforgettable days in Ziro Valley, Arunachal Pradesh—a land where time slows down, mountains breathe calm, and traditions whisper stories from centuries past.

The Picturesque Ziro Valley

My visit was twofold: I was invited to deliver a scientific talk at PhysioSphere 2025, the first National Conference of Physiotherapy organized by the Arunachal Pradesh Physiotherapy Association in collaboration with IGTAMSU, Ziro. The conference itself was set in a picturesque village framed by golden paddy fields and pine-clad hills—a setting so serene that it felt like nature itself was part of the audience.

Delivering scientific talk by sporting a head gear of Nishi Tribe 

But beyond the academic exchange, Ziro offered me a life-changing cultural immersion. I spent a day with the Apatani indigenous tribe, one of India’s most fascinating communities. The highlight was meeting senior Apatani women adorned with Yaping Hullo (wooden nose plugs) and facial tattoos—a practice now fading into history.

The vanishing Apatani tribe of Ziro 

  

A few decades ago, Apatani women were considered exceptionally beautiful and often risked abduction by neighboring tribes. To protect them, the community introduced this tradition of facial modification—wooden plugs and tattoos that made women appear less attractive to outsiders. While the practice was banned in the 1970s due to stigma and employment barriers, today, these elderly women are the last living storytellers of a unique cultural heritage. Sitting beside them felt like touching history.

  

The Apatanis are deeply rooted in the Donyi-Polo faith, worshipping the Sun (Ayo Danyii) and Moon (Atoh Piilo). Their homes proudly fly flags symbolizing this cosmic balance. Linguistically, they belong to the Tani group, speaking a dialect of the Tibeto-Burman family. Ziro Valley, with its harmonious blend of ecology and culture, is already on the path to becoming a UNESCO World Heritage Site—and it’s easy to see why.

Lush green paddy fields of Ziro 

What struck me most was the valley’s living landscape of sustainability. The Apatanis practice a rare form of paddy-cum-fish farming, where rice fields double as fish ponds—a brilliant model of ecological balance. Their wooden houses, decorated with flowers woven into the walls, look like postcards from another era. The winding mountain routes reveal breathtaking views of valleys dotted with bamboo groves and pine forests. And yes, I even dared to taste their protein-rich cuisine—worms, insects, and bamboo shoots! It was both earthy and surprisingly flavorful, though I’m sure my wife and mother would shake their heads in disbelief at my adventurous appetite.

  

One of my most cherished moments was at Bije Camp in Hong Village, the hub of Apatani culture. “Bije” means bamboo, and the camp truly reflected the tribe’s sustainable lifestyle. There, I met Tapi Gyati uncle and his family, who embodied the valley’s spirit of hospitality. They served us herbal tea, homemade plum wine, fresh fruits, and vegetables from their garden—even gifting me dry seeds for my farm. Such generosity from strangers reminded me why travel is as much about people as it is about places.

Medical Consultation 

Instagram Frame - House from Hong Village

Valley, Paddy Field & Ray of hope  

In addition to cultural exploration, I offered medical consultations during a community health camp—addressing fractures, non-communicable diseases, and fall-prevention strategies for elderly women. It was my way of giving back to a community that had given me so much in warmth and wisdom.

As I walked through the lush paddy fields, breathed in the crisp mountain air, and listened to tribal songs echo across the valley, I realized Ziro is not just a place—it’s an experience, a lesson, and a treasure. My time with the Apatani tribe was truly a lifetime memory, and I left with a heart full of gratitude, stories to share, and seeds—both literal and metaphorical—that will stay with me forever.

Travel Tip: If Ziro is on your list, don’t just visit—immerse yourself. Listen to the elders, sip their tea, join their conversations. Because in Ziro, every interaction is a doorway into history.

My sincere gratitude's to Dr.Duyu Nipa, Dr.Vineeth, Dr.Nabam Peter, Dr.Duyu Radhe, Arunachal Physiotherapy Association (APA), entire staff of IGTAMSU-Ziro for their incredible hospitality 

Green story from a parched land

The ultimate goal of farming is not growing of crops;

But the cultivation and perfection of human beings.

-       Masanobu Fukuoka

Naveen Garden

Agriculture and Farming is deeply rooted in my living tissues. Hailing from a modest agricultural family, my parents, and my ancestors earned their livelihood from farming. All the cells and building blocks of my body are nourished from the agricultural soil. I belong to the first generation graduate, who flew miles away from my nest to earn money and food for a living, without knowing the food and simple living is already there at my backyard.  This is a post about a progressive and new-age agriculture farm located in Trichy district of Tamilnadu, South India. Krishnapuram is a typical village in Musri Taluk of Trichy District. Agriculture and farming is one of the most predominant occupations in this village. Though River Cauvery flows 20 kilometers away from this village settlement, the land is dry and parched due to the geographical elevated location & rocky terrain. The deficit in successive monsoons and extreme summer posed extreme challenges to the farmers in this village settlement.

Hangout Zone

Midst of all these obstacles, an inspiring agricultural farm flourishes with many great endeavors to revive farming, to promote awareness on protecting nature and wildlife, and animal rescue operations. I walked into this agricultural farm on a gloomy night to spend a few days volunteering and experiential learning. A pack of canines came running towards me, and jumped on me. Matrix (Rottweiler breed) was the leader of the pack. I went on my knees to the ground to hug those friendly pets and started to pat them fondly. Sooner, three Labrador Retriever breeds - Kukuva, Luna, and Kutta, two cute Pug breeds – Puggy and Sham, Kaaka (Dobberman breed), Panda (Lasapso breed), and Bolt (Miniature pinscher breed) were fighting to get my attention and the pat. All of them were friendly, and at the same time terrific, started pulling me in each of their directions.  I have to spend a few minutes with each of those friendly breeds to calm them down. In all those breeds, Bolt was very young; he got my rapt attention. He jumped into my face, started to sniff my eyes, nose, and ears. This is one of the best and most over-whelming welcome I have experienced ever in my life. 

Shrida - The Curious kid

Ganesh and his small family were volunteering at this farm for the past one year. Shrida, his kid is worth mentioning here. Curious and inquisitive mind gifted with immense talents, he can easily befriend with any stranger at no time. Ganesh is a university by himself, and he exposes his little son to real-life learning. The family keeps moving to inspiring places across India, Nepal, and Srilanka stays and volunteers there, and lives a minimalistic life in this materialistic world. These family members are my guide for the next few days at this farm.  It was the first week of January, and the night was shimmering with cold in this winter. I went to my room to retire for the day. Bolt came running under my legs, jumped on the bed, sat on the pillow, and nodded at me with his usual hyper reflexes. Shrida ran into my room, to inform that Bolt will be sleeping in this room; whereas other pets will be guarding my room by staying outside. I slept with a puzzled mind; whether I am privileged to sleep with Bolt or Bolt is privileged to sleep with me?

DSP - The crazy kid 

I was super amazed by strolling around the integrated farm next morning with Ganesh.  The farm was established by a young post-graduate Mr. Naveen Krishnan, a visionary agripreneur with a great mission of meeting few objectives of Dr. Kalam’s vision 2020 – environmental protection, creating awareness on wildlife and nature, educating farmers about innovative farming, and creating man-made forests.  The entire farm was distinctly earmarked based on the specific tasks – animal zone with proper fencing and appropriate strategies to house a list of exotic animal breeds. I was completely engrossed with those exotic collections in an agricultural farm – pigmy goats, Arabian racehorses, Asino Amiatina donkeys,  two giant green and orange iguanas with dozens of baby iguanas, gerbil, hamster, tortoise, native kangayam bull, brahma chicken, fish breeds like alligator gar, arapaima, and piranha. It takes a lot of special interest to rear these exotic breeds. Ganesh explained to me in detail about those exotic breeds and he had enough patience to clarify most of my inquisitive doubts. There was a fenced livestock area nearby this animal zone to rear goats, cows and poultries. 

Miyawaki method

The farming techniques and approaches are unique and progressive here. The Miyawaki tree plantation method is being adapted here in one area of the farm. It’s a technique pioneered by Japanese ecologist Akira Miyawaki, which helps build dense forests by planting few native species in the same ground pit. This approach ensures the plant growth is ten times faster and the resulting plantation is 30 times denser.  Few thousand plants are spread across evenly giving a lush green cover amidst the surrounding parched lands. I was breathing the fresh miyawaki morning air at the moment. The rest of the farmland was cultivated with pomegranate orchards, vegetables like tomatoes, brinjal, spinach varieties, chilly, and cattle fodders. Toiling in the soil for hours; reverberated to me, the wisdom of celebrated great Tamil Poet and Philosopher Thiruvalluvar;

The world tails the plough despite other pursuits

Even if one toils, farming remains foremost 

சுழன்றும்ஏர்ப் பின்னது உலகம் அதனால் 
உழந்தும் உழவே தலை.

Volunteering

Amused by all these endearing endeavors, we moved ahead for another surprise of an artificial Olympic size agricultural pond with the  length of 140 feet, breadth of 70 feet and depth of 12 feet filled with gallons of water.  Water is being pumped from a bore well which is located 6kms away and stored here to irrigate this farmland. Every drop of water counts here and, all the crops are watered by drip irrigation ensuring optimal water management. As time eluded, I was soaked completely in the daily chores of the farm, chopping fodder grass, processing the fodder, feeding the cattle’s and pet dogs, and cleaning the cattle sheds.  We took a pair of goats to nearby veterinary doctor. The animals are deprived of communicating by language; and when it is sick, it’s very complex for us to find the etiology, and it’s suffering. The veterinarian was professionally competent, examined the sick goats, diagnosed as an infection and gave an antibiotic shot in the goats neck. Tired and exhausted; the goats took comfort on my lap and shoulder while returning back to the farm. 

Naveen with special kids

Naveen Garden farm is quite popular among the school and college educators for providing their students with an experiential learning on nature, wildlife, and agriculture. And it is also equally hit among the public for a relaxed day outing in a farm along with exotic breeds. During my volunteering, a bunch of special kids arrived here for their Pongal celebrations. I went to receive them from their van along with the entire matrix gang. Luna, Panda and Bolt stormed into the van; and few kids started to scream their lungs out. I assured these intellectually challenged special kids about the friendly character of the pets and brought them to the common activity area. My community rehabilitation & public health expertise helped me to manage these kids with very minimal efforts; and sooner some kids were seen attached to the pets. I was their guide now taking them to all the areas in the farm; detailing them about the exotic breeds, agriculture techniques, water conservation techniques, and all about Naveen Garden. Abandoned by their family members, neglected from society, these special kids have a horrifying past in their lives. But at this very moment, I can see smiles, excitement and laughter in those kids’ faces by the love, affection, touch and nurturance of the pet animals.  

Eyespotting Iguana

Naveen Krishnan endeavors are really inspiring, and most of his aspirations are fueled by Dr. Kalam’s mission. He invested enormous resources in building in a residential home for mentally challenged on his farm. The project was ultimate, with a novel approach to care and nurture the mentally challenged individuals in a peaceful residential ambiance midst of green farms and pet animals. The buildings are in the last phase of completion. Unfortunately, this project is stalled now at the due to a lack of sufficient funds.  This unfinished building is the only unaccomplished dream here in this Naveen Garden. My volunteering days here in this Naveen Garden was a great quest for my learning in many dimensions, understanding the importance of farming, practical insights to miyawaki tree plantations, water management approaches, playing around with the gang of the matrix, the best time in bringing out the smiles in those special kids and most importantly nurturing the sick goat by hugging close to my chest. 

Miles to go

This farm is a perfect embodiment of Masanobu Fukuoka’s words - The ultimate goal of farming is not growing of crops; But the cultivation and perfection of human beings. Naveen Garden is cultivating the perfection in Human beings.

You can find more details about Naveen Garden

www.globalnaturefoundation.org

Naveen can be reached @ +91-98423 53713