Arunachal Pradesh Inner Line Permit 2026: how to apply, fees, and planning Tawang and Ziro

How to apply for the eILP online

1. Open eilp.arunachal.gov.in and choose Apply ILP.
2. Pick the tourist permit and enter your details exactly as they appear on your ID. A spelling difference between the two can hold you up at the gate.
3. Enter your entry and exit dates. Count the drive back down too, because Tawang to Guwahati takes two days.
4. Upload a recent colour photo on a light background, facing the camera, with no cap or sunglasses (headgear worn for religious or traditional reasons is fine).
5. Upload one ID: Aadhaar, voter ID, passport, driving licence, ration card or permanent resident certificate. The portal can also pull your photo and documents from DigiLocker.
6. Pay online, then come back through Login for Print & Payment to download the permit.

Each adult needs their own permit. For students under 18, the portal asks for a parent's or guardian's documents. Many permits come through within a few hours, but leave yourself a few days in October and November, when half of India seems to be heading to Tawang. The portal is sometimes down for maintenance, which is another reason not to leave it to the night before.

If something goes wrong, the eILP helpdesk is run by the state's Department of IT & Communication in Itanagar (nodal.eilp@gmail.com, Monday to Friday, 10 am to 4 pm).

Where your permit gets checked

On the Tawang road, the first check is at Bhalukpong, where the highway from Tezpur enters the state. Coming into Itanagar from the Assam side, the main gate is at Banderdewa. The eastern routes towards Pasighat, Roing and Namsai have their own gates. Police may ask again further in, and hotels usually want to see the permit at check-in.

Carry two printed copies and keep the PDF on your phone as well. Mobile signal disappears for long stretches on the Tawang road, so a paper copy saves an argument at a check post. Keep the ID you used for the application with you.

Bum La and other extra permits around Tawang

Your ILP gets you into Tawang town and the main sights. Bum La, the pass on the India-China border about 35 km beyond Tawang, needs another permit. It is issued by the Deputy Commissioner's office in Tawang and then stamped at the army cantonment, normally the day before you go. Without the army stamp you will be turned back at the posts on the way up. A per-head entry fee was introduced recently and is collected at the DC office. Sangestar Tso (often called Madhuri Lake) is on the same road and is usually visited on the same day.

Bum La is for Indian citizens only. It also closes in heavy snow and whenever the army needs the road, so treat it as a bonus day that might not happen.

Permits for foreign travellers

The eILP is for Indian citizens only. Foreign nationals, and OCI card holders, need a Protected Area Permit. The state tourism department lists a royalty of US$30 per person and says applications should go through an approved local tour operator. You can also apply through the e-FRRO portal, the Resident Commissioner of Arunachal Pradesh in New Delhi, or the Home and Tourism departments in Itanagar. Give it a few weeks and carry several printed copies. Nationals of a few countries (including China and Pakistan) need prior clearance from the Ministry of Home Affairs.

Getting there

Most Arunachal trips start in Assam. Which gateway you use depends on where in the state you are going:

• For Tawang, fly or take the train to Guwahati, or fly into Tezpur, which is closer to the Bhalukpong gate. There is also a weather-dependent helicopter service from Guwahati to Tawang, but seats are few and flights get cancelled.
• For Ziro and Itanagar, use Donyi Polo Airport at Hollongi, which opened in 2022. Naharlagun, next to Itanagar, has a railway station with trains from Guwahati.
• For the east (Pasighat, Roing, Mechuka, Dong), Pasighat has a small airport, and Dibrugarh in Assam is the usual starting point.

The road to Tawang

Tawang is roughly 450 to 480 km from Guwahati, and nobody sensible drives it in one go. The usual plan is two days each way: Guwahati to Bhalukpong and up to Bomdila or Dirang on the first day, then over the Sela range to Tawang on the second. Driving time adds up to 14 to 16 hours each way, and more after rain.

The Sela Tunnel opened in March 2024. It runs under the pass and keeps the road to Tawang usable in winter, when the top used to close for days at a time. When the weather allows, drivers can still take the old road over Sela Pass, at about 13,700 ft, so you can stop at the lake beside the road.

Give Tawang a full week from Guwahati. That leaves two nights in Tawang for the monastery, the war memorial and a Bum La attempt, plus one night in Dirang or Bomdila on the way back down.

Ziro, and combining it with Tawang

Ziro is a quieter trip. It is a high valley of rice fields and pine hills, home to the Apatani people, about four hours' drive from Itanagar. Four or five days is enough for a relaxed visit. Late September brings the Ziro Festival of Music, which needs its own ticket. Homestays in the valley book up early for festival week.

Tawang and Ziro are far apart. Doing both means a long transfer back through Assam, so give a combined trip nine days or more.

Best time to go

October to April gives the clearest skies around Tawang. Snow usually arrives between December and February, which is lovely to see, though it can close the high roads for a day or two. March to May is mild and the rhododendrons are out. June to September is monsoon: landslides on the Tawang road are common, so build in spare days if you travel then. Ziro is at its greenest in summer and busiest during the September festival.

Common mistakes

• A permit that ends on the day you leave Tawang. You are still in Arunachal for the drive down, so add those days.
• A name on the permit that does not match the ID in your bag.
• Only a phone copy, and no signal at the check post.
• Paying an agent website extra for a form you can fill in yourself.
• Planning a whole day around Bum La in winter, when snow often closes it.
• Not carrying enough cash. ATMs are few once you leave the towns, and not every homestay or dhaba takes cards.

Arunachal tours with permit help

If you would rather not deal with the forms, our Arunachal tours include Inner Line Permit assistance. Start from Guwahati with the Tawang Monastery & Sela Pass tour (7 days) or the Tawang & Ziro expedition (9 days), or try the shorter Ziro Valley & Apatani culture tour (5 days), which starts in Itanagar. The luxury Dirang, Sela Pass & Tawang tour also covers the Bum La and Madhuri Lake permit, subject to army approval on the day.

For the main sights and how the state fits together, read our Arunachal Pradesh travel guide or the Arunachal Pradesh destination page.

A note on prices: the permit fees (including the Bum La entry fee and the PAP royalty) in this guide are what the official sources listed when we wrote it in October 2026. Governments revise them without much warning, so check the official portal (eilp.arunachal.gov.in) for the current amount before you pay or travel.