‘Land of the Dawn-lit Mountains’ by Antonia Bolingbroke-Kent

A mountainous state clinging to the far north-eastern corner of India, Arunachal Pradesh – meaning ‘land of the dawn-lit mountains’ – has remained uniquely isolated.

Steeped in myth and mystery, not since pith-helmeted explorers went in search of the fabled ‘Falls of the Brahmaputra’ has an outsider dared to traverse it. Antonia Bolingbroke-Kent sets out to chronicle this forgotten corner of Asia. Travelling some 2,000 miles on a locally-sourced dirt bike, she encounters shamans, lamas, hunters, opium farmers, fantastic tribal festivals and little-known stories from the Second World War. In the process, she discovers a world and a way of living that are on the cusp of changing forever.