Namdapha is quite off the beaten track, and getting there takes some planning, especially if one is travelling alone on a small budget. Miao town is the administrative headquarters of Namdapha and can only be reached by road from Assam. The nearest large cities with airports (and railway stations) are Guwahati and Dibrugarh (in Assam). The airport at Dibrugarh is actually located at Mohanbari (16 km from Dibrugarh town) and lies between Dibrugarh town and Tinsukia. Several travel agents and tour operators in Miao and elsewhere can make all the arrangements required for getting to Namdapha, including permits, travel arrangements and accommodation. Alternatively, with a vehicle, one can drive to Miao oneself, and possibly even up to Deban inside Namdapha.

Guwahati is about 600 km from Miao by road. Getting to Miao from there by bus is all of an overnight journey and then about half a day more. Dibrugarh (Mohanbari airport) is roughly 160 km from Miao, and the drive takes about six hours. Most carriers fly regular, daily flights to Guwahati, while the frequency of flights to Dibrugarh is lower. The route from Guwahati to Miao passes through the cities of Tezpur, Dibrugarh and Tinsukia in Assam and the Arunachal Pradesh state border check-post at Namchik.

From Guwahati, several private bus companies operate ‘night super’ overnight buses, which leave Guwahati in the afternoon, and reach Jagun, their last stop early next morning. Some of the travel agencies that run these overnight buses are Network Travels, Blue Hill Travels and Green Valley Travels. These companies have offices in the major market area of Guwahati (Paltan Bazaar). Bookings can usually be made on the morning of travel at their offices, though rarely, getting a reservation at short notice can be difficult. Jagun is about a two hour drive from Miao, and it is relatively easy to hire a taxi for Miao at the Jagun bus stand (approximate cost is about Rs. 700-800). The Arunachal Pradesh State Transport Service (APSTS) runs four buses to and from Miao. Three of these buses pass through Jagun on the way to Miao (from Margherita, Tinsukia and Dibrugarh) and apart from Saturday, which is marketing day, it is easy to find place on any one of these buses. From Dibrugarh, Tinsukia and Digboi, it is also usually possible to hire a taxi at very short notice for Miao from any one of the many private taxi stands in the market areas of these cities.

Roughly an hour’s drive from Jagun is the Arunachal Pradesh state check-post at Namchik, on the Assam-Arunachal border, where visitors entering the state are checked for their Inner Line Permits (or Restricted Area Permits for foreigners). Buses to Miao stop for some time at the check-post, and passengers are asked to display their passes to an official who boards the bus.

Once at Miao, tourist permits need to be obtained from the office of the Field Director, Namdapha National Park. Deban, the headquarters within the park is 26 km (17 miles) from Miao, and the only way to get to Deban is by hired taxi (or one’s own vehicle). These can be hired from the main market at Miao. The road is bad in many places, so 4-wheel drive is necessary. The drive takes about an hour-and-a-half, although depending on the state of repair of a large landslide at 13th Mile, it might be necessary to walk the last four miles to Deban. Getting to Deban requires crossing the M’Pen nala, a perennial stream at 7th mile that swells with water during the rains. Visitors to Namdapha during the monsoon often might have to wait for up to two days for the stream to subside before it can be crossed by vehicle. Sometimes one might even have to start walking from the Mpen nala which forms the western boundary of the park. The park entry gate is at Mpen and there are Forest Department staff posted there. The Forest Department also have staff posted at Gibbon’s Land (10th Mile) which is en route to Deban from Miao. There is also a campsite for tourists/visitors. There is a trail going up to Motijheel, a forest pool up on a plateau. It is a steep uphill walk that takes about 2-3 hours at a leisurely pace.

Other campsites within the park, such as Haldibari, Hornbill and Firmbase (on the north bank) can be accessed only by foot from Deban, and require crossing the Noa-dihing River at Deban. This is done by boat, which a forest department boatman operates throughout the day. Crossing the Noa-dihing is dangerous, and is not attempted during times of heavy rainfall, and during the monsoon, getting to campsites across the Noa-dihing River is virtually impossible. Several people (including a forest guard) died during a crossing in July 1999.

Leaving Miao is relatively easier than getting there. Taxis to Jagun can be hired at very short notice from the taxi stand in the market at Miao, or any one of the buses from Miao can be boarded. Booking for Network Travels buses leaving from Jagun can be made from a hotel in the middle of the market in Miao, and does not necessitate going to Jagun. Getting to Tinsukia or Dibrugarh from Miao is also a good option, since there are regular buses/taxis from these cities to all places in Assam (including Guwahati) and north-east India.

The biggest unknown factor in travelling to Miao (or for that matter, anywhere in Arunachal) is the infamous Assam ‘bandh’. Bandh means that Assam is closed for the day (usually from 5 AM to 5 PM), typically because political parties/student unions/other organizations call for the closure of all services for a day on some issue (sometimes even for up to three days!). This paralyses all transport, both government- and private-run in the state and extends to all vehicular traffic from buses to cars and two-wheelers. It is highly recommended that one checks whether there is a bandh in Assam on the day of travel. It is advisable to wait out a bandh in a hotel rather than try and travel on a bandh day.

One can access areas to the east of Namdapha (e.g. Vijaynagar, Gandhigram) as well as Namdapha directly by air sorties. These air sorties, which fly Antonov-32s, are supply flights run by the Indian Air Force and Assam Rifles. There are, however, two ‘civil sorties’ every month, which carry civilians to and from Vijaynagar. Sorties fly from Mohanbari to Vijaynagar and back. However, these flights are erratic and irregular, without a fixed schedule, and depend much on the vagaries of the weather. One often has to wait days, and sometimes weeks for sorties to and from Vijaynagar. The DDST’s Office at Mohanbari issues permission to board sorties. The same permits for sorties from Vijaynagar can be obtained from the Circle Officer at Vijaynagar. However, there is usually a long list of people waiting for flights, and getting on the first plane, either at Mohanbari or Vijaynagar is far from certain. The charge for the sortie is about Rs. 700.