Land of the Dawn-lit Mountains: Shortlisted for the 2018 Edward Stanford Travel Writing Award

A thrilling and dangerous adventure though the Himalayan state of Arunachal Pradesh—a mountainous area in to the far north-eastern corner of India—one of the world’s least explored regions.

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—until now. Antonia Bolingbroke-Kent sets out to chronicle this forgotten corner of Asia, travelling more than 2,000 miles 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.

Beautifully written and vividly told, this is an exciting and exuberant journey through India’s forgotten frontier.