Northeast India · Arunachal Pradesh
Itanagar, Arunachal Pradesh
Sources: open-meteo, wikimedia
About Itanagar
- Hills
- Forest
Where it is
Itanagar is the capital of Arunachal Pradesh, spread over forested hills in the eastern Himalayan foothills at about 320 m, close to the Assam border and its twin town, Naharlagun.
History
The hills around Itanagar are home to the Nyishi and other peoples of Arunachal Pradesh. The region, once the North-East Frontier Agency, became a union territory in 1972 and a state in 1987, and Itanagar was chosen as its capital in place of Shillong, from where the territory had been run.
People
Itanagar is home to the Nyishi people, whose language is the most widely spoken in the city, and to Adi, Apatani, Galo, Tagin and other communities from across the state. Hindi serves as the common tongue, English is the official language, and festivals include the Nyishi Nyokum and the Adi Solung.
Known for
- Ita Fort's brick ruins
- Ganga Lake, or Gekar Sinyi
- Jawaharlal Nehru Museum's tribal collections
- The hilltop Buddhist gompa
- Festivals such as Nyokum
Did you know?
Itanagar is named after Ita Fort, whose name means fort of bricks; parts of its irregular brick walls, thought to date from the 14th or 15th century, still stand in the city.
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