Nagaland – The PAP-Drama

5. November 2025

 

 

One day before my departure, I got really nervous. It was about the PAP — the Protected Area Permit for Nagaland. The information online first suggested that you don’t need one — and the websites presenting this looked quite trustworthy.

 

 

 

But my local contact was certain that I did need one — he said he would arrange it for me. So I sent over my passport and visa and waited, and followed up, and waited some more. Then, just one day before I was supposed to leave, came the message that he hadn’t been successful… But no problem, he said — I could apply for it myself. The only catch: I’d need an Indian phone number. So I clicked on the website he mentioned, just to check it out — nothing! I tried different browsers and devices — still nothing!

 

 

All of this made me really nervous! Luckily, I have a one-day stopover in Delhi. My contact assured me that even if the PAP isn’t ready yet, I can still enter as long as I’ve at least applied for it. But since he wasn’t able to get it done himself, I’m feeling very, very skeptical. Still — what can I do?

 

At least I made a few arrangements for myself: a) I would be picked up at the airport in Delhi, b) the hotel manager were supposed to have a SIM card ready for me, and c) in Dimapur, someone would pick me up as well, d) and then go with me to the police, and so on.

 

 

So I arrived in Delhi. My layover time in Munich had been calculated pretty tightly, and I was a bit nervous when, although we landed early, we just stood there inside the plane — and stood. The stairs weren’t there… Then they finally arrived, and I sprinted through the airport and got lucky: no extra security check! In Delhi, the immigration officer examined my passport for quite a while. “Always a tourist?” he asked. “Yes, I just really like India,” I said. And this time, I added, I was traveling to the Northeast. “Ooooh, the Northeast,” he said — “you have to be careful, it can be dangerous.” I, on the other hand, was wondering whether I’d even manage to at all. In any case, having someone waiting for me outside was truly a relief!

 

Hotel, rest (too nervous to really sleep), breakfast — and then a man arrived to help me get a SIM card. Finally, I could start the application! It was full of pitfalls — they wanted more information and uploads than I actually had. So I improvised a little. After an hour and a half, the system finally accepted my application!

 

 

(1. side note: in exactly 2 weeks it is my birthday!)

(2. side note: maybe I am with Reg.No. B001 the first???)

 

What all was difficult:

• The format and size of the attachments were tricky (.jpeg files didn’t work; they had to be .jpg. All documents had to be converted into .pdfs and reduced in size).
• You need to provide proof of your address in India (in this case, the C-Form that hotels are required to fill out — what would I have done if I were staying privately?)
• It required a travel companion (so I listed my colleague from the agency).
• It required an “invitation letter” (which my colleague from the agency kindly produced).
• It also required an Indian phone number just to register on the application form in the first place.

I can already say this much: trying to sell Nagaland as a travel destination—no way. I couldn’t possibly expect anyone to go through all that. I really hope we’ll find another solution somehow. If my colleague hadn’t been glued to his phone helping me, it would’ve taken even longer. And ChatGPT helped me with some of the technical glitches. Anyway, at some point the website finally stopped complaining when I tried to submit the form—and actually accepted it!

 

Completely wrung out from the effort, I went to a café for an espresso.

 

 

 

However, I couldn’t really taste the subtlety of the espresso because the food that came with it was quite spicy. India, after all, is a country full of colors and patterns.

 

 

And strange constructions.

 

 

And places for gods.

 

 

And it makes tired.

 

 

Tomorrow, I’ll be heading to the airport early, still feeling jittery and excited. So far, a) and b) have worked out — now let’s see how c) and d) will go! And whether this whole drama will have a happy ending…