India's first light falls here. Before Mumbai wakes, before Delhi stirs, the sun touches the Himalayan peaks of Arunachal Pradesh — the Land of the Dawn-Lit Mountains — and India's day begins.

The largest state in the Northeast, Arunachal Pradesh stretches from the subtropical forests of the Brahmaputra plains to the permanent snowfields of the high Himalayas. It is home to over 26 major tribes and more than 100 sub-tribes, each with their own language, their own festivals, their own relationship with the land. Over 500 bird species. Four big cat species in a single national park. Sixty-plus tribal languages. And one of the great Buddhist monasteries of the world, perched at 3,000 metres above sea level.

Ray takes you through the dramatic geography, the peaceful integration of Tawang into India in 1951, and the living tribal cultures of the Adi, Apatani, Monpa, and Nyishi peoples. We eat bamboo-cooked rice and smoked pork and drink rice beer from a bamboo cup. We cross the Sela Pass at 4,176 metres. We stand in the courtyard of Tawang Monastery at dawn. We camp in a rice field in Ziro Valley as independent music plays under the stars.

This is India's frontier. Its most remote corner. Its first morning.

New episodes every Tuesday at 7pm. Next week — Assam.