The Road to Paradise – Enroute to Tawang

The road to tawang will make anyone realize that the journey is sometimes more important that the destination itself.

The ideal choice of a backpacker to reach tawang is to take a shared sumo service from Tezpur which cost us about Rs.750/ per person. Luxurious travelers with deeper pockets can choose to avail a SUV from Tezpur. Do ensure you have necessary permits to enter Arunachal Pradesh before you onboard. The shared sumo normally has about 10 passengers and a driver, 2 in front + driver, 4 in the middle and 4 at the back and all the luggage go on top.  If you can believe we even had 4 adults in the front when we were coming back. Needless to say, the seats in the front are the most convenient and coveted. The seat numbers are allotted at the time of purchase of tickets itself and there is no discretionary pricing between the seats. The luggage on top are neatly covered with rain proof tarpaulin sheets and stay there for rest of the journey. So keep your day pack with your wallet, water and whatever else you think you may need in your 14 hour journey to Tawang.  There were only three scheduled breaks, for breakfast, lunch and dinner and the bathroom breaks to be accommodated in that 20 mins break.
With all that prep, let us get to the journey itself.
 
Tezpur-Bhalukpong-Bomdila-Tawang Tourist Circuit covers a total of 350 Km and can be a 14 hour long day journey if you want it that way. But it is more rewarding to break it up into parts and enjoy these beautiful places. It might be ideally a 7 day trip if you wish to do a relaxed multiple break journeys in your own bike or car.

Tezpur. This is one of the most beautiful and well-kept cities of Assam with neatly laid out parks. The roads are beautiful, long and quite picturesque. Right after we set out off the city and even before we hit the ghat roads, we were surrounded by greenery and spellbinding beauty. Almost all houses had beautiful variety of flora and fauna and small ponds.  

Bhalukpong. This is the entry point of Arunachal where all the entry permits are checked. Indians are to have Inner Line permits and Foreign Nationals should have Restricted Area Permits before they get here. Bhalukpong is about 56 Kms from Tezpur and is at 213 Mtrs sea level. The place is famous for archaeological ruins of King Bhaluka who was the grandfather of King Bana of Mahabharata fame and an ancient ruler of this region. A historical fort of 10th-12th Century AD is situated in the foothills of the region and one can see the stone remains of the fort. Some important remains of King Bahluk’s capital and his grandson Bana are preserved here. The Kameng River that flows here is a beautiful picnic spot as well as gives scope for adventure sports.

 

Tipi:
It is 5 kms from Bhalukpong and is famous for its orchid museum where one can see about 450 species of orchids. Some of these are rare and endangered.

 



Bomdila Monastery

Sessa:
It is 24 kms from Tipi on the way to Bomdila. There is a natural orchid sanctuary spread over 10 sq km. More than 2600 orchids representing 80 species have been cultivated in natural surroundings. With so many beautiful orchids growing in the backyards on the way, I’m sure Tipi and Sessa is a must for those who’d enjoy it.


Bomdila: Bomdila is a beautiful pass at about 8000ft above Sea Level and around 109 km from Bhalukpong and is the headquarters of West Kameng District. The place is inhabited by tribes like Aka (Hrusso), Miji (Sajalong), Monpa, Sherdukpen, and Bogun (Khawas). One can also watch various snow clad mountain peaks from Bomdila including the Kangto and Gorichen Peaks which are the highest peak of the state. Bomdila is well known for its monastery and has an unmistaken Buddhist touch, where almost all public buildings like markets and other strctures have strong Buddhist influence. Bomdila also has a craft centre and shopping centre which would give one a feel of the local version of Himalayan Buddhist life.

 Dirang:
Dirang is a beautiful valley at 4900 ft above Sea Level and is at 42 kms from Bomdila. Due to the lower altitude Dirang has generally warm cozy and pleasant climate compared to Bomdila or Tawang. Dirang provides a picturesque view of and also access to the Kameng River. The place is famous for hot water springs and it is believed that a bath here can cure skin ailments. Places worth visiting here are the apple and kiwi orchards, National Yak Research and Breeding Center at Nigmadung, Sheep Breeding Farm and the Sangti Valley where Siberian black necked storks visit during winter. Dirang Dzong or Fort established in 17^th century at Dirang Basti is located at a scenic hill top and requires one to travel some distance in the town. Dirang also has a couple of tibetean buddhist monasteries worth a visit.

 Sela Pass:
Sela pass at 14000 ft above Sea level is 45 kms from Dirang on the way to Tawang and an absolute treat to the eyes and senses. Sela Pass is the world’s second highest motorable pass at an altitude of 14000 ft. The serene crystal blue water natural lake and the surrounding landscape of ice capped peaks is quite breath taking that it still takes my breath away to think of this place. If you are lucky, you may be able to see the undisturbed reflection of the ice capped peak on the serene lake, and I bet it’s a scene you will never forget in your life.  It was indeed a picture like this that made us decide tawang is going to be our destination without a doubt.



Sela Pass, Tawang



The roads at this place gave me a feel that we were indeed on top of the world. These roads can get very challenging in the winter months with both snow and extreme temperatures. Any undue snowfall may severely delay or even hamper your plans to reach Tawang. As this is used widely by the army it will be eventually cleared, but head to the nearest army outpost if you get stranded and are in search for shelter and do provide for any delay enroute during these times. As in any other small towns with arterial roads, you will probably get to hear about this much earlier than you get there at the pass. Just keep an eye out and keep asking.




Jung or Nuaranang Falls

Nurannang or Jung:

It is 12 kms from Sela Pass, at 6000 ft above Sea Level. Nuarannang is famous for cold water snow and rainbow trout fish hatchery where one can go fishing in the chilly waters. Nurannang is also famous for its beautiful water falls also called Jang Falls which was featured in Tanhai tanhai song in Koyal Movie. Jang falls is about 100 mtrs high and the sound can be heard from far. A small route deviation of about a Km or so can take one near the falls. Nurannang River originates from the northern slopes of Sela pass and forms this breathtakingly beautiful falls before it falls to form the tawang river. One can trek to the base falls where a hydel power plan is located. 

 Jaswant Garh is located at a distance of 4 kms from Nuranang, Jaswant Garh is a memorial erected in the memory of Veer Jaswant Singh of the 4th Garhwal Rifles and a recipient of Mahavir Chakra (Posthumous) who alone stopped the Chinese Army for 72 hours during the 1962 aggression. The War Memorial near Tawang also has stories of bravery of the army during the 1962 Indo China war and features some of the war equipments used by Indian army during the war, bullet laden artifacts and some pictures from the war time.

And then you will reach this beauty called Tawang at 10,000 ft above sea level. If he journey has been so rich and rewarding from culture, nature and historic perspectives, what does Tawang hold…May be that should wait for another day and another post. Until then enjoy your journeys cos it might be more rewarding than the destination itself.

My Monpa Hosts in Tawang

This goes as the craziest thing I have ever done of my list of crazy stuff and like every other crazy thing I had done it turned to be awesome fun and rewarding.



My Monpa Hosts

We were standing around a corner of an obscure road in Tawang and deliberating how to go the tawang monastery and one middle aged man local man came and inquired us about it. He happened to be a cab driver and that was a taxi stand. So after a bit of negotiation on places and rates, we got in. Little did we know that this will change our tawang holiday experience. Our Cabwala Mr.Rinchin Tashi Achee soon became our self-appointed tourist guide, took us through the monastery museum and the two levels of the monastery and explained the local culture and the madhubani paintings in there.


Then Rinchin took us to the war memorial and another round of local gyan. We were deliberating on going with him to the Ptso and Madhuri lake the next day and he casually mentioned that we are welcome to stay at his home and even cook if we want. We thought thought though and then packed our bags, checked out and left with him. WE LEFT WITH SOMEONE WE MET LIKE A COUPLE OF HOURS BACK: p

Viji got a bit nervous after getting into the cab not sure what was waiting for us. I told her it’s too late to think about it, let’s handle whatever comes our way….Surprise surprise…a beautiful farm house in a little hillock just below Tawang in Khimney Village awaited us. It just looked like the home stay that we wished we got and were deliberating in the morning…talk about dreams do come true.

Rinchin Uncle (yah…) even paid for our lunch on the way and refused to let me pay for the fuel refill as well or for any of the additional grocery that we bought on the way for us. We were lovingly greeted with tea by his wife, and his daughter who lived a block away and two cute dog. After a little friendly banter, Rinchin Uncle took us to the Khminey Monastery by walk and we explored monastery with a staunch Buddhist, saw Lamas in their dance practice, took pictures with them, met their Guruji who they believe to be an incarnation and got his blessings and even had tea with him.
We were greeted with a sumptuous dinner and even given warm water and a tub to wash to our hands inside their kitchen which was kept with a chulha stove and were asked to watch TV with warm blankets. They sternly refused my offer to help with washing utensils.

Next day early morning we got up to go to the Ptso and Madhuri Lake. Little did we know Aunty got up as early as 3:30AM to cook the breakfast and lunch for us as nothing is available on the way. Aunty was surely love personified in more ways than I can count. Aunty had the picnic basket ready with tea in a flask, warm water in another, roti, subji and anda.

Madhuri Lake, Tawang, Arunachal Pradesh

I was given the preferred front seat and there we set crossing 5 mountains, several breathtaking views, and numerous army outposts. Our first stop was this breath taking Ptso Lake and what a beauty it was. We were spellbound by the beauty of this place and we were quite speechless. After some photo sessions and oh my god!!! Moments. The route was full of several other beautiful lakes on the way, but we hardly saw any tourist vehicle.

A few hours drive later came what we could have never been prepared to see, the Madhuri lake. We learnt later Koyla movie was shot here and the lake was indeed named after Madhiri Dixit.

It was quite a family picnic lunch at least another 3 hours was spent strolling around the lake with no sense of time. We were told china was probably two hours away.

We set off to another small monastery nearby, met the Guruji, got his blessings and tried some experimental photography and then set on our way back and bid adieu to the beautiful Madhuri lake.
It was the last day in tawang…our Sumos have been booked for the next day, backpacks packed, our last dinner with this lovely couple who hosted us during these two days and treated us like family. We knew what a beautiful experience the leap of faith on a stranger had brought us… we felt blessed, grateful and for some reason uncle and aunty felt the same way about hosting us.

I wanted to try out Aunty traditional monpa dress and she not only gladly gave me one from the rack but also put on my neck a special necklace that she was wearing which was reportedly …hold your breath …20 Lakhs cos of the heavy precious stones and the tusker. My travel partner  for the trip wore the a monpa dress as well and we took turns taking snaps with each other. They were so happy to see me in my traditional dress and said I looked so beautiful in that dress and looked just like a localite from arunachal and it would be difficult for anyone to believe that I was from south. They asked us to send the snaps so that they could put a huge framed one of mine in the traditional dress in there. Uncle suddenly said I wish I marry his son and come and be with them forever… (OMG!!! I wasn’t prepared for that!!! That poor boy was still in college and I had fished grad school ages back :P) but they didn’t seem to care for any logical reasoning then: P

Rinchin uncle has asked me to plan a longer stay in tawang next time around and has already listed out all the places that he has to show me next time around.

Rinchin uncle repeatedly said it was destiny that we met in taxi stand on that day and said if they had done anything wrong in the food or driving or in taking care of us that he apologizes for the same. In my broken hindi I told him that our greatest blessing in tawang was to have met them rather than the Guruji or seen those wonderful places.

I didn’t know if I deserved to get so much love from this couple but then I realized it’s just that they are so full of love that it would have been impossible for them to act in any other way. Tawang, Rinchin uncle and Tsongee Aunty…We love you and miss you and of course we’d be back 