Tawang- The Conclusion

                                   Close to heaven, Down to Earth- Indo Chinese border 

Rock of Peace

On reaching Tawang, we decided to explore this amazing place. The first target was to visit Bumla Pass. Bumla Pass is at Indo-China border and is situated at 17500 feet above sea level. To reach Bumla pass you need another set of permission from the defense authorization and a local taxi. Your own rented vehicle outside Arunachal Pradesh are not allowed to go there. After Submitting id proofs and ILP, we got the permit to visit Bumla Pass.

26th May 2016:

After a heavy breakfast, we were set to move to Bumla Pass. Our local driver Dhiraj was waiting for us in his brand-new Bolero. Bumla pass is located about 37 Km away from Tawang City. We knew it is going to be a tough ride. But, what came during the drive were the fascinating experience I had in my life. Driving through snow, off-roading, going beside landmines and what not. We were amazed by the view and the landmines of course 😉. After 2 hours of driving, we were at Bumla Pass. -6 degrees and such cold wind welcomed us. We were also welcomed by the army personnel, he greeted us with a big smile on his face. Told us about the dos and don'ts of the area. Eventually, this border between India and China is the most peaceful border among these countries.  

We saw the Chinese post through binoculars and it was a lifetime experience. The ‘peace of rock' which is situated right between the border is amazing. One of the army personnel was guiding us and telling stories about the place. Apparently, Chinese troops come early morning every day for the inspection. We missed that by an hour or so, damn. After clicking a lot of pics, we were served ‘samosa' and tea by army staff. We were enjoying a lot, but suddenly AMS started kicking. We were having difficulties in breathing. We then decided to leave the place, but the major surprise came when we were given certificates by the army for reaching Bumla Pass. How cool is that!!

Later in the day, we visited local monasteries and other sites in Tawang. We were almost done exploring Tawang. Next day we were ready to head back.

China

Enroute to Bumla Pass

In Chinese Territory

Tawang Monastery

27th May 2016:

Bidding goodbye to Twang, we left for Dirang. The drive was short, 130 Km. But, as usual, it took us 6 hours to reach there. But in between, Prashant bhai told us that we are going to visit a mighty waterfall. “Nuranang Waterfall" with an altitude of almost 100m. We had a great time at the waterfall. Clicked a lot of pics. After spending some quality time, it was time to hit the road again. We were passing through "Paradise Lake" and Sella pass again. This time we took a long break at Sella pass. Had Maggie, Boiled eggs, and hot coffee. We reached Dirang in the evening. This was a leisure day for us. Sit back, relax and enjoy the beautiful view from the hotel’s balcony. We did go for a stroll in the evening post sunset. We had a nice dinner and went to sleep.

View from the hotel in Dirang

28th May 2016:

We had our breakfast and was set to leave for Bhalukpong. In route, we went for a small kiwi fruit farm, this farm is run by a lady alone. This was not the best time to visit as the fruits were just coming up. No luck, but worth the visit. We started our journey to Arunachal from Bhalukpong. At that time, we saw one river flowing beside the hotel we were supposed to stay at. The river is known as Kameng River. So, out of nowhere during our drive, Abhishek and Kunal came up with a brilliant idea, let's cook beside the river. I was game for it. But the problem was, we had no utensils or any commodities that were needed to cook. We then turned to our go-to man Prashant bhai. He made few calls to the hotel and we were all set. It took us around 6 hours to reach Bhalukpong from Dirang. 

Kiwi Fruit Farm

After reaching the hotel, we were in the discussion that when we can leave for the river to cook. As per the hotel staff, it was not safe after sunset. So, we left in the afternoon itself. We went to market first, bought firewood, chicken, petrol and other groceries. Everything was set, except none of us were experienced enough to make a firewood cooking flame. We tried, we failed. We tried harder and we failed miserably. The sun was setting down slowly and there was no sign of any flame. Then, Prashant bhai came after washing his cars and did his magic. We got the flames from the firewood finally. I started cooking and was done in an hour or so. By the time the sun was almost set.

We decided to take the food to the hotel and then have it there only. We were exhausted after all this adventure. Totally worth it. We crashed into our bed.

Nuranang Waterfall

Sunset at Kameng River

Firewood Cooking

29th May 2016:

 We left for Guwahati. 250 Km, but no hill driving, it took us 5 hours to Guwahati. As we reached Guwahati early, we decided to visit famous “Kamakhya Temple”. After that, we were at the airport for our respective flights.

6 days to total adventure. We finally took the best offbeat road trip of India. Guwahati to Tawang. If you want to take my advice, a must visit place. Cheers!!

Pic Courtsey:- Abhishek

Title Credit:- Utkarsh aka CHAK

Gateway to Tawang

                                 

                    Mountains: Problem only when bigger than you, Tale to Tawang

One fine day, after getting bored of our desk jobs, Kunal, Abhishek and I were trying to find escape routes to the mountains. After a hell lot of research for unexplored places, we landed to a conclusion that we are going to the north-eastern part of India. Meghalaya, Sikkim and few other places were in our mind but suddenly Kunal came up with a place called Tawang. Frankly speaking, never heard of this place before, not even knew where it is on the map of India. So, thanks to the power of Google and our perseverance we came to know a lot about this place and bang, we were game for Tawang.

Destination sorted, now the big task lying ahead of us was how to plan it. Proper planning is the most important part when you are going to unknown place. Google came to rescue again. Option one was to get a chopper from Guwahati to Tawang. There are chopper services for Tawang from Guwahati, but the problem is their availability and timings. We got in touch with one of the official, but he was not sure if he will be able to arrange one. Lots of another website and posts suggested that it depends on a lot of weather and other factors. So, the chopper was out. Now the second option, by road. Oh yes!! Road trip from Guwahati to Tawang. As per google, 445 KMs and the estimated time is around 12 hours. What! Seriously. At first, we were like it is an utter bullshit calculation. But the reality will hit you once you reach Arunachal Pradesh Border.

We decided to ask few tour operators regarding this. All were like it will take 2 days to reach Tawang. Several phone calls and discussions later, we concluded that 2 days it is then. We got a good itinerary from one of the tour operators. You require an inner line permit to visit Arunachal Pradesh. So, we emailed documents and details to the tour operator. All Sorted. The itinerary was:

                 Guwahati --> Bomdila --> Tawang --> Dirang --> Bhalukpong --> Guwahati

Enroute to Dirang

24th May 2016:

I started my journey from Delhi. Kunal and Abhishek from Kolkata. We reached Guwahati at around 9 AM. Innova and our driver cum guide Prashant bhai was waiting for us outside the airport. After making initial payments, we began our journey to Bomdila. It’s such a pleasure to have a guide and driver like Prashant bhai. He was awesome in every sense. He knew the places very well and what driving skills man. Highly recommended. We crossed Tezpur and after some time we were at the border of Arunachal Pradesh and Guwahati. Your inner line permit gets checked and verified here by the Indian Army. After few friendly conversations and explanations of Dos and Don’ts, we entered Arunachal Pradesh. Just after crossing the border we took our first major stop for lunch at Bhalukpong. Homemade food is always a winner that too cooked by locals. Time to move to our first halt at Bomdila.

What scenic views, you cannot capture those in even best of the camera. For that, you must go on your own and feel it. All the way Prashant bhai was worried about foggy (Fog), he was confirming the same by the drivers coming from the other side. We crossed several military cantonment areas. Tanks, guns, shells and excellent maintenance will give you Goosebumps. Few hours before reaching Bomdila, we then realized why it takes 2 days to reach Tawang. Steep roads and sharp turns are deadly and dangerous to drive in night. We reached Bomdila at 7 PM. Yes, it took 10 hours for mere 340Kms. Our hotel where we were staying was Tsepal Yangjum. Hotel staffs were very courteous. Room was spacious and neat. After getting freshened up, we went to roam the streets of Bomdila. It was almost freezing there. We ordered some food and decided to take rest as we had to leave for Tawang early in the morning.

Somewhere near Dirang

25th May 2016:

After having a heavy breakfast, we were set to leave for Tawang. The distance was about 180Kms, but we knew it will take is going to be way more than normal. We weren’t thinking about the time. Sit back and enjoy the view, these two things were in our mind. 

We crossed a place called “Jaswant Garh” on the route. It is basically a war memorial, as per the data there, Martyr Jaswant Singh Rawat (Mahavir Chakra) fought a whole troop of Chinese army all alone at this place. The Braveheart fought for 72 hours continuously and killed 300 Chinese soldiers. The famous battle of Nuranang. Respect!!

At Jaswant Garh

A few hours later, we reached a huge gateway announcing "Welcome to Tawang". We thought we made it but there was still 2-3 hours of the journey left. The place where this gateway was situated goes by the name of “Sella Pass”. This is the entry point into the Tawang Valley. There is a small lake called "Paradise Lake", we saw the first glimpse of snow in the mountains. There is a small canteen situated which is run by an old lady. What a wonderful host she is. Every thing is on MRP, believe it or not. You are at 13700 feet above the sea level and you get almost all the things on MRP, such is the honesty of people of this region.  

Gateway to Tawang Valley

Paradise Lake

Snow!!!

Halka Halka Swag :P

Must visit Canteen at Paradise Lake

Lots of turns and more turns later, we reached Tawang at around 4 PM in the evening. Hotel for the stay was “Tashi Gatsel", it is a decent hotel with spacious rooms and all the amenities including room heaters. We went for a stroll into the market of Tawang. Apparently, every district in Arunachal Pradesh has one day of the week as dry day. So, non-vegetarian food seemed out of scope, but staffs of the hotel arranged some for us. One of the coldest night I have spent in my life. It was -3 degrees Celsius in the month of May, can you imagine. Above that, I forgot to close the window of my room, so just think how unbearable was that for me.

Never mind, we finally completed our journey till Tawang. The journey after this and the destinations which we covered beyond Tawang and our return journey will be covered in the next blog. So, stay tuned…

To be Continued…

Credits:

• Title:- Utkarsh aka CHAK
• Camera:- Abhishek