There is a time in your daily routine life when you get really bogged down by the monotony of your job requirements, social commitments, the hustle and bustle of the crowded city life...... You get it don't you ? Well that's the time you need to get out of the grid and head to a place where you can connect with nature and yourself. And yes what better place than Tawang, the eastern most part of Arunachal touching Bhutan on one side and China on the northern front.
Tawang is accessible from Tejpur and is about 300 km from it. One has to stay put somewhere en route as one cannot make it in a day. We had started from Guwahati and hence we hit Tenga the first day. Tenga is a very small town at an altitude of about 6000 ft. The journey through the plains along the basin of Mighty Brahmaputra is very smooth and the highway is pretty good. It feels as if you are in some part of Goa. It is dotted by green paddy fields interspersed with coconut plantations. We stopped by for the fresh coconut water on offer at the many roadside shops on the highway itself.
One has to take a detour from the highway and head towards Tejpur. Kazhiranga is also just 30 km from there and you can club that too in your itinerary. Once you hit Tejpur, grab a bite as it is a small town with some good eating joints. Mind you, this is the last point where you will find good restaurants till Tawang. So fill yourself and drive on.
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| Orchids |
The journey after Bhalukpong is really beautiful and thrilling as you enter the mighty Himalayas. There is a Orchid research centre there and do make it a point to drop in there. In the months of May through July they will be in full bloom.
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| Orchids |
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| Orchids |
The road is really narrow and curvaceous as you head towards Nechiphu and is usually foggy with almost nil visibility. We travelled through these conditions for almost 2 hrs. It was only when we gained height and approached Tenga that it actually cleared. I had never really seen such a long stretch of foggy conditions . Kids were particularly pretty scared !!
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| Tenga Haat |
Tenga is small village to be fair to it and is mostly occupied by army. It has a very small market and the weather is quiet chilly. We stayed put for the next day there just to rest and acclimatize ourselves. A nice spot to eat out is the Tenga Haat maintained by army along the banks of the river.
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Tenga river
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| Tenga river |
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| Chillipam monastery |
While in Tenga do not the miss the picturesque Chillipam monastery. It is by far the most beautiful monastery in Arunachal and probably the best you will ever see. Located at a beautiful hilltop and surrounded by mountains from all sides , it is very pretty. The ride itself is very pleasant and enjoyable. You will find lots of locals coming here for their small picnics. The monastery itself is so vividly colourful that it blows you away. It's a riot of colours amidst a wonderful Himalayan landscape. Chillipam is also surrounded from all sides by peaks and is very beautifully located. It gives an amazing sense of calm and peace, no wonder it houses the school for young lamas.
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| School for young lamas |
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| Chillipam monastery entry gate |
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| Bomdilla town as seen from Chillipam |
Once you leave Tenga and approach Bomdila, the climb is very steep and the mercury also drops pretty fast. There is change in the vegetation with the coniferous trees gradually disappearing and giving way to small bushy trees. Bomdilla town sits atop the pass and literally guards the 7274 ft pass. It offers spectacular views of the Tenga valley down below. It is a good place to take a halt if required. The town is reasonably big with all amenities and lots of government offices.
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| Dirang |
On crossing Bomdila , the drive is again downhill to the quaint town of Dirang. En route there are lots of shops selling locally produced Rajma, which is of a good quality and cheaply priced.
Dirang is famous for its old Dirang Dzong or fort. It was used as a jail during the Vietnam war and also in world war. It houses the Monpa tribes today, and is a tourist attraction. So do make it a point to see it.
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| First glimpse of snow |
From Dirang the drive is along the valley and it offers the first glimpse of the spectacular snow peaks.It gives us a sense of magnificence of the mighty Himalayas and our place in the nature's scheme of things. Once we reach the base of Sela pass, the steep climb starts. Gradually we start seeing the entire valley through which we have just approached the pass. The peaks start appearing at our eye level and the entire perspective changes. We pass through Senge and reach Baisakhi. A beautifully placed location, it has got a nice little restaurant run by the army at very affordable rates and overlooking the valley. It is the best place to have your noodles and Parathas, before you head for Sela.
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| Entry to Tawang |
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Sela from distance
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| Army rescuing a stuck civilian vehicle |
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| Sela pass top |
Further high up we approach the 14700 ft Sela pass. It is the gateway to the Tawang valley and was snow clad in the month of April. It was snowing pretty heavily and was absolutely freezing out there. But it was stunningly beautiful. The top of the pass houses the Sela lake which is very very pretty. In spite of the bad weather we did manage to get out of the vehicle and take some snaps.Little did we know that we were going to be blessed with sunny weather and stunning beauty on our way back.
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Icicle formation at Sela top
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| Sela lake |
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| Sela lake |
On crossing the Sela pass , the drive is again downhill as we enter the Tawang valley. It was totally snow bound till we reached Jaswantgarh. It is place of historical importance and it has the memorial named after the MVC awardee Hon Capt Jaswant Singh Rawat, who had laid down his life defending our motherland against the Chinese onslaught. The battle of Nuranang was fought in this location. Jaswant Singh had bravely defended the Indian post with just two machine guns against the numerical onslaught of the Chinese. They believed that the post was defended by a company as he used to keep on firing with different guns. It is held that he had single handedly eliminated about 300 enemies. The memorial is nicely maintained and even till date his boots are shined, his uniform and accouterments cared for. He has received all his promotions till date !!
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| Jung falls |
We descended into the Tawang valley after that and headed straight towards Jung falls. It is huge waterfall and made famous due to the shooting of the Shah Rukh movie Koyla. The fall is very picturesque and offers excellent photo opportunities. you have to take a small detour off the main road to reach Jung falls.
Then we drove along the valley towards Tawang. Tawang is perched on the slopes and overlooks the valley. Further ascent leads us towards Bumla and the Indochinese border. The town is scattered and moderately big. There is a small market. There are a few decent restaurants serving both Chinese, Indian and Tibetan dishes.
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| Tawang |
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| Sunrise as seen in Tawang valley |
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| Tawang valley |
The view of the valley is very beautiful and it is pleasure to see sunrise with the golden rays falling on the snow caps. It gives it a very surreal appearance.
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| Tawang monastery |
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Tawang monastery
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Tawang monastery is known as Galden Namgey Lhatse which translates to "celestial paradise in a clear night." It was founded by Merak Lama Gyatso in 1681, and belongs to the Gelug school of Mahayana Buddhism. There are about 65 residential buildings in it and houses about 450 monks.
The other attractions in Tawang are the Sangetsar lake and Bum la. The approach to both the places is from Maratha light ground towards the Trijunction. From there the road splits to the respective destinations. Bum la is at an altitude of 16,500 ft and is 37 km from Trijunction. It has the Border personnel meeting (BPM) post for having Indo Chinese meetings and dialogues. It is the same route through which Dalai Lama had escaped from Tibet to India. The approach road is difficult and gets closed after snowfall. We couldn't proceed as it was heavily snow clad.
Sangetsar Tso or lake is a must see and is famous as "Madhuri lake" due to the screening of Koyla movie here. It is 7 km from trijunction. It is believed to have been formed after an earthquake due to falling of boulders, rocks and trees.
So visit Tawang for a life time of adventure, beauty and memories. For the daring, motor biking is also an option !! Bye for now.
"Wandering one gathers honey."
Tawang is accessible from Tejpur and is about 300 km from it. One has to stay put somewhere en route as one cannot make it in a day. We had started from Guwahati and hence we hit Tenga the first day. Tenga is a very small town at an altitude of about 6000 ft. The journey through the plains along the basin of Mighty Brahmaputra is very smooth and the highway is pretty good. It feels as if you are in some part of Goa. It is dotted by green paddy fields interspersed with coconut plantations. We stopped by for the fresh coconut water on offer at the many roadside shops on the highway itself. 
