Craziness Overloaded!! Baseless talks!! Mother of all hashtags!! :) :) :)
Every trip you call as a memorable one, but with crazy friends, it always turns out to be the most "Unforgettable Journey". Yes, Tawang - the Iceland of India, was one such trip I will always remember as it was the next level of our friendship on becoming a travel partner and also it was all about the view. You need to soak in, absorb every bit of the nature coming across. In short "Sara Khel View Ka Hai" with great partners in crime.
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| Welcome to Tawang |
My friends made this plan and I joined it blindly without knowing much about the place or even checking it on Google. We made a 7 nights/ 8 days trip.
We took an early morning flight from Delhi to Guwahati as it was majorly a road trip from there, so the sooner you arrive, the better for you. It's nearly 1100 km round trip. Our guide came to receive us and we started our journey. It was early March and weather was pleasant. On our way, we had a sumptuous Assamese Thali along with steam Ari Fish (my favorite now) at NRL Dhaba, Mangaldoi. During the day, we stopped over to view:
▪Bhairavkund Dam
▪Sukhapani Waterfalls
▪Gyuto Monastery
We stayed overnight at a guest house in Jamiri, Arunachal Pradesh.
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| Bomdila Monastery |
It was a bright sunny morning with crisp air. After breakfast, we started for Dirang.
As it was the season of cherry blossom flowers, we were lucky to witness them during our journey.
On our way, we saw:
▪Rupa Valley
▪Bomdila Monastery
▪Thembang Village (identified by UNESCO as a world heritage site)
▪Dirang Monastery
We stayed overnight at TDL Monastery Guest House, Dirang, Arunachal Pradesh.
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| Cherry Blossoms |
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| Sela Pass Frozen Lake |
The day arrived for us to en-route for Tawang. After breakfast, we started our important road trip. Temperature started dipping as soon as we were nearing Sela Pass. Air was so clear and pure, nature was at its best. Finally we were in the snow covered mountain, a white blanket !! It was nearly -6 degree celsius. We had great fun playing with snow, took endless pictures. We were Trapped by the view.⛄ Our lunch was at Pema Tea Stall, Sela Pass. We had pipping hot Maggie with fried eggs and also tasted their local tea called "Butter Tea" which was salty and not sweet, made up of Yak milk and butter.
We covered:
▪Sela Pass/Lake (Altitude:13,700 ft.)
▪Jaswantgarh War Memorial
▪Jung Valley View Point
It was snowing at Tawang when we reached at 6 p.m. Our stay for 3 nights was booked at Hotel Dungphoo, Old Market, Tawang.
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| Chaksam Bridge Sunset View |
We had a local tour planned for the day. After breakfast we headed for our sight-seeing.
▪Tawang Monastery (India's largest)
▪Buddha Park
▪Urgyelling Gompa (6th Dalai Lama's birthplace)
▪Chaksam Bridge (hanging iron suspension bridge; 700 years old)
▪War Memorial (Sound and light show)
After tour, by evening, we were hungry and cold as well. Our hotel owner recommended us their local drink called "Ara Wine" (made of millet). It was good and made us warm. We also had local food with rice called "Churpi" (Gravy is made of Yak milk and cheese with choice of veg or non veg). We called it a day.
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| Tawang Monastery |
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| Enroute to Bum La Pass |
We got up early to visit Bum La Pass. We had to hire a local car as our vehicle wasn't having Arunachal number plate. Hiring a local car and getting permit to visit Bum la pass was an extra cost.
Due to heavy snow fall in the entire area, roads were blocked, we were not granted permit from the Army camp. But still we experienced heavy snow covered mountain, road and frozen lake. We managed to cover:
▪Heart Lake
▪PangaTeng Tso (PTSO Lake)
▪Y-Junction
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| Heart Lake |
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| PTSO Lake |
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| Nuranang Waterfall |
It was time to say bye to Tawang, the most beautiful place in India and get back to our hectic life. It was like we are leaving Heaven. On our way to Dirang, we covered:
▪ Nuranang Waterfalls (100 mtrs high)
▪ Sangti Valley
We stayed overnight at the same monastery guest house.
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| Dirang Monastery |
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| View from Monastery room |
We left from Dirang to Guwahati after breakfast. It was a long drive. We had lunch at Highway Inn Restaurant, Tenzing Gang, Arunachal Pradesh. It was the same place on our first day for our evening hault for tea and momos. On our way, our guide took us to the Indo-Bhutan border. We reached Guwahati late evening and directly went to the market to buy tea leaves before check-in to our hotel.
Our stay was at Rodalii residency.
Day 8: Guwahati to Borjhar: 30 kms; 1 hour drive
Time had come to say final good bye to our vacation and head for the airport to board our flight to Delhi. Though every trip comes to an end, but it's always better if you start planning your next!!
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| Endless road!! |
