• Dec 27, 2022

I along with my friends decided to visit a beautiful destination called Tawang in Arunachal Pradesh. After a round of discussion with many friends and family, we started from Guwahati in a Maruti Breeza vehicle. Guwahati is considered an entry point to the Northeast states of India. It is needless to mention that Guwahati is well connected with all the modes of transportation.

On our first day, we wanted to complete the city tour of Guwahati as it has many iconic places to visit. Kamakhya Temple is always on top of the list followed by a visit to Peacock island popularly known as Umananda. Basistha ashram is surrounded by hills and a stream passes by this oldest temple. The state museum and visit to Sankardev Kalakhestra a Cultural centre are some of the most visited places in Guwahati. Purva Bharti Balaji temple is another place for solace seekers. The famous Kamakhya temple is highly regarded by the followers of Maa Kamakhya. The temple is situated on Nilachal Hills and generally, it takes around two to three hours to complete the sanatorium visit. 

After a full-day city tour, we went to enjoy the dinner cruise over the river Brahmaputra. The sailing time for the dinner cruise starts at 7.00 pm but boarding starts at 6.30 pm. Tickets are available at the boarding point. We returned to our hotel to retire and start more energetic the next day.

On our second day, we started our tour of Kaziranga National Park. We started early so that we can visit sacred Bordowa, the birthplace of the great saint, and reformer Srimanta Sankardev who founded Eksarna Dharma, strengthening the foundation of greater Assamese society. We also visited the Shiva lingam-shaped temple standing tall at 126 feet in Nagaon, dedicated to lord Shiva. Visit these sacred places is peace of mind. We reached Kaziranga and retired to our hotel bed.

Excitement was at its high to visit the World heritage site Kaziranga National Park.  Only entry gate formalities were needed to enter the park as our jeep safari tickets were booked by Assam Tours & Travels, a prominent tour operator in Northeast India.  Our safari started inside the home of the great One horn Rhinoceros. Park is popularly known for Asiatic wild buffalo, Swamp deer, Asiatic elephant, and Royal Bengal tiger.  The park did not deprive us as we were delighted to see much wildlife including local & migratory bird species. After around two hours of jeep safari, we came out of the park and went to visit Orchid Park which houses around five hundred species of Orchid plants. This Orchid garden is having many eyes-catching rare species of orchids and it has a rice museum, and bamboo garden; a cultural program is also performed to showcase the tribal dance of different communities. One can see the collection of different artefacts from the Northeast in another cultural museum. Visit this Orchid garden worth the time. We had our lunch inside the complex. One can taste the ethnic Assamese style thali here

On the fourth day of our journey, we started a bit early to visit Dirang Monastery, Kalachakra Monastry and experience the cool wind of Sangti Valley on the way to our pre-booked hotel in Dirang. The scenic beauty of our road trip cannot be described in words it needs to be experienced. Serpentine road, small waterfalls and the peaceful flowing waters of  Kameng or Jiabharali river are something to witness. Bhalukpung is a border town between Assam & Arunachal Pradesh. We decided to have our breakfast on the Assam side of Bhalukpung before the check gate. Post breakfast we completed our Inner Line Permit verification and entered into Arunachal Pradesh. Our visit to the monastery was good but the cool breeze of Sangti valley was very natural clean and fresh. We enjoyed the beauty of the valley and plantations there.

Tawang was on the list for our fifth-day journey. After breakfast, we started our journey of around 140kms to be covered in approx. 5 hours. On way to Tawang, we were greeted by Sela pass on a height of 13700. These chilling winds were very harsh and we sheltered ourselves in scarf and windcheaters. The valley is very attractive and one can see the multiple hilly serpentine roads from the top. Sela lake is one of the most popular and beautiful lakes. We went to see the Jaswant Memorial of Rifleman Jaswant Singh Rawat. Who made a supreme sacrifice for his motherland in the Indo-China war of 1962. One can see many such spots where fierce fighting took place and patriotism won. We felt pain when we passed through inhospitable terrain way back in 1962. Our respect & salute for the Indian defence forces. We moved ahead and saw many attractions on the way to Tawang town. We were told by our friend about Nuranag Falls which is also known as Jung Falls for its huge size. We tried to locate it but due to bad weather and sundown, we could not visit the waterfalls. But we decided to visit it on our return. We headed straight to our hotel in Tawang and retired to bed after having a tasty dinner.

On day six morning, we were joined by one of the local tour guides for visiting Ptso lake, Sangster or Madhuri lake and Bumla Pass. Sangster lake is also known as Madhuri lake because a Hindi movie starring versatile actress Madhuri Dixit was shot here. It was formed due to1950 earthquake. Tawang is having many lakes and these lakes are very nice. On the midway to Madhuri lake, one will find a Gurudawara which is known as Gurudwara Teesri Udasi. This is very special for Sikh religious followers. We covered all the spots and returned to Tawang. Before a good night's sleep, we had our dinner with local cuisine. Though the staple food in Arunachal Pradesh is rice but the vegetables prepared are different in almost every state, and so is here. We decided to have CHHURPI. Churrpi is local cheese and it is very tasty when prepared with green vegetables or meat. It was mouth-water preparation. Taste and aroma were at their height. We concluded our food with a thanksgiving good night to the hotel owner.

On the last leg of our journey means on the seventh day we concluded a local tour of Tawang city and nearby areas. The Tawang Monastery, Buddha Park, Tawang War Memorial, Urgelling Gonpa, Khinmey Monastery etc. but we could not visit the historic CHAKSAM Bridge due to a natural road blockade. We started our return journey to Bomdila. We stayed in Bomdila and Visited the Majestic Nuranag Waterfalls. Its hugeness is accessible only after visiting it. The falls have been featured in many Assamese films and some Hindi films also. It is a must-visit place for any visitor to Arunachal Pradesh. Today we stayed in Bomdila and concluded another visit to the beautiful Bomdila  Monastery. We retired to our room bed after having another local cuisine prepared in our homestay in Bomdila.

On the last day of our journey, we returned to Guwahati. Our journey concluded but our memory is still exploring the Kamakhya Temple, Kaziranga National Park, mesmerizing falls, huge lakes and the China border. The local cosines and some souvenirs excite our thought of our journey.