ARUNACHAL TRIP
Day 1: Dibrugarh / Pasighat (25-Dec-2021)
Our long awaited trip to cover the large part of East Arunachal was possible in last week of December 2021. We took the early morning flight on the Christmas day from Bhubaneswar and landed in Dibrugarh at about 12:45PM with a layover at Kolkata airport for 2 hours. This trip was cancelled earlier due to agitation on account of Citizenship Bill and we had lost substantial amount of money due to cancellation of flights, local travel and accommodation booking. We had contacted Mr. Karun Ray from Teju / Dibrugarh for guiding and driving us throughout our trip and Mr. Ray was quite familiar with Arunachal roads and topography of Arunachal. He pick us up from Dibrugarh airport and drove us through Assam to enter Arunachal at Pasighat entry point. We had already got the Inner Line Permit (ILO) from Arunachal Bhavan in New Delhi through online application for our family. Online portal of Arunachal is very nice and easy to get the permission. Travelers can also get the permission at entry points by filing their application with the identity documents. However, getting the ILO beforehand saves good amount of time.
We drove over mighty Brahamputra River, known as the Yarlung Tsangpo from the Tibetan language, originates on the Angsi Glacier, near Mount Kailash, the holy place for Hindus. The river gets wider at some points to the extent that the floods create havoc at times in Assam. It is one of the most dangerous rivers of the world. The bridge over Brahmaputra saves a lot of time for the people in North East. We drove about 1 hour and stopped at a decent place (Maihang) on highway for our Lunch. The restaurant was very busy and a good number of local people have come for lunch and we had to wait for sometime to get our disappointed lunch (we could not make out what to order to avoid pork and landed up ordering something very tangy (khatta)).
Mighty Brahmaputra
Hotel Maihang for lunch
We re-started after lunch and drove towards Pasighat. The road is very scenic in Assam side with lot of trees and harvesting is going on as it was early winter. The climate was really awesome for road travel and we also drove slowly seeing around the natural beauty around us. The landscape was changing so also the people’s dresses. Arunachal is place of Tribes and clans and sub-clans. Today Donyi Polo ( Tibeto-Burman peoples of Arunachal Pradesh) sect has lower presence but still we could see a good number of houses with Donyi Polo flags. A good number of Adi tribe (sub-clan) people live in and around Pasighat. The day we were passing through Pasighat, a cultural function was going on and the local tribes with their colourful dresses were in the community hall to celebrate the occasion. Pasighat is believed to be the place of Dibu-Marang people before the advent of Adis. According to history, one Baling of Yirang clan fought with another Baling of Dibu-Marang clan and after prolonged fight both died together at present Sibo-Korong. In Adi word ‘Sibo’ means ‘die together’, Korong means river or stream.
We reached our staying place (Serene Guest House – booked by our guide and driver Mr. Karun Ray) around evening at about 5PM as the drive from Dibrugarh was about 3hours or so. Pasight is a small town for trade and people from all parts of Arunachal come to Pasighat for trade. We were informed that people use a trade language in Pasighat area which is a mixture of Bengali, Assamese and Maithili as most traders sued to belong to these categories. People in Arunachal speak in Hindi and hence travellers will not have much of issue. Arunachal is a mystic place belonging to many sub-tribes and each one has its own dialect and spoken languages and hence bringing language commonality is quite difficult. Pasighat as a place is also the most important connect to Assam. The hotel we stayed was just okay with a very few guests due to Corona and available service was also poor. The road condition is also not very good in the city. We roamed around the area a bit but returned to the hotel. Pasighat is a place for transit and hence large number of buildings have been constructed with smaller rooms just to rent out to traders, people in transit, local employees, etc. As we had nothing much to do, we retired early.
Day 2: Pasighat to Aalo / Along (26-Dec-2021)
We got up very early and went out to look for tea. The entire hotel staff were sleeping and hot water was not there in the room as there was no power and evening had been dark previous day with candle lights to manage. It was a bit cold and windy. Went to the nearby corner shop to fetch tea and biscuits. We wanted to start early for Aalo but the road closure due to construction work forced us to start at about 12:00Noon. We went out to the nearby market to explore the local stuffs. We found a good number of people selling baskets filled with local oranges. Picked up a few provisions and sweets for onward trip. Before 12Noon, we drove towards Pasighat bridge area where the river Brahmaputra emerges from the foothills under the name of Dihang or Siang in Pasighat. The river enters the plains from here, in the west of Sadiya town in Arunachal Pradesh. We wanted to go towards the river bed. Some people had booked the garden near the riverbed and others were not allowed to go there. However, with a good amount of persuasion, the local guard allowed us to walk into the area parking our car a little far away. We spent some time there and walked back to start our journey towards Aalo. We found that the local people are always carrying a small weapon called “Dao” with them in their body like Sikhs carrying a Kripan. We understood that all the tribes in Arunachal are of hunting background and people always carry weapon with them as they enter jungles anytime on their daily life to catch any eatable animal. Typically, people eat smoked stuffs (mostly chicken and pork) as we find in many places on the roadsides ladies have created coal-fired chullahs on iron stands to smoke the stuffs and people are relishing the same.
Pasighat is on plains and slowly we started climbing the hills towards Aalo. It is a 4-hour drive through hilly roads. The best part is to pass through Rotung which has the sweetest oranges to offer. We drove through hills with total green cover with wild banana trees and orange gardens. Road was bad at times and we met good number of local people with their “Dao”. Some local people offered us oranges to taste.
We reached Reyi Homestay after evening and it was very cold. We met the host and his wife who are very nice hosts. They had a beautiful place at the outskirt of the Aalo town. The place is a huge property surrounded by orange orchards, fish ponds, long walkway, a total green junction. The house has a wood fired heating joint with multiple layers of iron nets over the heating place to store various types of meat / fish. There were a few other guests and the fire place was almost full. We met a lady whose cousin is a principal /VC of St. Xavier’s College / University at Kolkata (Fr. Feliox Raj). She was travelling with her family and have come from Singapore. We exchanged our travel stories. The hosts offered us “Apong” the local drink of the Adi tribe (rice bear). The hosts also own a TV channel for local population. Food was very good. As we are going towards Menchuka, we wanted to start in a time window in the morning to beat the road closure. Hence, we planned our breakfast a bit early and hosts were very helpful in this regard.
Day 3: Aalo to Menchuka (27-Dec-2021)
Started for Mechuka after having breakfast at Reyi Homestay. The some part of the road gets closed at various time windows and all vehicles wait for the road to open. The road is scenic with lush green surrounding. At times we see part of the river beds from the hills while driving. It is a long drive to Mechuka with bad roads in between and road is diverted and closed in between due to construction work. We stopped at a beautiful waterfall named Siko Dido on our way after Quying village. You witness an extremely beautiful waterfall which roars like a monster as you draw close. It is one of the many stunning waterfalls that you will come across in Arunachal. On your way, Siyam river follows you. We stopped here for some time to enjoy the beauty of the waterfall. We passed through many villages on our way and stopped at some places. to exchange greetings with local population who were very fluent in Hindi. We could see that the houses are made of bamboos and palm leaves. The leaves used to protect the residents from rain which is rampant in Arunachal. We came to know that community helps out to revamp roofs of the houses in villages. It is a custom of the tribal community to share everything. In one place, there was a house roof being revamped and a good number of people from the community were on the roof to do the needful. They waved to us and we stopped to take pics. Then the old man of the house invited us to visit inside. Once inside, we could see the ladies of the house are packing the bamboo glasses with rice bear called “Poka”. They showed us how they had fermented the rice and made a place like a long cone with banana leaves outside their house for the beer to slowly drip to containers which will be later used to put into the green raw and freshly cut bamboo glasses with banana leaves stuffed in a manner that a person can slowly drink the “Poka” and enjoy. The headman of the house offered us “Poka” glasses and we accepted the same. It is considered as a bad manner if a guest refuses to accept the gift of “Poka” glass. We also met a girl from the Galo tribe who had done her graduation in Chandigarh and came back to village after her education. We moved forward towards our destination and wanted to have lunch on our way. Surprisingly, we did not get any restaurant where we can have food. So we stopped on a roadside coal-fired chullah and ordered a few pieces of chicken to meet our hunger. No other food was available except oranges which we had in plenty.
Revamping the House Roof by Galo Community
It was almost evening when we reached Mechuka (Menchuka) after negotiating bad roads for a long part of our journey. The Mechuka town is a small place with a few shops here and there and a few small local restaurants. There are only a handful of homestays and only one hotel for providing accommodation. We had booked Gayboo’s Homestay which is the oldest homestay and a favourite of bikers and travellers as it had no competition till recently. The road leading to the homestay was totally muddy and full of dirty water patches and it was impossible to walk. You have to take the car inside the premises to get down to avoid the dirty and muddy road. The place is overhyped without any decent facility. The homestay rooms are so small that you can jump from the door to your bed. The bathroom was leaking and full of dirty water. Electricity is a scare commodity and no phone works except BSNL at times. It is very cold inside the room and not enough blankets are provided. The hot water bottles are not there neither room heaters to provide comfort to guests. It is a real bad place and you wonder why on earth people come to such places which has hardly anything better and spectacular to offer. On top of it, travel agents sell a 3-day package to travelers telling that one day is required for visiting the border with Tibet / China.
Oldest Homestay of Mechuka
Mechuka Town
Day 4: Mechuka (28-Dec-2021)
We had one full day to have the local sightseeing at Mechuka – the following places were on our bucket list as suggested by Mr. Karun Ray, our guide and driver. First one to visit is the bridge over Yargyap Chu river. The river snaps we see in internet look like photoshoped. The water is not as clean as it is made out to be. Local people throw plastics into water which makes the place dirty. The bridge is a hanging one over the river and we crossed the river after spending some time near the bridge to reach the place where Salman Khan rode a bicycle to promote Mechuka. It is not properly maintained and litters are all over the place. Since Mechuka is predominantly of Buddhists faith people coming from Tibetan land, it has a good monastery. Samten Yongcha – a Buddhist Monastery located here is a place of our next visit. Like all monasteries, this is located at a flat land on a hill top overseeing the Mechuka town. From here, we can have a good view of the town. Then we drove to Guru Nanak Tapostan and Gurudwara nearby. These places are maintained by Army. It is believed that Guru Nanak came here and he sat near a tree on a stone. There is a river stream when you go down to see the holy water flowing. There is a thin passage in between the large stones through which you can pass. We had simple food at the Gurudwara Langar. then we drove towards Hanuman camp – a place where you can see the stone carved monkey face from the road near a small temple. Next we drove towards Dorjeeling village. spent some time and met a few local people there to know about their way of life.
Mechuka landscape
Yargyap Chu river
Bridge over Yargyap Chu river
Snow clad peaks covered with clouds
Peaks and cloud over Mechuka
Landscape is very close to Nako and Kaza
Rock formation showing the face of a monkey – Hanuman temple
Mountain Range at Machuka
Peaks from valley
Cloud covered sky
Snow clad peaks at Mechuka
We could not see the clear view of the snow peaks at Mechuka due to bad weather. Returned to the homestay in the evening as there was nothing much to do outside after evening. It was clod and we have to use the kitchen fire place to warm our body. Dinner was served early as we have to start early for Aalo / Aalong.
Offering Rice beer “Poka” in a bamboo glass duly filled in banana leaves to allow beer to come out in small quantity
Rice beer brewed overnight to be served to tribe members who are contributing labour for community members
Waterfall Siko Dido
Steps to Nanak Sthall (to reach river)
Day 5: Mechuka to Aalo / Aalong (29-Dec-2021)
We started very early after breakfast of Roti and potato curry. We had to plan our travel in a manner to avoid the road closure. Once again we stopped near the waterfall to enjoy for sometime. We saw many Mithuns on our way and a few calf as well. It was a long journey of about 6 hours. We stopped at some orange gardens and purchased a few baskets of oranges as the weather is cool to last for 15 days or more. We have to manage our lunch in a roadside small joint at a place called Pene. Pene is an important point for road closure entry. Once you cross Pene, there would be no stopping for a few hours. As this is a return journey for us, we were relaxed and driving slowly to enjoy the greenery and hilly terrain around us. Mechuka is such a place, you need 4 days – 1 day for coming and 1 day for going and 2 nights stay at Along or Aalo (2 nights stay at Mechuka). The journey is tiring due to bad roads. Mechuka needs good infrastructure of hotels, good quality Homestays, network, etc. if it competes with places in Himachal and Uttarakhand. The marketing hype is likely to kill the potential of this place as it creates more dissatisfied visitors. As people have to spend more time in travelling to this place, they can not enjoy the beauty of Aalo / Along which is a very nice place covered with forest and very scenic. Aalo has good accommodation as well as some good provision shops as well as banks. We reached Reyi Homestay in the evening and spent the night there. Met a few guests who are going to Mechuka as well as returning to Pasighat from Roing. Enquired about Roing road condition and was informed that the road is not very good upto a point but generally is smooth.
Day 6 – Aalo to Roing (30-Dec-2021)
All hilly place advise you to start your day early so that you reach your destination faster and avoid uncertainty. As the road conditions are not generally good in hilly areas, the possibility of road closure is high when you travel. So, we had requested the hosts to provide early breakfast for us and we wanted to start before 8.00AM as Roing is at least 5 hours of travel via Pasighat and Dambuk covering 360km approximately. We have to use a part of trans-Arunachal highway which is very good to drive and reduces the time dramatically. Compared to this, Mechuka is only 186km but takes more time from Aaalo as the road is pretty bad. The local people say that things like infrastructure are changing but slowly as Arunachal has very low representation in Indian government as the State has only 2 MPs of Lok Sabha.
We reached Roing in the evening and we had booked for 3 nights as suggested by our guide and driver, but we realized that spending 3 nights here is not very useful as in two days people can cover almost all sightseeing places around Roing. If someone wants to trek inside the forests to reach a lake inside the dense forest or spend one night at leisure and idleness, then 3 nights would be required. We were booked at Yatri Nivas which is located a bit away from the main town on the outskirt. It has great view of Myodia Pass on a clear day but in cloudy weather, it would be really bad. Our driver is from Roing and he dropped us and went to him home to spend time with the family. We roamed around the place for sometime and then watched some TV shows. Dinner was good though very oily. Mostly chicken meals are available unless someone wants a different one. But food has to be ordered well in advance.
Day 7: Myodia Pass (31-Dec-2021)
We wanted to stay at Myodia Pass but could not find any kind of help to book a place. There is one place which used to provide basic night stay facility at Myodia but the place has closed down due to Corona. The road to Myodia is very scenic and you can see the river from the top. You cross 12-miles and Sally lake are to go to Myodia Pass. The road passes through forest on one side and orange gardens on the other side. It is a birders’ paradise. Many bird watchers start early in the morning and try to see many varies of birds that are available here. We also saw many Mithuns with their calves roaming in high altitudes and there is a salt pan area where the owners leave salt for their domesticated Mithuns. We drove for about 2 hours on the scenic road to reach Myodia top. To our surprise, we did not find many tourists at Myodia though it was the year end. The Myodia top was covered with clouds so also the snow clad tops. Visibility was not good. We drove through clouds multiple times when we reach the top. There are no shops at the top. Only one small joint is available for selling tea/coffee and small meals for drivers and workers who are constructing roads. There are no toilets in Myodia and it is a big problem of travelers.
We had carried our dry lunch (all tourists are advised to do this) and we ordered tea for having our food. Suddenly it started snowing and snow flakes everywhere. It was a pleasant surprise and we enjoyed every bit of it. We walked for some time to take snaps of snow and waited in case the cloud clears up so that snow clad peaks are visible. But we did not have the luck for the same. We saw quite a few birds – blue and green magpie, laughing Thrush, Red Sparrow, etc. The birds were getting easy food near the small joint which throws all its food waste near the road.
We spent about one hour and then we drove back towards Roing as we wanted to see the Sunset from the Roing bridge. We also wanted to cover Sally Lake on our return. There were no other tourists on the way and we reached Sally Lake where we found 2/3 vehicles with local tourists. The Sally Lake has an entrance fee for car and visitors. The Government accommodation is getting revamped near the Lake. We took a walk around the lake and enjoyed every bit. The lake is clean and no boating is available. Not maintained at all but the nature takes care of the same. We came back after about one hour to watch sunset at Roing bridge. pent some time to take snaps. Then we went to meet Mr. G B Pilu who has an accommodation near the river and he is a wild life expert working with international NGOs. Had a nice talk with him over tea. We wanted to stay in his accommodation but it was full when we enquired. He organizes trek to the silent lake inside the forest. Returned to our hotel at about 8PM. After dinner, we retired.
Day 8: Roing (01-01-2022)
It was an almost rest day for us. We started late at about 10AM to visit the longest bridge over Brahmaputra in Assam. It is named as Bhupen Hazarika Setu to mark respect to the greatest Assamese singer. It is located in Sadiya District of the State. We have to cross over to Assam from Arunachal and register our vehicle showing our Arunachal ILO. The drive was very smooth with the good road (highway). Both sides were either paddy fields or tea gardens. On return, we went to the Roing market to buy a few stuffs including couple of “Daos” as memory. Returned to hotel in the evening.
Day 9: Roing to Walong (02-Jan-2022)
We had early breakfast and started for Walong at about 7.30AM as Walong is a very long drive of 7/8 hours through bad roads of about 265km. We have to pass through Tezu, Hayuliang, Hawai, etc. to reach Walong. The road is bad but very scenic. We stopped at Tezu to visit the house of our guide / driver for the trip, Mr. Ray. Tezu is a small town but very clean and we can see the a beautiful mountain range with snow clad peaks. We spent some time in Tezu and started our journey. The Lohit river is visible from the road and the water is emerald blue and clean. On our way, we stopped at the Lohit view point – the views from here were amazing. The panoramic view of the magnificent Lohit valley spread across our eyes. Aptly named the Lohit viewpoint, this place is best known for the sunset and sunrise. The Lohit River lay there glistening in the mid-day sun.
The river bed is clearly visible and there was very little water in Lohit and the white sand banks stood out in contrast with many shallow water channels – all blue and reflection of Sun creates amazing sight. Further we also get a glimpse of the Parasuramkund and the newly built bridge across the river – our driver informed us that we will pass through the bridge when we go to Wakro on our return.
I feel Lohit is the most beautiful river in India with its clean and emerald blue water. It derives its name from the red laterite soils of the Lohit basin, thus giving it the name – the ‘river of blood’ It is the a tributary of Brahmaputra. The Lohit River originates from the Tirap Phasi ranges in Eastern Tibet and enters India through Kibithu, a small village lying at the India-China border and special permission is required to visit Kibuthu today as it is an important military base. Kibuthu is also famous for for Indo-China war as China entered through this point. The Lohit river traverses through the Mishmi hills of the Anjaw and Lohit district and joins the Brahmaputra after travelling for 200 km or so. We drove through the road overlooking the Lohit River and it followed us till we reached Walong. The pristine Lohit river goes beyond Walong. We were the only tourists on the road and at times we see one or two vehicles with only local people and goods being shipped from main towns of Tinsukia or Tezu for for local consumption. Orange selling in container baskets made of bamboo is very common sight on the road.
Construction work was the most common sight on our way. We stopped at Hayuliang for lunch in a roadside joint serving rice and curry and dal. Not much of an option for tourists. The hotel typically supplies the workers their daily food requirements and hence has to provide stuffs which the workers can afford. We made a stop near the metal hanging bridge over Lohit river in Hawai. Anjaw district headquarter is located at Hawai. Hawai is situated on a hill across the Lohit River and you have to cross this metal hanging bridge to reach Hawai. As we were running late, we just walked across the bridge and took a few snaps and started on our drive to Walong.
Walong is about 50 km from Hawai but takes more than 2.5 hours. While driving, we had to stop at a place for about 45 minutes or so where the road clearing work was underway. Along the road to Walong, we witnessed many indigenous hanging bridges over Lohit river connecting two sides of the hills and the said hanging bridges are made for local use. Border Road organization (BRO) of Indian army has made most of these bridges. Many such hanging bridges over Lohit river attracts tourists to try out. We could make out that tourists would need lot of courage to cross the said bridges.
We reached Walong at about 5.00PM and were really tired. We had booked our accommodation at Anu Nimai Homestay on the suggestion of our guide and driver. The place provides just basic requirements. Walong is a small hamlet on the bank of Lohit river and Army occupies a great part of the place. It has a War memorial with the list of names of our brave soldiers who died fighting Chinese army here in 1962. The place is very quiet with very few people on the road. No hotel or restaurants around. Only one resort named “Dong Resort” is available in Walong which was earlier owned by Government of Arunachal Pradesh now privately managed. Only Homestay available is Anu Nimai though a new homestay just started in last week of December which is also very close to Anu Nimai Homestay. The buildings are constructed on slopes of the hills and you have to climb steep steps to reach the homestay. The Homestay rooms are not great and bathroom was leaking but there are no alternatives available. We settled down in a room and wanted to rest as we had a tiring day of travel. From the “varandha” of the building we could see the hills around and the Lohit river in its pristine blue colour and army establishment down on the river bank. The sight from the Homestay was simply superb. The dinner was served early and we retired for the day.
Day 10: Walong (03-01-2022)
Walong as well as the entire Anjaw district is the best kept secret of Arunachal Pradesh. Walong is the most beautiful place in Anjaw district. We got up to the fresh snow fall in the top at the hills as the trees were visibly covered with snow flakes and it was an awesome sight in the early morning. From the “Varandha” we could see the the mountain peaks all around and the valley below. The army vehicles and the armed personnel doing their morning parades and practices, the helipad in the army enclosure, local people walking around for morning chores, etc. makes you feel energized. The place is very critical for India as China border is nearby (Kahoo from where you can see Chinese side).
We had planned to start for our day long trip for seeing local areas of importance. After breakfast of Puri and Alu sabji, we started our trip as we planned to visit the war memorial, waterfall, Helmet Top, Kahoo, Namti plains, river bed and the hanging bridge with hot spring, etc. Our first stop was War memorial. The war memorial is maintained well and we could read the names of brave soldiers in the list from various regiments who fought Chinese and laid their lives for their country in 1962 war. We took a ew snaps and started for the waterfall. The “Anamika” waterfall is visible from the main road but if you climb up, the sight is awesome with the full view of the cascading water of the fall. You have to take a small climb up to reach the place from where the waterfall is fully visible. We took a few snaps. Our next visit was to Helmet Top – the climb through the forest to the top of the hill provides excellent view. We first met a few birding enthusiast who have travelled from Kolkata side and taken a guide from Tezu / Hayuliang area to guide them about the birds available in the local area of Walong. We saw a few birds as well. The birders were staying at Dong Resort managed by a person from Kolkata area as a partner with a local gentleman as outsiders are not allowed to run business in Arunachal Pradesh unless domiciled there. Then we met the army officials and they were very helpful in giving us water. We talked to the senior most person there and he explained the story of helmet top and the death of soldiers without food and ammunition as Chinese army had blocked the supply lines in the chicken neck area. From Helmet top the view of the snowclad mountains nearby was superb and we took a few photograph from the top. Army people offered us water. Saying them “Good Bye”, we slowly started moving downward to visit Namti Plains where the war was fought in the ground between India and China. There is a small monument where the remains of a few armours like hand grenades, broken guns, etc. are kept with a small enclosure created there reminding the Indian travelers about the valiant behaviour of our armed forces. After a bit of driving, we come to the point where there is a first view of China comes.
Indian army has created a point from where we can see the Chinese village through our camera lenses. It was time for a small lunch break and we sat looking at the Lohit river and the waterfall nearby on the other side of the river. After finishing our lunch, we drove towards Kahoo village which is near to Chinese border though we cross a V-point from where, travelers can move to Kibuthu. For Kibuthu, a traveler will need a pass from the CO of the area. However, we preferred to go to Kahoo village. It is a small village with a few hamlets and a river is flowing out from the glaciers. The army post is nearby. We went upto the post and took a few snaps of the nearby areas outside the army unit. The area is well covered by Army as the same is closer to the border.
We came back from Kahoo in the ate evening and wanted to take the photos of Sunset near the river and the hanging bridge where we could see the hot springs. The hot spring is a disaster as nothing is visible and it is not properly managed as the area near the river bed is full of dirt. We returned to the Homestay at the evening. During the night, we could hear the chirping of the crickets and the sound of the Lohit flowing in all serenity. Dinner was served early as we planed to start a bit early from Walong to move to Wakro are through Parashuram Kund.
Day 11: Walong to Wakro (04-Jan-2022)
A simple Breakfast was packed by the Homestay and we started at about 6.45Am from Walong after clearing all the dues. We met a few bikers who had come to Walong driving their.
They stayed at Dong resorts but were forced to moved out as the service was very bad there and came down to the Anu Nimai Homestay. We started driving towards Wakro as we wanted to cover Parashuram Kund on our way. It is religious place and you have to go to the Lohit river from the temple area to take a dip to remove your “sins” as the great Hindu worshiped Parashuram was free of his sins here after dipping into the river. The drive was okay through the bad roads and we stopped at times to take some snaps at various points. We stopped for lunch in between on a roadside dhaba to have some rice and curry. It is not good but there are no other place where you can get food on your way to Wakro. Parashuram Kund has a couple of places for food on the road but is is a long way. When we took a detour to Parashuram Kund, we took a wild bet on road closure as we did not meet a single car or person to ask him about the road condition to reach Parashuram Kund. Earlier, some traveler told us that the road to Parashuram Kund is closed due to landslides and we may have to go there via Tezu. However, we tried our luck and took the detour but to our surprise, we found the road is open and at a few points, construction work was going on. We reached the new bridge over the river to cross over to Parshuram Kund. Since, there was a trek involved in Parashuram Kund, we wanted to avoid the same and wanted to move towards the Homestay, Mishmi Ninashi Homestay at Wakro area. The Homestay is on the main road and it run by a lady belonging to Mishmi tribes whose house is adorned with many hunting treasures of about 200 years or so. It was almost evening and setting Sun has already become red when we reached the Homestay. The Homestay is surrounded by tea garden which also belongs to the Homestay owner. It belongs to a Mishmi tribe family and food they served is also belonging to tribal community. Mishmi tribe houses are longer and like compartments – each compartment belongs to one family member like brothers. There can be multiple wives as well in a Mishmi tribe family. There were a few more guests in the Homestay and the fire place where the family keeps smoked meat is used for warming up guests as well as family members. They also served their traditional drink to guests. Food was not good for our taste. As we were tired, we retired early.
Day 12: Wakro to Namdapha (05-Jan-2022)
The morning was warm as the temperature slowly started rising and Wakro is not a hill area but on plains. Wakro has a tea factory and organic tea is produced here along with organic rice and other spices. We requested the landlady to give us some packets of organic products and we packed our stuffs and had breakfast of roti and potato curry and started for our next destination at Namdapha Tiger Reserve. On our way, we needed to have lunch and collect the permission letter from the Tiger Reserves Office at Namdapha. We were required to meet Mr. Das in their office at Namdapha as he has been instrumental in arranging our stay inside the Namdapha Forest. Mr. Paroon, the Officer in charge, allowed us a VIP room as well as a non-VIP room inside the forest. We stopped for looking at the historic site and remains of the Ahom kingdom in Sibsagar district and could hear the sound of Hillock Gibbons. As we approached the site, the Hillock Gibbons started making noises but were not at all visible. The road was really good to drive and on our way we saw many villages on both sides of the road. We stopped for lunch in a roadside joint and had simple roti and curry before driving towards Namdapha.
The Namdapha area is a sleepy small town with one small shopping arcade and a couple of English schools and churches. We could see the local people belonging to a particular tribe wearing a particular type of dress with 3 partitions. We collected the letter from Mr. Das drove towards the forest check post. First we stopped at the small enclosure called Namdapha Zoo which houses many deers inside. After about 6km or so we came to the check-post and paid the charges for entering the forest as well as camera charges. The drive to the forest bungalow is about 12km or so and it takes about 30-40 minutes as the road is not really good after a few kilometers. We passed through Chakma tribe hutments on our way. Chakmas are migrant people who have till date no citizenship but stay in these parts. Efforts have been made to include them in citizenship but so far no positive outcome is available. We reached the forest at about 2PM and it was awesome as we could see. The forest accommodation is the best for peace loving people. We were overwhelmed by the seer tranquility. We had read about the place earlier. The river nearby is almost dry and people can cross to the other jungle across the river. The day we reached, we were informed that a poacher has killed a deer and its calf is left alone. The Forest guards could not save the mother from the poacher and when they chased the poacher, the guy had gone inside the dense forest across river. The forest guards are using elephants to enter the forest to track the poacher.
The evening was really enjoyable inside the forest area and we repented as to why we did not request for 2 nights as per earlier plan but made it one night and shifting to another place in Namdapha on river bed (Namdapha jungle resort). We saw many birds on trees as well many giant squirrel as well as flying fox in trees at late evening with the help of the torches of the security guards in the forest bungalow. We roamed around in the area and enjoyed the place as there were no other guests in the facility. Mr. Paroon has taken special interest in making all arrangements for the forest accommodation with renovation work. The water problem (all these years they supplied one bucket per person in the room) was being solved and Mr. Parron has identified a nearby place from where the water can be drawn to the forest accommodation. However, we had no complain about the facility as the place provides perfect tranquility and peace to travelers. We had ordered some snacks and tea and the caretaker and his friends made nice ones for us to enjoy. The night meal was also served early and we really enjoyed our food here. The constant sound of insects around the place provides great music to the ears and you sleep peacefully in the laps of nature. The most enjoyable time was the night sitting out in the sofa placed outside the room to enjoy the moonlit night around the place.
Day 13: Namdapha River Camp (06-Jan-2022)
The morning was simply the best time at Namdapha with chirping of birds everywhere and the place becomes a music class with various birds calling out as the day breaks. We started getting into the lawn area and watched birds all over the place – minivet male and female, sultan tit, sparrows, bulbuls, drangoes, sun birds, many other birds, etc. Then giant squirrels started exploring the tall trees in search of their dietary needs. It was really a mesmerizing experience for all of us. We realized that this place is the best in Namdapha to stay and explore the nature. We wanted to take the elephant rides but found that elephants were busy in other jungle and they have not been able to come back for the morning rides and hence we cancelled the same. Then after taking bath, we wanted to drive inside the jungle to have a view from the view point inside the forest. we could have the best view of the Noa-Dihing river below. The whole area insidwe the forest is mountainous and the river bed comprises the catchment of the Noa-Dihing River, a tributary of the mighty Brahmaputra river which flows westwards through the middle of Namdapha. However, human population in the area has resulted in total drying of river with very little water patches in those areas. Deep inside the forest, the river have some water. We saw many birds and our luck of seeing Red Panda was not great and hence returned after spending some time in the forest area. We wanted to leave after lunch to our new accommodation in the area. Lunch was very nice and simple and we drove back to the Namdapha town to reach Namdapha River camp.
The river camp is situated on the river bed of a river which has completely lost water source and does not get any seasonal water as well. Agricultural fields have also developed in the area. We found that children are playing football in large numbers around the place. The river camp has a good number of cottages for guests and the compound has also a few trees – mostly the trees laden with fully and half ripen “kul” – a small fruit which is used for making pickles. Lot of sparrows in the camp feasting on those fruits. We ordered some tea for us and explored the property. As the sun was setting, we went out to take a few snaps of the setting sun in the horizon. After evening, we came back and talked to the owner who is a local tribe head. He informed that the organic bamboo tea his great grand parents had grown was copied by English people and experimented with tea production system in India. He talked about various issues of Arunachal tourism development. A documentary film making team were staying in the property for documenting the history of Arunachal culture. The head of the team was a senior person who has been working as an Advisor to Ministry of Tourism of Arunachal. The dinner was simple and we went to bed with the sound of crickets around. Sleep quality was superb.
Day 14: Namdapha to Tinsukia (07-Jan-2022)
Morning was beautiful with clear sky and some sparrows were picking up their food and continuously flying in and out in large groups. There were no other birds here unlike Namdapha forest bungalow. We had our breakfast and picked up some bamboo tea from the owner and paid out the bills and started for our next destination in Tinsukia using the highway. On our way, we wanted to visit Pangsu Pass that connects India and Burma and it also houses the “Steelwell” road. We had earlier written to the concerned SDO, Nampong, seeking permission with all details like Aadhar card, car number with name of driver to get the required paper work. We had also talked to SDO and its office a few times and they promised to keep our permission passes ready and we were supposed to drive through Nampong to pick up the permission and drive to the border area after showing the permission to the Indian army people stationed at entry points. We reached Nampong at about 11AM and went to SDO office located on the road side of Nampong road towards the Pass. The pass was ready and we had to pay some nominal charges to get the same.
After the pass, we drove a few kilometers to reach the army check post that will clear us to visit Pangsu Pass. After verification of records and identity, the army personnel called up their higher authorities seeking direction to allow us to drive to the Pass. After a few minutes wait, the necessary permission over hotline phone was received and they opened the gate for us to visit the border. There used to a border market on 10th, 20th and 30th of each month – twice on India side and once on Burma side where citizens from both countries in local areas trade their products. Now the same is defunct as Corona has forced closure of the markets. This market was highly successful.
After driving a few kilometers through dense forest on both sides of the good road constructed by BRO, we came to see the Stilwel road. The Stilwell Road, original name Ledo Road, highway 478 mi (769 km) long that links northeastern India with the Burma ), which runs from Burma to China. During World War II, the Stilwell Road was a strategic military route.
U.S. Army engineers began construction of the highway in December 1942 to link the railheads of Ledo (Assam / Arunachal now, India) and Mogaung (Burma), and Chinese troops later aided in the project.
The highway crossed into Burma through the difficult Pangsau Pass of the Patkai Range and was known as the Ledo Road until January 1945, when a connection via Myitkyina and Bhamo was completed to the Burma Road at Mu-se. Then the highway was renamed in honour of the U.S. general Joseph W Stilwell. It was officially abandoned by the United States in October 1945, but it remains a major internal route.
We could hear the sound of Hillock Gibbons on our way. We just glanced a few on tall trees but these animals are very shy and they went inside fast. After driving a few kilometers, we came to the second army post (this is the last place in which army barrack is located and afterwards no army position is available. The army people checked our papers and then sent a serviceman with us to help us out to see the pass properly including the watch towers on India side.
The army person drove with us and soon we reached the border point where there are two flags and a mid point indication the geographical differentiation of two neighouring countries. We went to the watch tower after parking our vehicle and watch the Burmese side and the big lake which used to pull up the flying aircrafts using a magnetic field. Many enemy war planes have fallen into the lake. We entered the Burmese side by removing the man-made symbolic barbed fence and walked inside their territory to see the market infrastructure they had built. We found a Burmese bike parked very close to the border area. The army person told us that regularly Burmese citizens enter Indian side to get the network to speak on mobile phones. India side is on top of a hill while Burmese side is a bit below. We took good number of photographs for the memory. On our return we met the Burmese citizens who have entered India and sitting on road and talking on mobile phones. This is a very peaceful border and no conflict is existing between two neighbours.
We returned from Pangsu Pass to Nampong and drove towards Assam using the highway. On our way, we passed through many small towns and tree factories and gardens and railway lines at times going on the side of the highway. These railway lines help carry the tea produced in Assam to various parts of India. We stopped at one of leading Tata Tea garden factory outlet to buy various qualities of tea to take home. We stopped at one place to have our lunch.
We reached Tinsukia almost at the evening time and checked into Banashri Eco Cottage on the banks of Brahmaputra. The place is exactly on the bank and you can see the river and ferry as well as many stay boats (boat houses) on the river. There are 7 cottages on the property and mostly birders and wild life enthusiasts coming to Dibru Saikhowa area prefer this place. The place is well managed. The charges are per person per day and the rooms are just okay. Food was very good. Local sweets was also nice. The backside of the place is tea gardens. The area is also full of tea gardens and tea workers’ colony. Sleep quality is very good.
Day 15: Tinsukia – exploring hornbills and Hillock Gibbons (08-Jan-2022)
The day’s plan as devised by Benuda’s wife is to visit two village houses where 3 Hillock Gibbons have been almost domesticated on account of a storm which destroyed the trees they used to live and the baby Gibbon fell down which was saved and protected by a family in the village. The parents now come to the village house and are totally at ease with the human settlement and accept bananas from the hands of the people and live in the trees nearby. They go the jungle to live and in the morning come down to the village house. They also recognize the call of the family members who saved the baby Gibbon. We had to drive about 15km to reach the place and true to our expectation, we could nicely observe 3 Hillock Gibbons – Papa Gibbon is not really bothered about Mummy and Baby Gibbons but Mummy Gibbon is always taking care of baby Gibbon and giving him some bananas in case she gets more. Baby and mother were almost together while the Papa Gibbon stays alone at a distance. We offered some bananas to the Gibbons and they simple snatch away from your hand a few seconds.
After seeing Gibbons, we drove to another village to see Hornbills – two baby Hornbills fell down during a storm from heir nest and a family took care of them and saved them. These two are Asian Grey Hornbills of about a year old and they have not developed the flying wings which can help them to fly out. We were informed that at times, their parents come and look at them and go back to the woods. They eat the normal human food as the family gives them and respond to the names given by family members. They were kept free but can not really fly out. They come to sit on human hands if requested. These hornbills were almost domesticated and it is doubtful if they would be able to go back to their natural habitat. After seeing those Hornbills, we returned to the Cottage and had our lunch. The plan was to go the the nearby waterbody in Guijan area to see some migratory birds. We started at about 3.30PM from the cottage and after about 15 minutes drive we were into a county made boat taking us to the waterbody to see migratory birds. We saw a few resident birds as migratory birds have already left the ‘Bil area”. Not many birds as we see them in Nalaban or Mangalajodi in Odisha. But it was just okay. We saw the Sunset on the river and returned to the Cottage. Dinner was served hot and sleep was peaceful.