Hope you have read my previous post about my roadtrip to Tawang in Arunachal Pradesh and the hurdles we faced on our way. The road to Tawang is indeed unpredictable, you may not know what awaits you, so it’s better to remain prepared all the time. So here I am back with the next part of my journey to Arunachal Pradesh. Do read the First Part HERE if you haven’t read it yet. I shall begin with Day 4 in this part.

Roadtrip to Tawang in Arunachal Pradesh- A Travelogue (Part II)

Day 4, 30th September 2017

Well, we reached Tawang in Arunachal Pradesh at 8 pm and we stayed at North Hill Homestay. The rooms had 24 hours hot water service, electricity was also there which is a big problem in Tawang, our room was very clean and warm and the view from our room was what mesmerized us next morning.

Just they didn’t have food facility but the hotel owners had our dinner packed from a restaurant. They were very hospitable. They do have a kitchen facility where you can cook your own food if you have all the cooking equipment and stuffs ready with you for preparing food. 

Day 4, 1st October 2017

Because of landslides, we lost one day from our itinerary we were supposed to reach Tawang on 30th September and do some of the sightseeing that day itself. But our plans changed now we had only one day in hand and we wanted to cover the maximum spots we can. We wanted to visit Bumla Pass but for that, you need to get your permit done and this requires almost a day.

The hotel guys booked a Bolero for us, We started very early at around 07:00 am. On way, there is the Ptso Lake, Nagula Lake and lots of lakes some of which names were not displayed or maybe I didn’t notice. Some locals told me there are around hundreds of lakes and during November to March they remain completely frozen. What a thrilling sight it would be!

Also, Read

The Ultimate Dzukou valley Trek, Nagaland, India

Enchanting Sangti Valley in Arunachal Pradesh, Northeast India

Survival Strategies if you are stuck in a landslide during a journey

After a drive of around two hours we reached a  Y-junction point at 14700 ft above sea level, one road goes towards The Shungatser Lake and the other towards Bumla Pass.There is a cafe where you can buy warm clothes, enjoy some hot snacks like momo, tea or cofee and then commence your journey. Everything is maintained by our army jawans. Their service is commendable.

My husband was desperate to visit the Bumla Pass but we had no pass, we requested the officer in charge there and since we were only two people he allowed us to visit Bumla Pass. After so much we faced throughout the whole journey that permission seemed like a ray of hope for us.

So wheels rolled on, on way we found many lakes, valleys. Our roadtrip to Tawang looked just like a dream, the mountains looked so bright and colorful with red ferns or may be some kind of flowers growing all over them. It was a sight to see.

At Bumla pass don’t even think of taking photographs, its stictly photography prohibited zone, the army jawans will guide you and tell you where to take pictures. Bumla Pass is the border between India and Tibet occupied by China. The stories about our valiant army will give you goosebumps.

Next from Bumla Pass we reached the Y-Junction again, it was 12:00 pm and we started towards The Shungatser lake which was 12km away. Most of the roads were in a pathetic condition, at some places the sun shone while at some it was raining.

The Shungatser Lake is popularly known as The Madhuri Lake after the film Koyla which was shot here and some scenes of popular Bollywood actress Madhuri Dixit were also filmed in that particular lake.

The lake was created as a result of an earthquake and there you will see trunks of dead trees. Located at an altitude of 12000ft above sea level, once you reach the lake the view is so beautiful that you will just forget all the pain you took while travelling from Guwahati to Tawang.

The chilling air, the sound of the lake water, the trees around, the mountains everything is so perfect that memories of the place will keep lingering in your mind forever.

From there we started towards Tawang town, we visited the Tawang Monastery and we were very lucky as at that time a Buddhist ceremony was going on and all the monks of the Monastery gathered in the ground and were performing the religious rites, here are some photographs.

The Tawang Monastery museum is also quite interesting. They have an archive of photographs which shows how His Holiness The 14th Dalai Lama entered Tawang, how he was rescued,  and visit of dignified guests like First  Prime Minister Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru, Lt Rajiv Gandhi, Lt Indira Gandhi , Sonai Gandhi, and many more. I found the photo gallery very interesting.

Next, we went to the Tawang war Memorial. It is built in memory of the 2420 Indian soldiers who lost their lives in Kameng Sector during the 1962 Indo – Sino War. All of their names were engraved on the walls of the memorial. There is also a memorial of Subedar Joginder Singh, PVC (Posthumous) who fought valiantly against the Chinese army and laid down his life for his country.

A sound and light show is also being conducted every evening for visitors. The programme ended at around 6.30pm. We came back to the main market area and packed our dinner. We reached our hotel at around 8 pm.

At Tawang all shops closes by 7pm and they open very early in the morning.

Day 5, 3rd October, 2017

On the 5th day of our trip we packed our bags early morning, had some tea and checked out of the hotel at 7.30am. On way back we visited the 28ft Buddha Statue which was exactly at the back of our hotel, its huge and the statue is seen all over Tawang if it is not hidden by clouds.

On way back we also visited the Nuranang Waterfalls also known as the Jang Waterfalls located around 30km from Tawang, which is  Sela Pass, Jaswantgarh War Memorial at Nuranang located around 25kms from Tawang at the memory of Rifleman Jaswant Singh Rawat who showed his valor and sacrificed his life fighting the Chinese army in the 1962 Indo- China war.

There is a small cafe run by our army jawans, you can enjoy smoking hot momos, Samosa and unlimited cups of tea only till stock last. 

We reached Dirang town at 2 pm and it was another one hour drive to reach our main spot. Our next destination was the Sangti Valley in Dirang in Arunachal Pradesh, here are some pictures of the beautiful Sangti Valley. We stayed overnight.

Day 6, 4th October 2017

We had our breakfast and started for our journey to Guwahati at 10 am. At Dirang market we did some shopping. I shall do a haul post very soon. After crossing Dirang next we reached Bomdila. From Bomdila to reach Guwahati we did not take the earlier route as we heard the road was not yet ready and there were blockades here and there so instead we took the route via Rupa and the one that enters Assam in Mazbat, next you will cross Orang in Udalguri district of Assam.

We home around 8 pm. But this was shorter than the one we took while going via Bhalukpung in Arunachal Pradesh. But this route is also very dangerous at some places, we crossed a waterfall which was flowing along the narrow road, we were lucky that the flow of water not that strong.

And there are lots of shooting stones area which you need to cross. So driving needs to be very careful. Also, we did not find any petrol pump on that route so its advisable to fuel your vehicle in Bomdila.

That was all and I shall update more posts related to my Tawang trip which will be very helpful for you.

Thanks and stay tuned.

PIN FOR LATER