Tawang - The Land Of Monpas
It was in Mar 08, that I made this fantastic drive to Tawang, the beautiful land of Monpas in the western most corner of enchanting Arunachal Pradesh, tucked in the cascading hills close to the China border. We were a duo team and it was a week long trip planned. We set course from Kaziranga, near Tezpur early in the morning (in North-east the day break being early, its very ideal to drive in morning hours) crossed Arunachal border near Balukpong and started climbing to a height of about 5000 feet above MSL and reached a place called Tenga by noon. We decided to stay put at Tenga for two reasons. Firstly, that the next night halt was planned at Tawang which was further 10 hrs drive and night driving out there is not advisable. Secondly, we could take ample rest to energize for rest of the adventurous drive ahead.
Next day we commenced our journey early in the morning to Tawang. The drive further was a steep climb up. We crossed places like Sapper, Bomdilla, Dirang (famous for kiwi fruit) before finally reaching Tawang….all through out it was sheer beauty that was all encompassing; be it serpentine roads, cascading mountains, road side rivers, sleepy hamlets, misty mountains, colorfully dressed people, alpine trees, fast changing skies etc; the adventurous stretch was the Sela pass, which is at a height of about 14000’ above MSL. During the climb up, visibility was almost nil due to foggy weather conditions. The roads too posed a challenge due to the snow spilled all around and I was indeed apprehensive about my Maruti Alto being able to negotiate herself out of that eerie and rugged terrain …but at the end, yes we were at the top where it was brightly sunlit and the visibility appeared good. Then it was the climb down, but now that the fear had been conquered, we could stop where ever we wished to pose n remove some photographs…but the lack of oxygen at that altitude was insufficient to keep us cheerful and we had to rush down the slope as we were not acclimatized for high altitude stay.
Once we reached Tawang, we stayed put and took ample rest. Next day we had plans to visit Boumlla pass, to take a peep at the Chinese soldiers across the border and Sangetsar lake (famous for Madhuri Dixit shoot for the movie Koyla) but the weather gods weren’t happy and the roads were not clear due to heavy snowing; nevertheless, on the third day of wait for weather clearance, I couldn’t contain myself and drove further up till about 13 km from Tawang …but then my small car was getting into thicker snow on the road, so I had turn back lest I got into some serious trouble or else I needed iron chains to wrap around the tyres for further climb for which I was not equipped (Sturdier vehicles like Tavera and Scorpio are better recommendations). Mean while we visited the Tawang monastry which is believed to be the second oldest in Asia (about 400 years old), war memorial, handicraft emporium and local markets (pretty costly…eh, can bargain a little though). After 5 days of exploring this splendid land, we started back. Half the joy of the Tawang odyssey was in the drive itself. Snaking through the hypnotic mountain roads alongside clear n roaring streams and pristine landscapes was the ultimate experience.
Driving down was joyful with the thought that we have accomplished something great, but it was sad too since we had to leave those magical landscapes behind. The fact is that this part of the country is not well known to all, may be a little bit of advertising and awareness will attract more adventurists and tourists. And I am sure, once they visit these places, they may ask themselves “why spend so much money visiting places abroad like Switzerland?” It is truly addictive.
Though Tawang is accessible through out the year, the best time to be around is Oct to mid Dec after which it starts snowing till about Feb unless you are a snow freak. Apr to Sep witness the Pre- monsoons and monsoon seasons when rainfall activity is fairly wide spread and one may be lucky to encounter couple of landslides en-route. Thankfully, this part of the North east is not infested by the insurgency menace and you will find Indian Army’s presence all around taking care of a safe environment.