My travelogue to the Land of the Dawn-Lit Mountains.

Hi Friends, and a warm welcome to a world of peace serenity and beauty. Let me take you all with me on my sojourn - An unforgettable trip to my dream destination - The Land of the Dawn-lit Mountains - Arunachal Pradesh.

Preparation Phase -
As any travel freak would agree, the preparation phase is simply the best part of any trip. Most of my IM friends were aware of my preparation details. However, I am repeating them in detail here, for the convenience of future travellers.
I begin my travelogue by thanking Mr. Rampal(the manager of Hotel Gayki Khang Zhang in Tawang), without whom our trip would not have been as memorable as it has been. This is the man who helped us with all the arrangements involved in the trip, and thus saving us the trouble of having to arrange it through some tour operator.
Once we finalised our destination for our winter break, the first thing we did was booking of our flight tickets from Kolkata to Guwahati and return tickets back to Kolkata.Our tickets to Guwahati were booked for 24th December and the return tickets from Guwahati were on 1st January 2012.
We then started sorting through different hotels in Arunachal on the internet, we made a call to Tawang's Hotel Gayki Khang Zhang to enquire if they have a room for the period when we would be visiting. The manager of the hotel, Mr. Rampal replied in affirmative and told me about the rates of the rooms. On enquiring if he would be able to arrange a reserved vehicle for us for the entire trip, he told me that they do arrange a vehicle package, which includes pick up from Guwahati airport,travel through the desired places, and drop back to Guwahati Airport at the end of the trip. We already knew vehicle rates are quite high in Arunachal Pradesh. Rampal arranged a car for us at the rate of Rs. 3500/- per day. He also offered to book the hotels at the other places we intended to stay, namel, Bomdilla, Dirang,Bhalukpong and a wildlife sanctuary in Assam which would either be Kaziranga or Pobitora Wildlife Sanctuary. Unfortunately we didn't get any accommodation in Kaziranga during our intended dates visit, as it was high season there, the dates being 30th and 31st December. Hence we booked a resort near Pobitora Wildlife Sanctuary for those dates.
Having done all the bookings, our next job was to get our Inner Line Permit. We went to Arunachal Bhawan in Salt Lake,Kolkata and submitted the forms for Inner Line Permits. Cost of Form is Rs.5/- and ILP per person is Rs.20/-.
The permits were handed over to me after one week of applying.
We made some advance payments to the hotels that we had booked so as to confirm the room bookings. Rampal refused advance payment for his Hotel told us to make the advance payments only for the other hotels. He booked us the Executive Suite Room in his Hotel Gayki Khang Zhang and told us to make any kind of payment only after we reach there.
All preparations now being over we started the count down to our most awaited trip to the Land of the Dawn-lit Mountains.

(...to be contd.)

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Hmmmm. Its like stepping into a newly opened restaurant from an otherwise master chef, being treated to a sweet surprise after tasting their appetizer; and greedily look forward to the main course.

Your contribution to the Sikkim thread is without any doubt, one of the most significant of all contributions. However, we had yearn to read a travelogue written by you...and here it is, finally. Fab start cutiepie, I could make out what's in store for us, from the first post. Just write your heart out, that's all I can say.

I am no one to suggest anything, but here's a thought (or a personal request)- Please don't hesitate in writing a long TR (if you want to, of course ). There might be many who won't go through all the words, but trust me the few (like me) who would go through, would savour it like Arsalan's Biriyani.

I'd be eagerly looking forward to reading this report. The only reason I liked the film 'Koyla' was because of the locations where it was filmed. I am sure you'll paint a picture in words for us mortals to visualize.

thanks sagarneel.guess you said it for all.lol

Finally here we are... The long awaited travelogue from one of the most informative traveller in the Sikkim forum. I have started loving it.

As I already mentioned you , I have read you Bhutan log at least hundreds time, and I loved the pics. Arunachal has always been one of the most fascinating place in India and one of these in my dream list. A TL of that place that too from a you is something really really special. I am glued on to this thread and would be eagerly waiting for a loads of snaps.

I can foresee a recession hitting India soon .

Anyway, I won't hijack this thread, and would silently await the next instalment!

We were busy packing even late after midnight the previous day. Everything was kept till the last minute somehow, and we kept remembering some thing or the other to pack in our bags. This resulted in our finally going to bed at a very late hour. Our flight on 24th Dec was at 10.55 a.m.

I slept barely for a couple of hours. Most of the night was spent in checking my mobile phone for the time. I was afraid we would miss the alarm and be late. However for that day, as a very rare exception, I didn't really need an alarm to wake me. I was wide awake much before my alarm went off. The last minute packings like tooth-brush, slippers etc. were yet to be done. So I jumped out of bed, while my hubby was still in his world of dreams, sleeping peacefully. I shook him awake a while later. We both got ready in record time. Our driver was waiting to take us to the airport. After a light breakfast of coffee and cakes, we bid farewell to our family and started off at 8.30 a.m. The airport is about half an hour away from our place.

A small fear lurked at the back of our minds. The weather that morning was very very foggy. The last time when we had gone to Bhutan, our return flight was cancelled due to foggy weather. We were really apprehensive about whether today's flight would leave on time. We just prayed that our flight should not be cancelled. With a certain degree of uncertainty we moved towards the airport, and the foggy weather was a big dampener on our excited spirits.

We reached Kolkata Airport at around 9.15 a.m, the delay of the 15 mins being on account of the traffic jam which is inevitable in Kolkata.

We checked in our baggage and checked in ourselves. Luckily we got a window seat, and now our first wish was that the flight take off, and our second wish was, a view of the mighty Kanchandzonga from the plane.

A very long and tedious Security check followed. There was a long line, specially the ladies line was unending. I saw that my hubby had long back finished his security check and was waiting patiently for me, while I was still a long way to go. To add to the delay, a host of famous Tollywood actors came for security check just then and way was made for them so that they didn't have to wait in line. Good for them, but agony for us. More delay. Departure time of the flight was 10.55, and I was still not through with my security check at 10.45.

Panic started building. Would I miss my flight? Was this the end to all my excitement? Wasn't the foggy weather a big concern itself and now it had to be topped with the ordeal of having to go through the never ending security check. I looked with pathetic eyes towards my hubby and he gave me a reassuring smile. Well, I got through the security check finally, 5 minutes before the departure time. We rushed to the Gate and were ushered in.

We took our seats.With bated breath we waited for the flight to take off and not get delayed due to weather, when suddenly an announcement came through that due to extreme bad weather at Guwahati, the flight would be delayed as the landing visibility in Guwahati is not enough. It was announced that the visibility required is 1200 metres whereas the current visibility is 200 metres. All our hopes were dashed. We were very skeptical about our trip now. It was 11.10 a.m. Already 15 minutes gone. Slowly the time crept on, an our disappointment kept building. We were now again being updated on the slowly improving weather condition. Around 11.45 we were told that the visibility is 800 metres. At 12.05 the plane finally started coming to life and with a whooooosh it took off the runway. Relieved is a under-rated word if I say what we were feeling. Our trip was on and we were on our way.

We rose above the clouds and sank back in our seats. Flipped through magazines, took a few aerial shots in my mobile( camera was in the bag in the compartment overhead). Gazed at the soft white clouds for a long time and finally could see the Brahmaputra Basin from up above.

Today we would have got anything we had asked for. As we were gazing into the white cotton of clouds suddenly the peaks of Kanchandzonga came to our left.Though our seat was at the right window, we could see the peaks clearly. The sun so high up above was falling directly on the peak and Mt. Kanchandzonga was shining like gold.

All at once the aircraft took a clean U-turn and lo-behold, the Queen came towards our right and we could now see it without any obstruction. We were mesmerized.
What a moment. Seeing Mt. K from the top is an experience to cherish for life.
The golden moments passed and we again sank back in the clouds. An announcement came through that the visibility not being clear enough they were holding the landing, and we just kept hovering in the air for the next 20 minutes till the pilot found the visibility suitable for landing.

We landed smoothly in Guwahati, in the Lokpriya Gopinath Bordoloi International Airport. The weather was charming. Cloudy and foggy, almost misty. We had already got a call from our driver in Guwahati,while we were still in Kolkata. He was waiting for us there and after collecting our baggages, we proceeded towards the exit. Our driver,whose name is Uddhab Das, located us and we boarded the cab and from here our journey towards Arunachal Pradesh started.

We started off at 1.30 p.m. Guwahati is a nice city, neat and clean and roads are good.We stopped at an ATM and picked up some cash. Then continued our journey. At around 3.30 we stopped at a dhaba for lunch. We had the most amazing noodles and chilli chicken. After having replenished ourselves we started off once again. We reached Tezpur at around 5.30 p.m. It was very dark by now.We bought some oranges from there. Uddhap was telling us again and again that the road to Bhalukpong after Tezpur would be very very bad and he was trying to coax us into staying in Tezpur for the night instead of driving further to Bhalukpong, just to save his own energy. But we already had our hotel booked in Bhalukpong. Bhalukpong being just 2 hours from Tezpur, nothing in the world would make us stay in Tezpur instead of Bhalukpong which is a very beauiful place. It is the just the foothills of Arunachal Pradesh from where the ascent to the mountains start.

After we crossed Tezpur, we came to a place called Balipara. The roads after Balipara were awful. Broken, under repair, dust, stones, rocks... these were the roads. Really no words to describe the pathetic condition of the roads.

Our phone networks went off soon. We were trying to locate an STd booth so that we could inform the hotel in Bhalukpong that we would arrive shortly and to tell them to keep some dinner for us.This was because the driver told us that if we don’t inform them now we wouldn’t get dinner as they go to sleep very early,and take orders for dinner early in the evening. I wish he had todl us this a couple of hours back when we had our phone network. Uddhab told us that we would have to be without network for the entire trip.Anyway we couldnt get any phone booth and the only things visible was bad roads and jungle and small small villages on both sides.It looked lovely even in the dark.

We reached the entry check point to Bhalukpong at 7.15, and the driver went to show our permits to the Policemen. We then entered Arunachal Pradesh!!

We reached our Hotel at 7.45 p.m. Hotel Solu is situated beside the river Jia Bhoroli, which is one of the main tributaries of the Brahmaputra.

We were shown to our room. It was a very nice room,the atmosphere was homely, and the lady at the reception was very very nice and polite.The hotel is basically a very simple one, The room we were given was the best one that they had(courtesy Rampal). Charges were Rs.1500/- per night. It had a stting room with sofas and a dining table and a separate bedroom.We went to the reception again and called back in Kolkata to inform our parents about our safe arrival and then went upstairs to our room after ordering a couple of cups of coffee. The rooms were clean and so was the washroom. After our long journey we were just waiting to freshen up. Hence we took long hot baths and ordered dinner. Dinner was chappatis and a chicken dish, and my hubby also ordered a local dish made with chicken and bamboo. Though he liked it, I didnt like it much.

After dinner, we lazed around for a while, sat in the balcony, clicked some photographs and most importantly breathed the Arunachal air. We were supposed to start off the next morning at 7.00 a.m hence we decided to call it a day. After spending a considerable amount of time in the balcony, looking at our surroundings and hearing the sound of the river, we retired to bed.

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Thanks mithun. Will try my best to give you all a very informative article. Have posted Day 1. the rest of the Days will follow soon. Snaps will also come soon, would request you to bear with me till I have sorted out the photographs.

Thanks for the motivation. Will try to keep up to the expectation

wonderful report. please finish asap

cutiepie ,

I never had the aerial view of Mt K. , however watched a lots of snaps of Mt K taken from flight, and I can understand the excitement that you had while having the aerial view of that beautiful massif. Would be eagerly waiting for some snaps of that. Please pardon me , if I am demanding too much - but can’t help myself - I always have a fascination about Arunachal.

When I was in Sillery Gaon , I have heard regarding his(Dilip Tamang) only trip outside Sikkim or West Bengal and that was in Arunachal 7-8 years back. He was talking about how did he walked the long way from Bhalukpong to Tawang due to unavailability of shared vehicle. He also mentioned how beautiful Sela Pass and lake was covered by silvery white snow. The chilly wind , the altitude was hitting him like anything. It was already evening and he couldn't walk any further that day , he deadly needed a rest and finally managed to spend the night in a nearby village @Rs 30.The next morning he again started walking toward Tawang. He was describing about How beautiful the Monastery campus was.

I have seen so many pics of that beautiful place , might even be aware of most of the turns of road(Through the pics and the trip reports available), but till date never been there physically. But lot many nights in my dream I have found myself standing in front of Tawang Monastrey and Madhuri Lake or driving toward Bam La , or walking toward Vijaynagar through the MV Road accompanied by a Lizu and many many more. I wake up in the morning and find myself in this real world.

I have got a way to temporarily lost myself in the beautiful world of Arunachal - atleast for now through your trip log.. So please share as much detail as possible(Both information as well as your emotions of every minute). Thank you for bringing this on.

You are not alone. I can also say the same.

Here I am spending time to google the WWW for as much information as I can gather on Tawang with very limited success, for my proposed Christmas 2012 trip and you decide to provide me with a detailed travelogue.

Thanks in advance and hoping to see the photographs of the rooms also to judge their suitability for my stay.

Mithun..
Unfortunately, no snap of the aerial view of Mt K As I already mentioned in my post the camera was in the bag, and I only had my mobile for the pics. And more unfortunately my mobile phone, though very good, doesnt zoom Hence teh only photos from the flighta re those of clouds and clouds and more clouds...could not capture the Mt. K. This would be a regret for me for my entire life too, that I couldnt capture the moment. Although the sight will be etched in my mind forever.

You are right in your fascination for Arunachal.It is indeed a beautiful place.I am amazed to hear that someone walked from Bhalukpong to Tawang. its a huge huge distance.

Yes the Monastery is beautiful, (it is the second largest in Asia), and Madhuri Lake is out of the world. However one thing which touched me most was a nunnery(monastery for women)in Tawang, about which I will tell in detail later on in the due course of my travelogue.

I will definitely share as much information that I have. Will also share the room snaps and the tariff. Hope to help you in any way that I can, and please feel free to clarify any kind of queries.

Thank you. Will try to finish it as soon as I can

Good start, cutiepie, the excitement is building up! Don't you just feel like an intrepid explorer when you enter the mountain roads of West Kameng District and begin the ascent from the plains towards Tawang?