North East lover, I wish to share experiences ....

Hi everybody !!
I am new on this fantastic website, I have hanged around the sections and I am very happy to be part of this special community: India addicted !!!

My first trip was in 1986 and last one in 2007, I will go again next March, I will marry Marco soon and this will be our honeymoon.... I can't wait !!!

My last two trips were Assam, Megalaya, Arunachal Pradesh. These are amazing places, for many reasons I fall in love with them. Nature is astonishing, people are really welcoming and so different from tribe to tribe, there is so much to discover and such a quite atmosphere.
The Bramhaputra, the Mighty Bramha, it must be seen and crossed, the scenary is just gorgeous !!

During these two trips our curiosity has increased and our honeymoon will be half spent there.

We will spend a couple of weeks at the seaside (Gokarn, Goa) and after fly to Guwahati, then "Wild Grass Lodge" at Kaziranga ...

Has anyone suggestions for a motorbybe tour from Karnataka to Goa ??

I will be very happy to give a small help to those who wants to visit North East and have no idea of what they'll find.

I add some pictures of my 2005 trip.

GDurgaC

Hello gdurgac, welcome to the site

One of your excellent photos was not displaying, so we removed it. Maybe you got the extension wrong, or something. Maybe try again on the next post?

Hi Nick-H, thank you for the help !!
I am really enjoying this site and like very much the photo section, wow, really a lot to see, thanks to every photographer !
I am adding some of mine ......

Ciao

Our photo session is full of gems: I try to see the new ones every day.

Excellent pictures.I have plans to visit arunachal this may,2009.i plan to visit Tawang in particular covering dirang,bomdila,cherrapunji if possible kaziranga.If i reach these places how easy is it to get a sumo (i guess sumo is necessary for sight seeing) for sight seeing.Do you think i need to rent out entire sumo since i am travelling alone and wish to take pictures all along the way.is it possible.or should i hop into the jeeps running from tezpur-bomdila-tawang.the agent charges me 41000 for the program.sorry for posting too many questions.

Hi Santos_g15, your tour sounds very interesting and quite easy to organize but I'd like to know how many days you can (the Arunachal permit was for 10 days but it must last longer now !!) to travel through Assam, Megalaya and Arunachal P.

Anyway, for the moment I can tell you that:

1. it is very easy to rent a Sumo with driver and YES, it is much better to enjoy the amazing landscapes, it is a must if you wish to take nice shots.

2. the price for a Sumo, in 2007 was around 1000\1500 rps per day (with driver, no gas) we were 4 friends sharing.

3. roads are very hard to drive and it takes quite a long time to reach close places so when leaving AP you must stop for the night in Assam.

Half May the Kaziranga Park could be closed but if you can visit after AP you will not regret it !!!
It is a great experience to be so close to the white rinhos and the elephant ride is the best way.

We stopped in Wild Grass Lodge (both trips), everything is perfect for a relaxing stay (especially AFTER hard Arunachal !!!) atmosphere, rooms, food, employees, the owners ..
It's sourrounded by a beautiful park and it's managed and build with a strong attention to eco problems and the impact on the area.
They can arrange for the Park and for a new Sumo to move to Megalaya
It's worth a stop, believe me !!!

4. Cherrapunjee is a very special place, I visited on April, we spent 3 days at the Cherrapunjee Resort (the name must be this !! anyway I saw a lot of post recommending it is easy to refind it).

Nature is absolutely beautiful, very wild like all over the North East Sisters, but there is very poetic, full of waterfalls and everything in the middle of an incredible dance of the clouds- The sky will surprise you for how it changes the landscapes around you. We saw clouds dancing but we had few rains, only on the evening and night but ..... what a rain !!!!

To reach the place from Kaziranga area you must stop in Shillong.
It takes too mach time to drive there directly.
My suggestion is: a drive to the closest bus station near Kaziranga, reach Shillong, sleep there, go to Cherra by bus, taxi to the Resort.
If you have time .. otherwise you need sumo.

5. May is very beautiful because of the blooming season, flowers are all over, it's so fantastic !
The best season ends half April, after that time the heat is encreasing but we enjoyed very much, we spent one month there and left the 20 May.

I hope I helped you a little !!

These are very general suggestions, ask me more if you want !!

Thanks for the hep.It helped me a lot.sad to say ,had to drop cherrapunji and kaziranga off the tour.i have realized they are worthy enough for a seperate tour.I am now covering only arunachal in 6 days.

Those photos brought back so many memories. I've got all teary now.
Don't forget to stay in thr Broadway hotel in Shillong. Truly lovely people working there.
I was there for three weeks.
Meghalaya is awesome.
Assam blew me away.
Shillong was so lovely. Verdant fresh cool nights, and the food was out of this world.
No hassle with shopkeepers. Such a pleasure after Guwahati.
I have a hotel report in the hotels section.
Beware of the zoo at shillong, very bad karma there.

Well, the Tawang tour is perfect for one week trip.
You will enjoy the drivevery much, the landscapes and the Sela Pass.
Tawang Monastery seems to be out of time and in another world .... have a nice vacation Santos !!!

Ciao !!! GDurgaC

I know what you mean ................

Hello gdurgac, and welcome to India Mike! I am very happy to see you here as I am also planning a trip to Arunachal Pradesh via Assam & Meghalaya for March/April this year. The tentative itinerary is as follows:

Day 1: Kolkata to Dibrugarh (by plane)
Day 2: Dibrugarh to Pasighat (ferry crossing of Brahmaputra)
Day 3: Pasighat
Day 4: Pasighat
Day 5: Pasighat to Along
Day 6: Along to Mechuka
Day 7: Along
Day 8: Along to Daporizo
Day 9: Daporizo to Ziro
Day 10: Ziro
Day 11: Ziro to Itanagar
Day 12: Itanagar
Day 13: Itanagar to Kaziranga (stay probably at Wild Grass)
Day 14: Kaziranga
Day 15: Kaziranga - Bhalakpung - Shillong
Day 16: Elephanta waterfalls
Day 17: Shillong to Bomdila
Day 18: Bomdila
Day 19: Bomdila to Dirang
Day 20: Dirang
Day 21: Dirang to Tawang
Day 22: Tawang
Day 23: Tawang
Day 24: Tawang to Zemithang (excursion)
Day 25: Tawang to Guwahati by helicopter and Guwahati to Kolkata by connecting flight.


I may have questions later, but so far this is the route, and we are happy with it.

My questions to you, gdurgac, are: Did you yourselves visit Siang province (i.e. Pasighat, Mechuka)? What were the roads like? Do you have any advice to give? Is it possible to book ahead the Government Circuit House in Mechuka? Any contacts?

Thanks.

theyyamdancer your route seems OK ...are you going to visit Majuli in this trip ? Which route have you planned to take on Day 13 of this trip ?

Hi Swapnil. No, no plans for visiting Majuli this time. Would it be on our way? Still sorting out the route which needs to be very slow to accommodate one elderly passenger and two lazy ones!

yes it can be done on Day 13 of your trip (though I'll suggest to add one more extra day here ) ...only problem is that you need to cross river 3 times by ferry service ..route will be like Itangar - North Lakhimpur(take right turn here) - Panigaon -Cross river twice by ferry to reach Majuli as road further is broken ...& take another ferry from Kalabari(2 hours approx. last ferry leaves at 3 pm) to reach Jorhat & further you can proceed towards Kaziranga from there ...

Interesting, though I think our trip is long enough as it is! Bearing in mind that we are trying to pace ourselves to accommodate an elderly gentleman also, I think that Majuli would have to be ommited. It certainly looks like a very interesting place. I remember the programme by Michael Palin "Himalayas". If and when I visit there I'd ideally like to stay a while not rush through it.