Wednesday, September 18, 2024
Shergaon and Sherdukpens
The Travel Route
Every year I pick up a state in North East India and go for a visit through Chalohoppo, a travel experience company based out of the North East. Last two years, I had been to Nagaland and Meghalaya and this year I chose West Arunachal Pradesh. September was a good time as the Monsoon would be receding and it wouldn't be too cold. I reached out to two of my friends from College who joined me and we booked our slots and flight tickets.
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| The 3 Musketeers with Ashiq |
The plan was to drive up from Guwahati entering Arunachal and moving alongside Bhutan's eastern border to Tawang. Enroute we would be staying at Shergaon and Dirang before reaching Tawang, our final destination. We would also be going to the Indo-Chinese border from Tawang on one of the days. The overall round trip was for 8 days.
Arunachal Pradesh - Land of Tribes
Arunachal has a huge diversity of population and about 23 major tribes and 100 sub-tribes live in the state. To categorize the cultural spheres broadly, West Arunachal Pradesh is populated by the Monpas, a tribe who follow Tibetan Buddhism. In the lower areas near Shergaon, there is a Buddhist Animist tribe called Sherdukpen. Central Arunachal Pradesh is populated by the Tani tribes who are a Sino-tibetan ethnic group and migrated from their homelands into Arunachal and Assam. They are animists and have their own religion called Donyi-Polo. The Eastern part of Arunachal is populated by the Mishmi tribes who are predominantly animists.
Shergaon
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| Nick at the Choskorong Waterfall |
As we walked over a wooden bridge and across the streams passing by, we got to know various plants and berries from Cheje. We had to be careful about the stinging nettles which causes severe itching if it touches the skin, though interestingly its antidote called dock leaves grow just beside it - evolution at its best.
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| Cheje Tashi at the village Kakling |
Another interesting plant was a spice called ‘Timur’ which has a tingling sensation much like Schezwan pepper. There were many Rhododendron, Oak and Pine trees. Oak is used as fuel and its leaves are used for Mulching while Pine trees are used for making traditional houses.
As we walked, we encountered traditional wooden houses made without using nails, instead they use interlocking planks. At one of the entrances to the village, we got to see Kakling, a traditional welcome gate which had beautiful murals still preserved. Beyond the village, there were also sacred groves preserved by the locals and Mani stone stupas which are made in someone's memory or as resting places.
Dirang
After lunch, we set out for Dirang which was about 2 1/2 hours away further North. We reached in the evening and first visited the Thupsung Dhargye Ling Buddhist Monastery which was perched on a hill overlooking Dirang town. Relatively new, it was consecrated in 2017 and has amazing views of the surrounding areas from the top. It was almost a full moon night and the group spent some time walking around the temple before we left for Dirang Boutique Cottages where we would spend our night.
