In and around Tawang

 The Road to the Tibet Border

The road to Tawang from Chug Valley took around 6 hours and we took the Sela Tunnel instead of going up the pass. We would cover Sela Lake on our way back. Passing by JaswantGarh War Memorial, we reached our homestay late evening.

Tseten Homestay is a lovely place located at the entrance of Tawang Town about 3 Kms before the Market area. This would be our base for the next 2 days as we explore Tawang and its nearby sights. Next day morning, we decided to travel to the Indo-china border as there was a possibility of rain the day after and we didn't want to take the chance.

Way to Holy Waterfalls

There are various border points and most tourists go to the Bumla Pass which is the route the Dalai Lama had taken to escape to India. However, we travelled up to Chumig Gyatse Holy Waterfalls, where recently a border road has been built. 

The Holy Waterfalls has significance in that it is a sacred place in Arunachal Pradesh which was blessed by Guru Padmasambhava (also known as Guru Rinpoche by the Tibetans), the great yogi and tantric master who lived in the 8th century AD. It is also the location where the Yangtse clash took place between the Indian Army and the Chinese People's Liberation Army on the night of December 9, 2022. Violent clashes took place between the two armies which confronted each other with nail-studded clubs on a ridgeline above the waterfalls.

At the Waterfalls

To reach here, we travelled towards Bumla pass, then 6 kms before Bumla, one takes an eastward turn. The scenery around the lake and the pass (at an altitude of 4,200 meters) leaves you spellbound. Of course, one encounters a heavy military presence, due to the proximity of the border and the constant Chinese belligerence. 

The drive goes past Panga Teng Tso lake and we stop for a bit at Gribtsang Tso (Nagula Lake). Then after driving through the high plateau, one reaches grazing grounds and further ahead a thickly forested area with extremely old and tall pine trees. From there, we can see the gorges further down with the river flowing below after which sharp turns on the road high above climbs up to the ridge.

Chug Valley and Bishum-Phudung

Chug Valley

The Chug Valley is about 10 Kms from Dirang and offers an unique experience of Monpa culture and its culinary practices. Once we reached there, we were greeted by Lekyi, a Monpa woman from a neighbouring village who took us around the fields and the valley. 

We first went to see a Chuskor which is an indigenous technique of Monpa community to grind millets and grains by using flowing water to run a wooden turbine. We then got to know about making Mon Shugu which is a traditional handmade paper used in Monasteries and prayer wheels. All around were fields where we could see oranges, kiwis and other seasonal fruits being grown. 

We then went up to the Village Gompa. In the Center of the fields was an impressive sitting statue of Guru Rinpoche or Padmasambhava, the founder of Tibetan Buddhism. 

After walking through the fields, we went up to the old village. Enroute, we met some locals who were dry roasting corn to make it into a snack (Kakung) and we stopped to watch and taste it. 

The old village was a quaint collection of original Monpa houses. We were led to a 100 year old house for lunch and it was an unique fusion dining experience blending traditional Monpa cuisine with contemporary culinary techniques. Run by a group of ladies from the village, this curated experience turned out to be one of the top highlights of our trip.

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. 

The 3 Musketeers with Ashiq

Three other women solo travelers were in our group and I was happy that two Trip Leaders who I had met in my earlier travels were joining us. One was Nick Doley who is from Majuli, Assam and Vikho was from Nagaland who I had met during the Nagaland trip 2 years back. We also had Pawan who was from Manipur and joined Chalohoppo recently. Ashiq was our driver whose patience and happy disposition was crucial for a smooth drive through the long roads of Arunachal. 

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.