[sunilg33]

With the peak northeast season arriving I am somehow able to complete the thread of the last years trip to the north east. I hope it will be useful for others traveling this year.

The seven sisters in the northeast are luring a lot of tourists these days and I was one of them who got tempted by them. I had driven to Ladakh from Bangalore a couple of years back in an Ecosport- August 2014 to be exact. So I had the confidence for a northeast drive. Tried to do in Dec 2015 last year but did not find enough partners.
But things fell into place this time and It would be with my friends from college.

The planning for the trip started in October and I started to draw the final plan in November. The plan was to drive to Sikkim and nearby regions with my friends XUV500 AWD with 6 of us. Typical of what happens during a long trip - 6 became 4 by November. By the second week of November one more person dropped and this time it was the XUV owner, now the entire trip was in a jeopardy. But thanks to my two other friends Sidhu and Madhu who had made up their mind for travel, they desperately needed a break from the busting Bangalore life and traffic, so was me.
But without the XUV the only option was my Ecosport. During the Ladakh drive of 9000 Kms, it drove well, however it suffered from turbo lag at higher altitudes and a lot of wheel-spin from the MRF ZV2K's. Also, I was the lone driver and felt the drive till we reach northeast could be very strenuous so dropped the plan of driving from Bangalore and changed the plan to hire a self-drive from Guwahati. So we decided to take 13 days off. 11 Days for the trip with 1 Day buffer.
HVK and his team helped us in the planning and they guided us for the entire trip and we are very grateful to them.

From my experience of Ladakh what I felt was Small petrol Cars drive the best in the hills. They don’t suffer much from turbo lag and owing to their small footprint it's easy to push them if they get stuck. Also helps in negotiating the narrow roads. So evaluated various self-drive options and the only Self-drive with some decent reviews was Awerides (Zoomcars wasn't available then but available now). Tried to book an alto with them but most of the cars were booked according to them and they offered a 22k Run Chevrolet Beat. Had to book and paid the advance[25%] through online transfer. In the final two weeks before the trip, the plan changed to Tawang-Assam-Meghalaya as temperatures were already sub-zero in Sikkim. We planned to cover Tawang, Kaziranga, Dawki, Mawlynong, Chirapunjee, and Shillong

The final plan looked like this
DEC16: Bangalore-Guwahati-Bhalukhpong
DEC17: Bhalukhpong-Bomdila-Dirang
DEC18: Dirang-Se la-Tawang
DEC19: Tawang-Bum la-Tawang
DEC20: Tawang-Bhalukhpong
DEC21: Bhalukhpong-Tezpur-Kaziranga
DEC22: Kaziranga
DEC23: Kaziranga-Shillong
DEC24: Shillong-Dawki-Mawlynnong
DEC25: Mawlynnong-Cherapunjee
DEC26: Cherapunjee-Shillong
DEC27: Shillong-Guwahati
DEC28: Guwahati-Bangalore

Packing for the Trip: Couldn’t spend enough time in packing but took some must-have equipment for the car - A tow Rope, Tire Inflator, Puncture Kit, dash cam and a Fire extinguisher.
Packed some snacks as well.

So finally the day Dec16 arrived.
We left Bangalore by an early morning Indigo flight and landed in Guwahati by 10 AM.
We need Inner line permits to visit Tawang. There are 3 ways to get it
1> Online - We tried it but did not get due to lack of a local reference. I.e. Someone who stays in Tawang
2> At Guwahati airport - We got this way
3> At the DC office in Guwahati, its even provided at Tezpur and Bhulakpong- This was our backup plan if it's not possible
at the airport


ALL SET


DAY 1:
Plan: Guwahati - Bhalukhpong, Distance - 237 kms
After we landed at the airport we went to the Arunachal Pradesh Stall in the Arrival hall and it wasn’t yet opened. It finally opened at 10:45.
The process is very easy and takes 15-20 minutes, we have to submit 2 passport size photographs of the travelers along with our ID proof. We were charged around 350 each. It's cheaper using the other means but the time saved and the ease of getting it makes the ILP at the airport the best option for people who are traveling to Guwahati by Air.
Once we collected the ILP's we left to pick up our car at Awerides. Its located inside Guwahati near Zoo road. We reached the location at 12 and the documentation to handover the car is very lengthy and frustrating. You are required to give them a local reference address and number, pay the remaining amount in advance and also leave your original id proof with them. All this took almost an hour and we were handed over the car at around 1PM. The car looked clean and once we started putting our luggage onto the boot I was surprised at the ridiculous size of it. The mounted speakers in the boot tray made it even more difficult. It could only take a couple of duffle bags and the rest of the luggage had to be dumped in the back seat.
We started our journey towards Bholukpong we exited Guwahati and hit the Guwahati Shillong highway. The car seemed to just fine in Guwahati city traffic. Once we hit the highway there was noise heard and the noise increased with the speed. After driving for an hour we felt that sound was not from the engine but from to Wheels or suspension. We called Awerides technical person and he told that the sound is there from at least 6 months and is due to the silencer modification. It wasn’t convincing and we asked for an alternative car and they refused saying that all other cars are booked. We did not have an option but to continue and as we drove further the noise became very irritating and at speeds of 80 it was like driving a lorry.
We slowly reached Tezpur and just when we entered Tezpur found a Chevrolet Service center. We wanted to get the car checked.
Thanks to the mechanics there they found that the rear wheel bearing had gone kaput. The tire had an uneven thread wear a clear sign that the issue was there from a long term. It was mainly because of lack of maintenance from the rental agency awerides in this case. The confidence and the feeling of safety in a well maintained own car is something rented cars can never match.

Thanks to Chevrolets crumbling service network, the new bearing was not available and they promised to get it by next day afternoon. We did not have an option but to stay back that day in a nearby hotel. We hit the bed with disappointment at the way the day ended. The hotel was nothing to talk about.

Road conditions: Very good double laned roads until Nagaon and slightly undulated single lane road after that.

On the Kolia Bhomora Bridge before tezpur




Day 2
Target: Tezpur to bomdilla
Day 2 was a lazy start as the spare part was to arrive in the afternoon. We checked out from the hotel at 11 and had our breakfast in Honeyvalley hotel. The restaurant is a must visit. It's right after the bridge just before you enter Tezpur.
Thankfully the new bearing had arrived and was fixed in 30 minutes. The diagnosis was right and the sound vanished with the new bearing. The new bearing cost us around 4700 rupees which the rental agency promised to reimburse.
We got the car by around 12:30 and we headed towards Bomdilla. The road from Tezpur to Bholukpong was excellent and we reached bholukpong in an hour. Just when we enter bholukpong we will find a checkpost to the left. We got down there to get our Permits checked, the police officer there asked for 100 rupees citing some entry fees. It was bribe rather than a fee. We paid as we did not have enough time to argue with the policemen.
As we left bholukpong the tarmac and the landscape started changing. Within 10 km the bad roads with beautiful landscape started. We took a break at a temple which is at midway between bholukpong and Bomdilla. And as we reached Pangi there was a roadblock, a loaded truck had broken down on a steep incline. We lost further 45 mins waiting for a Jcb to arrive and push the truck aside.
The temperature started to drop fast and it was damn cold. I had done Ladakh in August and had never experienced so much cold there. One important thing to note while driving to northeast is the fact that it gets fully dark by 5. It's a bit risky to drive after it gets dark and even the locals prefer not to drive after it gets dark. By the time we reached Bomdilla it was 6:30 and the city was already rolling down the shutters. Northeast(apart from Guwahati) wakes up normally but goes to bed very early.
I was quite tired after driving on the twisty bad roads. It was freezing cold at bomdilla, weather online was showing 3 degrees, but felt way lower than that
Road conditions: Very good roads till Bhalukhpong, patches of average and bad roads till Bomdilla
Stay: Lungta residency, Right in the center of Bomdilla. Clean rooms with good food.


Just After Bholukpong




At the temple




Look at the time


Day 3
Target: Bomdilla to Tawang
We left Bomdilla quite early at 7. As we drove more on the bad roads the car started making new sounds which was a bit unnerving. I drove carefully which resulted in losing quite some time. The roads were again patchy but the views made for it. The landscape was stunning as we climbed towards Sela pass. We were quite worried about the roads near sela pass but to our surprise the roads leading to Sela pass were just laid and were in excellent condition. Sela lake had started to freeze. On the way, we visited Jaswanthgarh fort. You get some good views from here. We reached Tawang by evening and checked in to the hotel. We wanted to do Bum la the next day which requires separate permits apart from the ILP to Tawang. When we enquired at the hotel they told that it's not possible as its already evening, on HVK's advice we went to the town and enquired about the possibilities with various travel agencies. Being a Sunday most of them were closed and finally, one agent agreed to get us the permits. We paid him extra for the same and also booked a Sumo for us to travel, all as a package.
Even though we can do Bumla in our own vehicle I did not have the confidence to do it in the Beat due to the ground clearance and condition of the vehicle. We went back to the hotel, had a good dinner and slept for the day. We had taken a suite room on the last floor and we realized that it was not so great an idea. It had a big balcony and the windows did not give good insulation from the outside cold. Most of the hotels switch off the generators at around 11-12 in the night to save on the diesel. It can get very cold during the nights even with the thickest blankets.

Road conditions: Around 15 Kms of very good roads on the climb to sela, rest of them are a mix of average and bad roads.
Stay: Dolma khangsar guest house : They switch off the generator in the night which makes it extremely cold. The rooms were clean and the food with limited options was good.


@sela pass

Started to freeze








Day 4
It was supposed supposed to be a drive free day. The plan was to visit Bum La pass and visit the Chinese border and madhuri lake(sangetsar lake).
We woke up at 6 AM drove to the pickup point near our hotel and waited for the Sumo to arrive. The sumo arrived at 7 AM with 7 onboard so it was 11 including us and the driver. We somehow squeezed in started the journey towards Bum La pass. Within few minutes of the drive, we started gaining altitude rapidly. The road started deteriorating and would have been very risky in the Beat. We were checked for valid papers multiple times on the way to Bum la pass. The driver got down and we would remain in the car. We got down a couple of time for some snaps. The views were breathtaking.

We reached the border area in an hour. We got down from the vehicle and were guided by Army officers to a hall where we were server delicious Halwa and tea. Once we had it they took us further to the border and showed the current positions of the Chinese and the Indian side. They allowed us to take pictures at the border but requested us not to post them online due to security reasons. They escorted us back to the Sumo.
We then left to Madhuri lake, the road from Bum la Pass to Madhuri lake was covered in a thin blanket of snow in some places and it could have been tricky to negotiate few as they were present at steep inclines as well. The sumo did suffer from some wheel spin at times but made it without much difficulty. After half an hours drive we reached Madhuri lake. Officially its actually called Sangetsar lake and is maintained by the Army. The lake is absolutely unspoiled and pristine. The lake got its name as Madhuri lake as a song from the film koyla in which Madhuri Dixit was starred was shot here. The lake is beautiful and you can easily spend a couple of hours just looking at it. ]

We came back by 2PM had our lunch and then visited Tawang monastery in the evening. If you have been to Ladakh, Tawang monastery isn't that wow a place to visit. However, historicaly its of great importance.
Road conditions: Risky in 2WD if it has snowed recently else doable.
Stay: Same as day 4





Madhuri Lake







@ Tawang monastery

[Aditya]

Thread moved out from the Assembly Line to Travelogues. Thanks for sharing!

[sunilg33]

Day 5
The plan was to get back to Bum La and we left early, it had snowed a bit on the previous night. It was foggy all the way till sela pass. We had to negotiate few tricky patches of roads near se-la pass as the snow had spread on the road also. It was my first experience of driving on snow. There was almost zero control over the vehicle on the Icy patches. The car glided through the patch created by the trucks. We were safely through and reached se-la pass and went into the military canteen for a Tea.
We got some stunning visuals on the descent from sela pass. The cloud cover with bright sunshine was magical. We reached bomdilla by 4 and checked into the same hotel we stayed on the way. You need some time to adjust to the early darkness that sets in in this part of the country. All shops are closed and towns look deserted by 7PM.













Day 6
The plan was to drive as far we can and we started early and reached Bhalukhpong by 12:30. We made an entry at the army check point on our exit and reached tezpur by lunch time. We had our lunch at Spring Valley resturant. This is an excellent restaurant and a must visit. Its few kms after the brahmaputra bridge if you are coming from guwahati side. You have plenty of sign boards about the restaurant on both side of the road.
Since the roads were good we continued on to kaziranga. We tried to complete the jeep safari so that we leave early next day. But we got delayed by few minutes in reaching the ticket counter for jeep safari and it had just closed for the day. We had a look at a couple of hotels due to charismas leaves most of the hotels were full. We checked in to Kaziranga resort.

Finding information in kaziranga is very difficult. There are no proper sign boards or any help desk. The resort guys will try to get the Elephant safari and Jeep safari booked from them. We couldn’t make out if this was a genuine one or not. We went to the official govt safari booking counter in the evening and stood in a queue to get the tickets for the morning elephant safari. The leftover tickets from online bookings will be offered to us and they are generally limited. There are different ranges(areas) to which we can book the safari. However the ticket issuer was not at all interested in hearing to our request and gave the tickets for the Kaziranga range(Kohara range). The reporting time was morning 5:30. We later had a dinner in a roadside restaurant and hit the bed.

Road conditions: Very good roads from tezpur to kaziranga. There are a lot of small speed breakers as you near kaziranga.
Stay: Kaziranga resort : Average food and bad service.



Day 7
We woke up early for the elephant safari and left to the kohara range. As I told before its extremely difficult to find directions in kaziranga. It was early morning and there was no one outside to guide us. We finally started followed a tourist vehicle and luckily they too were headed the same way. We parked our car and reported to the forest staff. There were around 50 others along with us waiting. Also we came to know that the safari will end at a different point and there is no travel arrangement from the drop off point. The safari started at 6AM. Three of us climbed upon a young elephant. It was a great experience and a must do if you are in kaziranga. I will let pictures do the talking.

The Mahout was friendly and out of curiosity we asked the difference between the Government Organized safari and the private one. He told that the govt ranges are more exclusive compared to the private ones and according to him the private ones over work the elephants. The mahouts had nick names for each elephants and ours was called Rukmini

We sighted few Rhinos and deer's, previous day they had sighted a tiger. The safari ended in 45 minutes. The next batch of people were waiting at that end and we got onto one of their cars to come to the point where our car was parked. We slowly drove around kaziranga and reached our hotel.
Once we were through with our breakfast we checked out from the room and shifted to a nearby hotel Dhanshree resort which was really good stay.
In the afternoon we left to have a look at Kaziranga National Orchid And Biodiversity Park which was nearby. It’s a well maintained park with very helpful staff. We tasted the local Thali but it was not to our taste. Traditional dance depicting local culture is held here every night. We brought the ticket for the evening dance and came back to our hotel. I became a bit unwell and hence skipped jeep safari. In the evening we went back to the orchid park to attend the cultural programme. I loved the programme which included traditional folk dance from north eastern states and folk songs. A visit here is highly recommended.

Road conditions: The orchid park , safari are 5-10 kms from each other. Road to safari is a mud road but nothing to worry about
Stay: Dhanshree resort : Good food, service and ambience.










Day 8
Target Shillong
We left the hotel leisurely at 8:30 and started towards Shillong. We traversed the same roads until jorabat which we had driven and hence there were no surprises. We take a left near jorabat to Shillong. The Road from Jorabat to Shillong until the Umium lake is an absolute dream to drive. I just fell in love with Meghalaya from here. It’s an extremely scenic state with winding roads.
We had an early lunch at Jiva veg near Nongpoh. It’s the best restaurant en route. Had a good lunch and headed towards Umium lake which we reached by 3PM. Umium lake is nothing to talk about but since it's on the way there is nothing to complain either. It is supposed to be one of the largest man-made lakes in India. We observed a puncture in the rear tire here and changed to the Stepney. Travelling during Christmas is always a gamble. Entire Shillong was a mess with huge traffic jams. Thanks to good traffic manners and policing the traffic was slowly moving. We took close to 2 hours to cover the 25 kms to our hotel. We checked into the hotel and keeping in mind the traffic we faced we decided to call it a day. We took a walk through the streets of Shillong and hit the bed early.

Road conditions: Excellent scenic roads until Shillong. Shillong has narrow roads which are generally jampacked and because of Christmas it was even bad
Stay: White orchid guest house: Small but clean rooms. Average food. Since other hotels were full we hardly had options.


Umium lake




Day 9
Target Mawlynnong via Dawki
We left the hotel quite early and on the way got our puncture fixed which we suffered near Umium lake the previous day. The road from Shillong to Dawki is a dream to drive with stunning landscapes and winding good quality roads. I would easily rate Meghalaya as the cleanest state in India. There are some stretches which reminded me of the countryside roads in Thailand and Malaysia. Overall I was mesmerized by this small but a clean place.
Based on a recommendation from a previous traveler planned to visit Krang Shuri waterfalls which is a small detour just after Jowai. Little did we know that we will be greeted by the most beautiful waterfalls we have ever seen. The colors were unbelievable. There were not too many people around which made things even better. We spent a couple of hours here and left to Dawki. Dawki is another jem of a place. But due to Christmas and weekend rush Dawki was packed with tourists.
Food options are very limited in Dawki and we struggled to find any decent place to eat.
Without proper signboards, we lost a lot of time in finding the right place to go for boating in the river. Later we learnt that there is no designated place as such. On the road from Dawki to Mawlynnong just after Dawki we find a lot of boatmen inviting you for the boating in the river, we just picked one and bargained a trip for 400 rupees. The water is unbelievably clear. It was almost evening and the shadows were not that clear, the best time to visit this place is late afternoon around 3 PM. We can see Bangladeshi border from here and in fact you can even step on Bangladeshi soil and come back when you go boating.
An unforgettable place for sure. I would like to revisit this place sometime as I felt it was too much crowded for my liking.
We also visited the Bangladesh border checkpost which is a stone throw away from the center of dawki
It was almost dark when we left for Mawlynnong. I started feeling tired and sick after a week of driving. The road from Dawki to Mawlynnong was narrow and pothole-ridden. I was exhausted by the time we reached and searched for hotels there as the ones which took bookings on phone/online were either expensive or were full. Communication is a bit of problem in Mawlynnong as the locals don’t understand English that easily. After some searching, we got a Cottage which was located in a very lonely place. We took it as we thought it could be fun to stay in such a desolate place. We went back to the village center of Mawlynnong to get a feel for things. This village again is something I have never experienced, it's calm and clean. No wonder it was declared as the cleanest village in Asia. You find dustbins made of natural materials everywhere. There are public toilets situated in multiple places. It's just super clean. Overall this day was the most unforgettable day of the trip. The combo of Krang Shuri, Dawki, and Mawlynnong in a day was a bit too much after a day of just driving.

Road conditions: Roads from shillong to Dawki are excellent but for few kms just before dawki they are relaying the road and is potholed. Road from Dawki to Mawlynnong - Bad patches for the fist 10 kms and improves as we reach Mawlynnong. The road is very narrow for the last 10 Kms near Mawlynnong
Stay: An unnamed homestay/cottage, no service what so ever. The cottage was clean.

[sunilg33]

Day 10
Target - Cherrapunji
We woke up a bit late and straight away went to have a look at the Living Root Bridge. It’s a small trek from the village center. Again the place was buzzing with tourists a lot of them from Bangalore . The root bridge is a natural wonder, even though there has been some work carried on by humans to shape it.
We were done with the root bridge and when we were about to leave were greeted by a huge traffic jam right at the entrance of the village. People had haphazardly parked their vehicles which made things worse. We lost almost an hour to get out of the village. The roads again to Cherrapunji are typical Meghalaya roads: scenic and winding. There were some bad patches but nothing to worry about. Since the distance to cover was less we had a slow relaxed drive. We stopped for a coffee at Wah-Kaba Falls near Sohra. It’s a small trek from the main road since it wasn’t the rainy season the water flow was less.
We then left to a homestay which was booked in Cherrapunji. We relaxed for the evening in the homestay watching a couple of movies.

Stay: NG eco homestay. An ok stay but the homestay host was really good.














Day 11
We woke up lazily and drove to the double-decker bridge. Finding the route was quite difficult as there were no signboards nor much vehicles. We somehow made it based on a sketchy route provided by our homestay owner. There is a 2-3 Km trek you need to take to reach the Double decker bridge and don’t be fooled by the distance. Most of the trek is over steep inclines with countless number steps made from cement and stones. The trek is quite stressful on the body and is not at all recommended for aged people. There are some stunning views of small blue streams flowing on the way to the double decker bridge. You will get to buy refreshments and snack on the trekking route. Remember to start the trek early and to dress comfortably. We took almost 1.5 hours to reach and double decker bridge. Its similar to the single root bridge we saw at Mawlynnong but with two decks. There is a stream which flows below the bridge, the water is quite cold. We came back from the trek exhausted and checked for some decent restaurants on the highway. There were hardly any and we had to settle for something ordinary. I fell further ill with high temperatures and had to visit the local government hospital to get treated. The hospital was a typical government hospital and the medicine helped me recover the next day. We had ticked our todo list and did not have anything much to visit and went back to the homestay.





Day 12
Target: Guwahati
We again woke up lazily and drove leisurely. The plan was to visit shillong viewpoint and elephant falls. We got to shillong viewpoint first and it was a 5-7 Km deviation from the main road. But as we drove near to the viewpoint the place was jam-packed and the vehicles seemed to be stuck in a jam. We took a detour and visited elephant falls which was again a 1 Km deviation from the main road. Elephant falls looked very ordinary after our visit to Krang Shuri. We drove back to Guwahati left the car at the awerides office and settled the accounts. They refunded the bearing replacement cost we incurred on day one. We checked into a local hotel and went shopping only to find that everything is costlier than Bangalore.



Day 13
BACK HOME
With nothing much to do woke up late and left to the airport with a visit to the famous kamakhya temple. Our flight was on time and we reached home by evening with loads of memories. Overall our itinerary could have been squeezed to 14 days with a spare driver, we spent a day or two extra.

Northeast is a country on its own and there is so much to see. There is so much of variety- from snow to thick forests, animals, and a so much history. A must see place for all!





How did the car perform?
Good and bad.
Good for the following reasons
- Excellent ride, thanks to the soft suspension. It absorbed all road undulations with ease. A huge difference compared to the stiff Ecosport
- Short second gear helped greatly in the drivability. It was very easy to keep the car in the turbo, it climbed tough inclines with ease. It behaved better than the Ecosport. Ecosport has tall gear ratios which don’t help in these terrains.
- Good FE considering the roads we drove. Gave an overall FE of 18+ for the entire trip.

Bad for
- Very low ground clearance, it scraped even the smallest of protrusions on the road. On paper, the ground clearance is at 175Cm but nowhere near to that in actual conditions. Don’t know if it was due to bad maintenance or if it’s the same with other cars as well. Had to be extremely careful over speed breakers and other protrusions. I missed the Ecosport badly in this department. To put things in perspective Ecosport has not even once scraped during its 75K journey.
- Boot space is a joke. High loading lip and the speakers made it even worse. Was able to only carry 2 Duffle bags and a laptop bag. Rest of the luggage had to be kept in the back seat which is not advisable on long rides. We had to search for safe parking places because of this.
- Crumbling service network lacking basic spare parts.

[Nissan1180]

A well written travelogue

Your pictures, especially the ones with frosted leaves, are very tempting. It has been a while since I've seen snow. The Beat was a risky choice for the trip, but good to know that it did not leave you stranded. I noticed that the car had white plates. Is this allowed? Zoom car vehicles have yellow plates.

[sunilg33]

Originally Posted by Nissan1180

I noticed that the car had white plates. Is this allowed? Zoom car vehicles have yellow plates.

The car was rented from Awerides as Zoomcar was not yet available then. Its illegal but we had no choice and all vehicles with Awerides had white number plates.

[mooza]

Lovely narrative Sunil, as crystal clear as the rivers of the Northeast !

This has already set me planning for a long trip to these beautiful states

[wanderer4x4]

Fantastic travelogue. You've written about the whole trip in a crisp and interesting manner.

Btw, I'm surprised to see that you found Krang Suri that deserted during the holiday season last year. Currently you'll see people crawling all over, around, up, down and what not spoiling that perfect shot of the emerald waters, particularly during weekends and holidays. That is also true for Dawki, mainly near the river where chances of getting stuck in hour long jams have become almost norm on weekends and long holidays.