[gunin]

I was home (Guwahati) during the recent Durga Puja holidays and enjoyed just strolling around the city and seeing some Puja Pandals. My sister also came home from Dibrugarh with her two kids and after the Puja, she suggested going to Cherapunjee, Meghalaya for a short trip.

The day before, I had driven till the COVID check gate just before Nongpoh, Meghalaya and was turned off by the scene. There was a huge line of cars at the gate of visitors wanting to go visit Shillong. Most of these cars were Assam registered and to me it did not seem like a welcoming sight at all. No checking of Meghalaya registered cars by the way.

Therefore, I suggested Shergaon, Arunachal Pradesh as an alternate place to my sister and our parents too showed interest in the trip. Since our aged parents were travelling with us and we had three kids, we decided to take both my sister’s Mahindra Scorpio and my recently acquired pre-owned Toyota Yaris for the trip.

The Scorpio was driven by me and the Yaris by our trusted driver, Daimary. My parents travelled in the Yaris for the whole journey and were pretty comfortable even over some rough roads.

Day 1:


Guwahati to Shergaon: 240 kms

Route taken: Guwahati- Mangaldai- Rowta- Kahibari- Bhairabkund- Shergaon

Road conditions: Very good throughout the route

We started at around 7 am from Guwahati. I was driving the Scorpio for the first time and was really impressed by the way it picks up speed. The Scorpio was carrying my wife, sister and three kids. The Yaris followed close behind and my parents were very happy with its comfort and composure. Daimary was enjoying driving it as well.

A quick breakfast of hot puris at NRL Dhaba, a few kms after crossing Sipajhar filled up the human tanks. The kids were excited seeing big fishes kept in the aquarium of the dhaba.

The roads are in very good condition right till Bhairabkunda and even after that. We entered our details at the Arunachal Pradesh Checkgate and proceeded towards Shergaon. I would advise people to prepare ILPs (Inner Line Permit) online only as most of these smaller checkgates don’t have the authority to issue ILPs.





First photo break of the day.

I was happy to see all the kids enjoying the journey and not asking for the mobile phone. The two younger ones, Nibir and Liya aged 4 and 3 were busy picking on each other and eldest, aged 8 years, Lona was soaking in the fresh mountain air.

My parents for whom these roads were new were enjoying the views and were busy clicking pictures.

I had already booked a home-stay in Shergaon through Mr. Prem (owner of Lamuzukhi homestay). I would have loved to stay at Lamuzukhi Home-stay which we had visited 3 years back. Unfortunately, the home-stay has been let out to the SSB and only one room has been kept for guests. Mr. Prem booked us in another homestay which was our stay for two days.

We met with rain fall along the way and the temperature soon dropped. What a contrast it was compared to the sweltering heat of Guwahati. A few hours’ drive and we were already putting our jackets on.

We crossed places like Kalaktang and Tenzing Gaon on the way. There are lots of eateries/ dhabas in Tenzing Gaon. The food is good in these dhabas and is easy on the stomach and the pocket. There are cabbage and tomato plantations in Tenzing Gaon making for a beautiful sight.

We reached Shergaon at around 2 pm and were escorted to our home-stay located beautifully within apple orchards. The approach road is a little tricky with a sharp decline and a muddy track. The Yaris had to be driven very carefully on this track with loose pebbles and deep tracks caused by other cars. There is a river running some 100 metres from the homestay and the kids ran off to it. The water was too cold for a swim though.



River running near the home-stay





Lona befriending the huge dogs

We had a late lunch in the kitchen with a fire giving us the much needed warmth. Food was good with rice, dal and pork curry. With the rains still not letting up, it soon became dark and before we knew it, it was time for dinner. I wanted to take my parents to Chillipam monastery on the way to Rupa. While discussing with the home-stay people, they suggested visiting the Lhagyala monastery too which in Morshing, around 22 kms from Shergaon.





Dinner Time


The kids had a great time running across the home-stay without a care. Throughout the two days, they just kept playing, eating and then falling asleep. Quite a win for us





Some random clicks



Our steeds in the cold Shergaon night

[gunin]

Day 2: Shergaon to Morshing (Lhagyala Monastery)

Distance: 22 kms

Road condition: Good for first 18 kms. For the last 4 kms, I had doubts about the Yaris making it.

We woke up to an overcast sky in Shergaon. Everyone was fascinated with the apples in the nearby orchards.



Apple orchard. Harvesting is over in September. Only the last few apples remaining.


Scorpio and Yaris



Kiwi plantation. New upcoming places to stay seen in background.

We decided to drive to Lhagyala Monastery in Morshing and then take a call on visiting the Chillipam Monastery. A few facts about the monastery:

1. Established in the 7th century making it one of the oldest in Asia.

2. Lhagyala literally means a repository and the Monastery many old texts and manuscripts.

After a breakfast of rotis, we set out for Morshing. The road to Morshing and onwards provides an alternate route to Dirang. The road condition was very good all the way to Morshing which is around 18 kms from Shergaon. The road is pretty lonely with only a few vehicles to be seen.

From Morshing, we could see the Lhagyala Monastery perched way above in the mountains. My sister already doubted the last 4 kms to the monastery as it looked nothing more than a dirt track.





Break between Morshing Village and Lhagyala Monastery

After coming all this way, we were not going to back down and proceeded slowly. The Scorpio was in its element tackling the rough track. We waited at regular intervals to allow the Yaris to catch up.



Waiting for the Yaris to catch up



Let kids be kids



They got busy with flowers

At one point, we waited for around 20 minutes and the Yaris was not to be seen. I walked back a few minutes and found the Yaris at the entrance of the monastery. We had missed the entrance as it looked like a private road to me. My father had gone inside the monastery and finding no one there had returned. The Yaris had to gather momentum to move up the pebble path and scraped the under-body a few times. I wished for my Bolero 4wd then.

Since the Scorpio was parked ahead, I took a ride with my parents for the few kms I had walked back. From there on, we continued to a new Monastery being built with a beautiful view.

We had missed the small road leading to the monastery and had climbed up further to this new structure.





New part being constructed.



Beautiful views from top of this new structure.



We could have stayed the whole day here


Yaris made it!

The place also has a war memorial.



I got goose bumps reading this. Not much is known about this battlefield outside of Shergaon.



A happy lady told us to visit the monastery on the way back

To be continued.

[gunin]

We drove downhill and reached the entrance of the Lhagyala Monastery. It was my mother who really insisted on visiting the monastery and we were glad that we did.



Entrance which is easy to miss

A young priest of the monastery was actually waiting for us to show us around the monastery. He gave us a full tour of the monastery and explained a lot of minute details.



Yaris at the Lhagyala Monastery





Lhagyala monastery: One of the oldest in the region







People pray here for the birth of a girl/ boy



They decide whether you go to heaven or hell



We were guided to this mountain stream at the end of our tour. We were told this water has medicinal properties. A few days later, my father remembered getting relief from his stomach upsets after drinking from this stream



Bye Bye


We were invited for Tea but we declined as the weather was deteriorating very fast.



Rains!

We stopped for lunch at this restaurant on the Highway.



Lunch break

We had to cancel our trip to Chillipam Monastery as the weather was not looking good. My parents were happy with the visit to the Lhagyala Monastery.

Some views of Shergaon:





Beautiful Shergaon


We then retired for the night to our homestay after a late lunch.

Day 3: Return Journey

We went back the same way we had come. Some random pictures:



Breakfast break at Tenzing Gaon. Good veg momos here





Great roads. Cabbage cultivation all around.


Happy camper!



Views of Tenzing Gaon

In Guwahati, we got stuck in traffic jam and passed our time reading truck signs:



One tragic trucker

Thank you for reading!

[BlackPearl]

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

[ABHI_1512]

Wonderful thread Gunin, your kids are getting to know the real essence of nature and that’s really commendable and admirable, both at the same time. The Yaris seems to be a welcome addition to your stable, the Bolero has got a worthy sidekick

Shergaon is lovely, although the time I visited the place for the first time, two decades have passed by. During my last travel to those areas, just went past Shergaon and the place seems to have not lost the plot to modern day concrete mayhem, not yet I suppose. It’s wonderful to know that Tenzingaon has got options in terms of eateries now, the place you stopped for breakfast was the only food stop on that route few years back !! Keep travelling to lesser known places, many thanks for sharing this fantastic read and those gorgeous pictures.

Sharing some pictures, specially of Chilipam Monastary





This Monastary was near Tenzingaon and is very old too- Gyuto Monastary.


Your breakfast stop and the sole man probably selling the same apples from the orchards that you guys saw !!

[BhaskarG]

Thank you for this wonderful piece of travel literature, @gunin. I literally felt as if I was present there. The war memorial gave me goosebumps. And the truck sign game me some lols.

It was interesting that you chose two contrasting cars for the journey. But it seems the Yaris did not find the stretch too difficult. Roads are good nowadays.

[dr_TJ]

Awesome Travelogue again .
The Yaris and the Brute Scorpio made a good duo I guess.

Kudos for the interesting Truck sign

[Ironhide]

Great travelogue Gunin, as always . Short, sweet and bringing out hidden gems that few of us are privy to. Bravo !

I have always maintained that the Northeast is one hidden gem that the rest of India needs to explore and connect with.

Having seen the geography and the people from up close, I can state without doubt that it is truly beautiful from inside out. There is an abundance of natural beauty to be experienced, with beautiful vistas, green hills, waterfalls, jungles - all unexplored and ready to be experienced first hand. What also helps is that the people are warm, straightforward, simple and hardworking and always ready with a smile despite the hardships of remote location, weather and terrain.

Nice of you to have posted about the Battle of Lagyala Gompa. It is site to one of the fiercest but lesser known battles of 1962 Sino India War. The heroism and selfless sacrifice of the men who gave their all, and then some, is something that cannot be described in words.

Once again, great travelogue !

Cheers !

[vox_alienus]

Great, gunin! Wish I could do this when my daughter was little.

[haisaikat]

Another wonderful accord of what raw nature and beauty the north east has to offer. Really liked going through it. Keep more of them coming, as I do not think I will be able to visit Arunachal soon but I have great desire to do that. Till then I will keep travelling through your TLs.

[gunin]

Originally Posted by ABHI_1512

Wonderful thread Gunin, your kids are getting to know the real essence of nature and that’s really commendable and admirable, both at the same time. The Yaris seems to be a welcome addition to your stable, the Bolero has got a worthy sidekick

Shergaon is lovely, although the time I visited the place for the first time, two decades have passed by. During my last travel to those areas, just went past Shergaon and the place seems to have not lost the plot to modern day concrete mayhem, not yet I suppose. It’s wonderful to know that Tenzingaon has got options in terms of eateries now, the place you stopped for breakfast was the only food stop on that route few years back !! Keep travelling to lesser known places, many thanks for sharing this fantastic read and those gorgeous pictures.

Sharing some pictures, specially of Chilipam Monastary


This Monastary was near Tenzingaon and is very old too- Gyuto Monastary.

Your breakfast stop and the sole man probably selling the same apples from the orchards that you guys saw !!
Attachment 2248934

Abhisek Thank you! I have observed that kids don't really ask for the mobile phone when they are out in nature. I am trying to spend as much time as possible outdoors with my son. Hopefully, he continues to bond with nature when he grows up.

The Yaris compliments the Bolero very well. I use it on roads which are known to me (eg. Guwahati to Pasighat) and it carries my family in good comfort.

20 years ago! Shergaon must have looked quite different especially the roads. I am happy to report that it is still a small village with a nice small market place.

Tenzing Gaon indeed has a lot of eateries now. I think the gentleman you refer to was at the cash counter Lovely pictures of Chillipam too there.

Originally Posted by BhaskarG

Thank you for this wonderful piece of travel literature, @gunin. I literally felt as if I was present there. The war memorial gave me goosebumps. And the truck sign game me some lols.

It was interesting that you chose two contrasting cars for the journey. But it seems the Yaris did not find the stretch too difficult. Roads are good nowadays.

Thank you Bhaskar for the kind words. You are right about the contrasting cars. My mother could not have travelled in the Scorpio as a short ride in it gave her a back pain while she was happy in the Yaris. The Yaris did find it difficult in the last 4 kms to the monastery. For known routes, Yaris is a good choice. For anything remotely adventurous, a high GC car is preferable.

Originally Posted by dr_TJ

Awesome Travelogue again .
The Yaris and the Brute Scorpio made a good duo I guess.

Kudos for the interesting Truck sign

Thank you Doc! Yes, both the cars complimented each other- the Scorpio would go ahead and the thumbs up to the Yaris to follow. True about the truck sign. It gave us something to smile about while being stuck in a jam for over 2 hours.

Originally Posted by Ironhide

Great travelogue Gunin, as always . Short, sweet and bringing out hidden gems that few of us are privy to. Bravo !

I have always maintained that the Northeast is one hidden gem that the rest of India needs to explore and connect with.

Having seen the geography and the people from up close, I can state without doubt that it is truly beautiful from inside out. There is an abundance of natural beauty to be experienced, with beautiful vistas, green hills, waterfalls, jungles - all unexplored and ready to be experienced first hand. What also helps is that the people are warm, straightforward, simple and hardworking and always ready with a smile despite the hardships of remote location, weather and terrain.

Nice of you to have posted about the Battle of Lagyala Gompa. It is site to one of the fiercest but lesser known battles of 1962 Sino India War. The heroism and selfless sacrifice of the men who gave their all, and then some, is something that cannot be described in words.

Once again, great travelogue !

Cheers !

Thank you Ironhide for the appreciation. I would add that the more interior places one goes, the warmer the reception one receives here. Thank you for the link to the Lagyala Battle. It was a solemn moment for me while standing in front of the memorial.

Originally Posted by vox_alienus

Great, gunin! Wish I could do this when my daughter was little.

Thank you .

Originally Posted by haisaikat

Another wonderful accord of what raw nature and beauty the north east has to offer. Really liked going through it. Keep more of them coming, as I do not think I will be able to visit Arunachal soon but I have great desire to do that. Till then I will keep travelling through your TLs.

Thank you! When you do find time to visit this part of the world, do give me a heads-up.

[Truck_Monk]

Awesome and just breathtaking. I really loved the travelogue. Pictures are as refreshing as cool mornings.

Yours Truly
Boy from Polluted Delhi.

[OffRoadFun]

Wonderful travelogue Gunin.
So much natural beauty, I love your travelogues. One day hopefully be able to visit and drive in North East.

[gunin]

Originally Posted by Truck_Monk

Awesome and just breathtaking. I really loved the travelogue. Pictures are as refreshing as cool mornings.

Yours Truly
Boy from Polluted Delhi.

Thank you

Originally Posted by OffRoadFun

Wonderful travelogue Gunin.
So much natural beauty, I love your travelogues. One day hopefully be able to visit and drive in North East.

Thank you. I hope you visit soon

[MadSnapper]

Thanks for this mind blowing travelogue! I was planning a trip to either Sikkim or Meghalaya but Nope!!! Cancel that!! Arunachal It is.... specially Shergaon. A ton of thanks again!