[gunin]

Originally Posted by Secretariat

Oh No - Mechuka is turning touristy ?? It was the last Shangri La. If it becomes a Shillong, that would be a tragedy. Maybe that 30 kms on the road to Aalo should remain a contender for the worst road in India !! Might save Mechuka. You can bash that road in a Bolero, but imagine the torture in a sedan.

Lovely photos to drool over and remember the time I was there. In a different world, you could have driven past Lamang into Tibet, but sadly that's probably not going to be possible in our lifetimes.

Well done Nibir. Halfway through that hanging bridge at age 5 is excellent. After all Dad takes decades to go the full way !

Thank you Secretariat! Indeed Mechuka is turning touristy. Earlier visitors were deterred by the thought of crossing the Brahmaputra on a ferry, now a person from Dibrugarh can reach Mechuka in a single day (thanks to the Bogibil and Dhola Sadiya bridge). With roads improving the number of visitors will only increase in the coming years which is not a bad thing at all but it will lose some of its charm too.

That stretch of 30 kms before Aalo has been bad for many years. So, maybe it will remain that way forever . You are a brave person who took a sedan to such routes. I remember a story from a local person who took his sedan to one such route and was fed up with the constant underbody hits the car took. He disposed his car there and then and came back in a Bolero.

I hear roads beyond the Arunachal border (in Tibet) are in great condition. It would be one hell of a drive- bumpy roads in Mechuka to wide 4 lane (maybe 6 lane) roads in Tibet.

Haha my kid is braver than me. The only reason he didn't cross the bridge is there were some holes in the side railings which scared his mother and she held him back.

Originally Posted by dingolphie

Window to another world. Thank you for the pics and the narrative.

While it’s sad that tourism often kills of the spirit of the places it touches, I hope a new generation learns to care for and appreciate these bounties better than we have.

Thank you! I hope that such places are able to retain their charm and innocence in the coming years.

Originally Posted by Rajjay

What a scenic place to visit. Your beautiful pictures inspire me to visit Arunachal Pradesh.

Thank you!

Originally Posted by Prakritij

Loved the travelogue. Mechuka is on my wishlist since long. Maybe someday, someway.
Also the monsoon season is the time to visit Mechuka as you have said. Winters are arid.
Did you have to use the 4WD on the way anywhere? Maybe in the rains it will be necessary if not in the winters.

Thank you Prakritij! Monsoon is the time to go. Winter is too cold and brown for me. I used 4wd on two occasions- once while giving way I had to climb a pile of stone chips kept on the side of the road and on another occasion I had to reverse on an incline (4 Low made it easy to climb up on reverse). 4wd is not really a necessity but a good thing to have on this route. For example, on a different trip the road near Aalo was completely muddy and all cars were getting stuck. People were helping each other by pushing the cars out. With 4wd, it was easy for me to cross this section without any external help.

Originally Posted by mbilung

Breathtaking pics. Cute doggos and Nibir offering their prayers melted my heart <3

Thank you

Originally Posted by SanSabh

Oh my God! This takes me back to my childhood during the seventies! The wild roads were right there at the start to Arunachal Pradesh
You're so truly fortunate to have had such a wonderful trip!
Thank you, @Gunin����

Thank you! You grew up in Arunachal Pradesh? That would make you the lucky one.

Originally Posted by OffRoadFun

Such a lovely travelogue! What beautiful pictures, amazing scenery!
I wish I could visit that area one day! It seems to be unlike any other place in India. You are lucky!

Thank you. You should plan a visit someday here.

Originally Posted by gandharjc

Amazing trip. I'm sure you'll all remember this one for years!
What do you think is the next / remaining Mechuka?

Thank you. There are many off beat places in Arunachal Pradesh like Anini, Walong and Tuting which are as beautiful as Mechuka.

Originally Posted by mr.sinha

Thanks for the travelogue with the beautiful pictures, gunin.
Mechuka is one of the most beautiful places in Arunachal.
I have driven there in 2016 October with a friend. We loved it so much, we spent an extra day in Mechuka and simply spent the whole day along the banks of the river.

Did you get a chance to drive up to Menigong? There's nothing there, it's just the drive up the hill which is exciting - needs 4wd.

I never got to writing the travelogue on my trip, but here are a few picture from Mechuka including the drive to Menigong. Hope you don't mind my posting of pictures on your thread.[/ATTACH]

Thank you. Those are really beautiful pictures. Thank you for sharing. I did not go to Monigong as I was unaware of the place. If I visit the place again, I will drive up to Monigong for sure.

[BhaskarG]

I had read your Mechuka log in bcmtouring. Nice to see another episode in teambhp.

What phone did you use for the photos? The pictures, specially the wide angle ones, are stunning. Also the colors are vivid. Any post-processing done?

[HooghlyBoy]

Super Travelogue.. Love the pictures. Actually North-East is the most beautiful place in India. Unfortunately, it was never developed properly until the present Govt. focused on infrastructure primarily due to Chinese threat.

[fawad0222]

Thanks Gunin for opening a window to beautiful Arunachal Pradesh, to people like me who have still not been there. Pics are beautiful especially those which cover snow covered areas. You son doing shastang dandwat at guru nanak shrine brought a smile to my face

[gunin]

Originally Posted by BhaskarG

I had read your Mechuka log in bcmtouring. Nice to see another episode in teambhp.

What phone did you use for the photos? The pictures, specially the wide angle ones, are stunning. Also the colors are vivid. Any post-processing done?

Thank you! The pictures are a mix from my Samsung and wife's Redmi. I don't know the model names . And some pictures are from my Nikon D3300 where shots were taken in RAW format and processed in Lightroom.

Originally Posted by HooghlyBoy

Super Travelogue.. Love the pictures. Actually North-East is the most beautiful place in India. Unfortunately, it was never developed properly until the present Govt. focused on infrastructure primarily due to Chinese threat.

Thank you. Roads are definitely seeing a lot of improvement in the last few years.

Originally Posted by fawad0222

Thanks Gunin for opening a window to beautiful Arunachal Pradesh, to people like me who have still not been there. Pics are beautiful especially those which cover snow covered areas. You son doing shastang dandwat at guru nanak shrine brought a smile to my face

Thank you Fawad for the appreciation . All of us were surprised when he prayed in that way. I guess he just felt like it.

[SafariMan]

This place was relatively unknown till Salman Khan and his crew used the Dorjeeling / Tharjeeling area as a location for the flop movie Tubelight. Have done entire North-East including whole of Arunachal Pradesh on a mighty Maruti Suzuki 800 5-Speed. It took me an 8 month period till Feb 2022 to complete each and every nook and corner. Another place relatively unknown is the branch off to Yingkiaong and Gelling/Tuting. The roads are pathetic but with pots of patience can make it. You should definitely also visit Roing staying overnight at a beautiful mountain/river view Mito's Homestay. Leave for Mayodia and Annini. This best enjoyed in Winter. Slippery but doable with 1st gear no brake less air or With Chains. The other side Namdapha, Parasuram Kund and All the way to Hawaii Walong and Kibithoo and the eastern most road of Meshai is a wonderful experience. Great pictures. Well written and superb family time.

[gunin]

Originally Posted by SafariMan

This place was relatively unknown till Salman Khan and his crew used the Dorjeeling / Tharjeeling area as a location for the flop movie Tubelight. Have done entire North-East including whole of Arunachal Pradesh on a mighty Maruti Suzuki 800 5-Speed. It took me an 8 month period till Feb 2022 to complete each and every nook and corner. Another place relatively unknown is the branch off to Yingkiaong and Gelling/Tuting. The roads are pathetic but with pots of patience can make it. You should definitely also visit Roing staying overnight at a beautiful mountain/river view Mito's Homestay. Leave for Mayodia and Annini. This best enjoyed in Winter. Slippery but doable with 1st gear no brake less air or With Chains. The other side Namdapha, Parasuram Kund and All the way to Hawaii Walong and Kibithoo and the eastern most road of Meshai is a wonderful experience. Great pictures. Well written and superb family time.

Thank you for reading! Wow that must have been quite the adventure covering all the North Eastern states on a Maruti 800. While tackling the roads here, it is either the BOF SUVs or small hatches like the Maruti 800 which prove to be the most capable. I would love to go to Tuting some day. I hope you pen down your adventures here on Teambhp

[edunata]

In one word, simply 'WOW'. You have done it again. Again you have wrote a TL from a place I have never heard of. Some names like 'Lmang' 'Yarlung' I can't even find in Google maps. It seems you have visited somewhere 'out of the world'. Hope to visit the places one day. Keep visiting these places and keep writing these wonderful TLs. and lots of love to Nibir .

[gunin]

Originally Posted by edunata

In one word, simply 'WOW'. You have done it again. Again you have wrote a TL from a place I have never heard of. Some names like 'Lmang' 'Yarlung' I can't even find in Google maps. It seems you have visited somewhere 'out of the world'. Hope to visit the places one day. Keep visiting these places and keep writing these wonderful TLs. and lots of love to Nibir .

Thank you Such feedback encourages me to pen down my experiences.

[Truck_Monk]

So beautiful and so pristine

Gunin you have really shown the true beautily of AR on this travelogue. I am finding it really hard to stop myself.

AR is callingme brother.

Cheers

[haisaikat]

You continue to bring out the best of Arunachal in a very lucid fashion with photos that make one crave to visit there soon.

The views from the Gompa in Mechuka and during the climb is superb. But the crown would be the road to Lamang and the place itself, simple heaven.

You have a beautiful family, my best to all of them including little Nibir and your workhorse Bolero.

Keep sharing more such stories. Rated 5 stars.

[nilanjanray]

Lovely travelogue! And very nice photos. You have talent to capture the decisive moment.

I was in Arunachal four years back, planning to do another roadtrip. Hope to go to those places where tourists are still hesitant to go ;-)

[gunin]

Originally Posted by Truck_Monk

So beautiful and so pristine

Gunin you have really shown the true beautily of AR on this travelogue. I am finding it really hard to stop myself.

AR is callingme brother.

Cheers

Turck_Monk Thank you! I hope you plan a trip soon brother .

Originally Posted by haisaikat

You continue to bring out the best of Arunachal in a very lucid fashion with photos that make one crave to visit there soon.

The views from the Gompa in Mechuka and during the climb is superb. But the crown would be the road to Lamang and the place itself, simple heaven.

You have a beautiful family, my best to all of them including little Nibir and your workhorse Bolero.

Keep sharing more such stories. Rated 5 stars.

Thank you for the kind words. It is always great to hear your feedback.

Originally Posted by nilanjanray

Lovely travelogue! And very nice photos. You have talent to capture the decisive moment.

I was in Arunachal four years back, planning to do another roadtrip. Hope to go to those places where tourists are still hesitant to go ;-)

Thank you! Luckily for people who want to travel to offbeat places, Arunachal Pradesh has a lot of options. I hope you will let me know when you come here.

[MadSnapper]

I fear a similar fate awaits Shergaon in Arunachal.... Sad! Just sad!!

[DKM]

Could anyone kindly inform me about the latest road conditions to Mechuka and Walong in Arunachal Pradesh? I have read many blogs where people have successfully travelled to these places in small hatchbacks. I am also nurturing a similar dream to go on an expedition to these places by my Wagon R. Btw it may be mentioned here that I have travelled to Ladakh in 2015 by my little Nano and to Panchachulli Base Camp (Duktu village from Tawaghat) by my Wagon R in 2021. So I can reasonably claim that I have good experience of hill driving.

Your valuable advice is solicited.