[aviator1101]

Part 1

The Plan
A Holiday on 11th April and 14th being a Sunday was an ideal time to sneak away from the heat of the plains of Tezpur to the hills of Arunachal Pradesh and what better destination than Tawang for a short 4 days trip.

The itinerary
The itinerary was as under :-
Day 1 : Tezpur to Tenga
Day 2 : Tenga to Tawang
Day 3 : Tawang to Bumla and back.
Day 4 : Tawang to Tezpur

This post will be more like a photo-essay, only captioned photographs in a chronological sequence to take you through the journey.

Day 1 : Tezpur to Tenga


Enroute to Nameri National Park


On the banks of the Kameng river


Cockpit view, on the opposite bank is Nameri Tiger Reserve.



Entering Arunachal Pradesh through Bhalukpong.


Breakfast break at Tippi


Common sight between Tippi and Sessa. Selling local products on both sides of the road.


Brownie at the Tippi Orchid Research Centre.


Far from the madding crowd.


The souvenir shop displaying local handicraft.


Inside one of the glass houses.

Varities of Orchids at the Research Centre


Cattleya Hybrid.


Dancing Doll Orchid


Variety of Vanda Hybrid


Variety of Vanda Hybrid.


Variety of Vanda Hybrid


Vanilla flower. This bloom happens once a year and lasts only for a few hours. We were extremely lucky to witness the blooming.


Variety of Vanda Hybrid


Boat Orchid or Cymbedium Hybrid


Moth Orchid or Phalaenopsis Hybrid


Variety of Phalaenopsis Hybrid


Variety of Phalaenopsis Hybrid


Variety of Phalaenopsis Hybrid


Noble Dendrobium, the State flower of Sikkim


Cattleya Hybrid


Dendrobium Hybrid


Variety of Cattleya Hybrid


Variety of Dendrobium Hybrid


Variety of Dendrobium Hybrid


Mokara Hybrid


The Indian Pitcher Plant : a rare carnivorous plant native to the Khasi Hills

The journey continues in Part 2

[aviator1101]

Part 2

Day 1 continued : Tippi to Tenga


Climb starts ahead of Tippi.


Durga Mandir near Sessa


Nichiphula Waterfalls


Southern entry to the Nechiphu Tunnel


Twisties near Dedza


An under-construction architectural beauty at a premium location


Naag Mandir at Dahung


Brownie posing with a thoroughbred off roader.


Statistics at the end of Day 1 at Tenga

Day 2 : Tenga to Tawang




Approaching Bomdila


Bomdila town with the pass to the right


At Sapper : decision was taken to go via Sela Pass


Crossing Baisakhi


The twisties while climbing to Sela


Approaching Sela Pass


The gate at Sela Pass welcomes you to Tawang


Brownie posing at Sela


Two beauties in one frame


At Sela Pass at 11am. Notice the temparature on the MIP


By the Sela Lake


Crossing Nuranang


Approaching Jaswantgarh


At the Jaswantgarh War Memorial


Entrance to the main memorial


Paying obeisance at the memorial. A Junior Commissioned Officer briefs you about the valiant acts of Rifleman Jaswant Singh of 4 Garhwal Rifles during the 1962 operations who was posthumously awarded the prestigious Maha Vir Chakra.


The Jang Falls astride the Nuranang River


Closer view of the Jang two tier waterfalls


Brownie with Jang Falls in the background

Continued in Part 3

[aviator1101]

Part 3

Day 2 continued : Jang to Tawang and local sightseeing at Tawang



Entrance to the Monastery


The main monastery complex


Inside the monastery




Tawang town as seen from the monastery complex


Tawang War Memorial


A closer view


Inside the memorial


Sound and Light Show narrating the history and valiant acts of our national heroes


Drive statistics at the end of day two's journey

Day 3 : Tawang to Bumla and back.


Panga Teng Tso Lake between Tawang and Nagula


Brownie posing by the lake


Also known popularly as PTSO Lake.


Approaching Nagula


By the Nagula Lake




Somewhere between Nagula and Y junction


Gurudwara Teesri Udaasi ahead of the Y junction.


The actual Gurudwara is at quite an elevation on the hill feature in the background.


Approaching the Sungester Lake.


Sungester : the highest lake in Arunachal Pradesh


This lake was created by falling rocks, boulders and trees in an earthquake. Notice the tree trunks jutting out of the water.


Also popularly known as Madhuri Lake after the famous actress Madhuri Dixit on whom a song from the film Koyla was picturised at this location


Enjoying a much needed cup of hot coffee at the cafeteria at Sungester.


Between Y junction and Sungester


By a frozen lake short of Y junction


Approaching Bumla


Tawang as seen from Chugge on the way back. Notice the monastery shining on the extreme right


The Buddha Statue at Tawang


Brownie : memorable moments at Tawang

Continued in Part 4

[aviator1101]

Part 4

Day 3 : continued


The gigantic statue of Lord Buddha overlooking the entire town of Tawang


An interesting sign post


Drive summary till end of Day 3

Day 4 : Tawang to Tezpur


The newly inaugurated Vivanta at Tawang


Crossing Tawang Chu at the Jang Bridge on the way back


A brief halt at Jaswantgarh


Crossing the Nuranang river


The gateway welcoming you to the world's longest bi-lane tunnel at 13000 feet


Brownie at the northern entrance of Sela Tunnel


Sela tunnel exit towards Baisakhi


Crossing Baisakhi on the way back


At the Nyukmadong War Memorial


The memorial overlooking the battle grounds of 1962


Somewhere bewteen Dirang and Bomdila


Passing through the Eagle's Nest Wildlife Sanctuary


Summary of the entire four day drive


Happy memories from Tawang

[Aditya]

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

[Samba]

I once again visited Tawang with you through this travelogue! It's crisp, covers all the required details & the pictures are lively & beautiful.

The last time I visited Tawang and Bumla was back in 2019. From the pictures of your travelogue, I see a lot has changed for the better in these 5 years.

I'm photobombing a few pics from my previous visit to Tawang!

At Bumla. This was the season's first snowfall!



Somewhere between Bumla and Y junction.



On the way to T-Gompa from Sungester Lake.

[ABHI_1512]

And finally someone put up the pictures of Tipi Orchid Research Center. I am always intrigued by the fact no one thinks of visiting this beautiful orchid center while going towards Tawang from the Bhalukpong side. I had first visited Tipi way back in 1995 and was simply astounded by the rare orchids. The glass house was something that stayed on in my mind ever since. Thank you Priyotosh Da for sharing the beautiful pictures of the orchids.

As for the Tawang part, I can only say that you have pictured the place beautifully. Your car looks so good amidst the white surroundings. I have one question for you though- how is the road condition of the Jung to Tawang stretch ? Last I travelled, the stretch was undergoing repairs and widening. Thanks again for sharing your travel,

Regards.

[aviator1101]

Originally Posted by ABHI_1512

how is the road condition of the Jung to Tawang stretch ? Last I travelled, the stretch was undergoing repairs and widening.

The repair work has been completed except for few patches between Sela and Nuranang. Otherwise, mostly good roads now.

[Derrida]

Originally Posted by aviator1101

Part 1

Day 3 : Tawang to Bumla and back.
[/b]

Crisp travelogue. Thanks for sharing. I was in Tawang in the same week. Curious to know how were you able to get permission to take your car to Bumla and Sangetsar. We were told that only local vehicles are allowed on that road. Does one need to apply for any special permit or pull some strings?

[aviator1101]

Originally Posted by Derrida

Does one need to apply for any special permit or pull some strings?

Honestly speaking, did neither of the two. The problem is only with hired vehicles as far as I know. Assam/other state registered taxis are allowed only till Tawang. Ahead of Tawang, you have to hire Arunachal registered Taxis. Since I was travelling in personal car, this clause wasn't applicable to me.

[Derrida]

Originally Posted by aviator1101

Honestly speaking, did neither of the two. The problem is only with hired vehicles as far as I know. Assam/other state registered taxis are allowed only till Tawang. Ahead of Tawang, you have to hire Arunachal registered Taxis. Since I was travelling in personal car, this clause wasn't applicable to me.

Oh man! I drove in my car from Hyderabad. Just after reaching Tawang, our homestay owner told us that we won't be able to take our cars. Should've researched some more . Thanks for responding.

[ABHI_1512]

Originally Posted by Derrida

Oh man! I drove in my car from Hyderabad. Just after reaching Tawang, our homestay owner told us that we won't be able to take our cars. Should've researched some more . Thanks for responding.

There is no part of India where you can’t take your own car, just that you need the required permissions when in restricted areas. If a commercial car can go then most certainly a personal car can also go. In case of Bumla, you need to take the required permissions from the DC office and the Army and you are good to go. The homestay owners are obviously in cahoots with the local taxi guys who charge substantial money for that Bumla and Shungetsar trip and they don’t want to let go of their share from the earning. If you do visit next time, keep this in mind. Just to give you a heads up again, here is my Ecosport at Bumla.