Our Maruti Jimny: A forgotten highway & other Himalayan trips of 2024

The odometer on my Jimny has now surpassed 35,000 kilometres - a significant jump from the 7000 kilometres it had when I last shared an update here. The kilometres just kept piling up on the 
Jimny.

BHPian Hirohito recently shared this with other enthusiasts:

PROLOGUE

An eventful 2024 wrapped up as we reached home by five-thirty on 28th of December 2024. The early winter evening was right on our heels as we rolled through the gate. Both my wife and I rushed to check our kitchen garden with our flashlights—wondering how the tomatoes and the cabbages were coming along. With dinner some hours away, I took a long hot shower and slipped under the quilt. And I understood why, there's no place like home.

Oddly enough, this year-end road trip wasn’t even the longest I’d taken in 2024. Just a week-long affair, mixing work, Christmas, a music festival, and finally the detour that I had been planning ever since I’ve heard of it from Lt. Col. KR - along an old forgotten highway. That used to be the only semblance of a road that once connected Assam to Arunachal Pradesh (Kameng frontier) - then called NEFA (North East Frontier Agency), and concluding our trip with a mini-reunion on our way back, with a dozen friends from Sainik School Goalpara (SSG) at Nagaon.

Take the 2024 Spiti-Ladakh trip in June - it lasted a full 28 days. Yet why did this short, week-long trip feel so much longer and exhausting? I’ll get to that.

With the New Year (2025) celebrations behind me, one of the first things I did as I settled back into my routine was check Team-BHP. To see if any of my friends from the Spiti trip had posted anything. I was particularly hoping to see something from Gunin, Reetu, Jamini, Sudipta, Nayan and Prakritij, but no luck. Instead, I enjoyed some recent travelogues about Hisaikat’s stately North Bengal tour, Priyatosh’s daredevil bike solo towards Ledo and Namdapha, and Abhi’s deeply nostalgic journey through Assam. Travelogues like these are double-edged swords. They inspire with their depth and detail, yet at the same time they set such high benchmark that they challenge us to either push our own writing or just stop writing altogether. Luckily, today I felt more inspired than intimidated.

Yet before jumping into the details of my year-end FCT trip, I can't help but take a moment to reflect on my journey with the Zero so far.
The odometer on my Jimny has now surpassed 35,000 kilometres - a significant jump from the 7000 kilometres it had when I last shared an update here. The kilometres just kept piling up on the 
Jimny.

Plus a bonus 1,500 km on this blue Jimny AT which came as a loaner (courtesy Bharati Nexa, Bongaigaon) while Zero spent a month at the service station awaiting a major part replacement. See, so much to catch up on!
Photo: the trail leading to the famous Warichora lake in Garo hills of Meghalaya. Date: 28 feb 2024

Our three car convoy to Spiti in West Bengal. Ahead is Gunin’s Zu, followed by Jamini’s RHCP (coined by Reeturaj), which Jamini later shortened to Red Pepper, June 5th 2024.

I must admit that I’ve tried multiple times over the past year and half to put my travel experiences into words, but it never quite came together. When that didn’t work, I tried compiling them into some kind of an anniversary post - whether marking a year with Zero or after doing Spiti and Ladakh by road. But such efforts led to nothing beyond a sentence or two.

The very idea of my joining team-BHP was to document my own journey and immerse myself in the stories of fellow travellers. Seventeen thousand kilometres later, I’ve lost track of more trip details than I’d like to admit. With the new year here, I’ve one more excuse to make one more attempt, at clearing the backlog and move on. That said, I won’t dive too deep into past trips.

Instead, I’ll share snippets here and there with photos, just to catch up before diving into the year-end FCT trip. FCT stands for Foothill - Chaku - Tenga road. This road had served as the primary highway connecting Assam plains with Arunachal (then NEFA) back during the Sino-India war of 1962. Chaku (Chacko) interestingly happened to be a sapper (army engineer) from the South who was stationed here on road maintenance duty. By 1966 the alternate highway through Bhalukpong was opened by BRO and FCT fell out of use, reclaimed by the forest over the years. More on it later.

Zero’s leap from 7000 to 14000

Oct 2023. high-altitude road trip to Damteng, Chuna, and Mago in Western Arunachal’s Tawang district with riders from the Bulls of Assam Motorcycle Club. Part of our route followed the historic Bailey Trail, once traversed by Lt. Col. F.M. Bailey and Capt. H.T. Morshead in 1913 while surveying, mapping, and defining the McMahon Line to separate India from Tibet. In 1962, this track witnessed a large contingent of the PLA cross over the McMahon Line at Bum La (and Tulung La), and then advancing through Mago, Tse La, Poshing La, Thembang and landing near Dirang.

Today, the Bailey Trail is a stunning high-altitude trek, offering breathtaking views of Gorichen, Kangto (the highest peak on the McMahon Line, east of Bhutan), and other unnamed peaks in the Gorichen group, most of which are visible from the present day, Bhlaukpong - Tawang highway (BCT highway), which we will take on our return journey, after landing at Jang.
The next morning, we found ourselves in the cold desert of the Eastern Himalayas. Foggy and desolate. The cold and thin air, posed a real challenge more for the seven bikers than the rest of us in the two cars. While most relied on Diamox, I instead went for the small oxygen canister that I keep under my seat, something I find handy to use while driving.

The lone Royal Enfield Himalayan handled the thin air and rough terrain relatively well, but the other Enfields struggled needing a push now and then - which felt draining, in the thin air. On the other hand, the two 4x4s in our group—Iseng’s Thar petrol MT and my Jimny MT—performed flawlessly.
Total distance covered on this trip, 1727 kilometres.

Meanwhile, the Crew37 WhatsApp group had been buzzing with Walong and Kibithoo plans - the easternmost tip of Arunachal Pradesh and India, bordering Tibet/China.
I was a bit unsure about joining since I’d been to Walong over a decade ago. Two things stood out as I looked at the map. First, the journey involved an extensive and monotonous day of driving from Assam's westernmost point to its far eastern tip and beyond. The NH37, often regarded as the lifeline connecting Upper and Lower Assam, plays a crucial role in linking these two prominent regions of Assam. This vital highway, which inspired the name Crew37, over the course of the day, would follow the course of the Brahmaputra through Assam.

Secondly I noted Vijoynagar positioned just south of Walong, roughly 100 kilometres as the crow flies. The first time I’d heard about Vijoynagar was through Gunin’s trip on his 4x4 Bolero.
So if I was covering over 500 kilometers across Assam’s plains to reach the easternmost part of Arunachal Pradesh (and India), adding Vijoynagar to the plan just made sense. I checked with Priyankar to see if he could join, and we were all set.

Nov 2023 On the road by 2.30 am instead of the scheduled 3.30, as I couldn’t sleep. Dark, cold and foggy. 30 minutes in, just as the fog appeared to lift, something made me slam on the Jimny’s brakes - a herd of wild elephants crossing the highway (NH 17).

Called Priyankar and BhaskarG, as I entered Guwahati. Then we traveled 400 kilometers to Dibrugarh, our meeting point with the rest of the team—some of whom I was meeting for the first time.

Rendezvous at the Dibrugarh bypass at 3:30 PM. Parked on the left, Prakritij’s Fortuner ‘Hulk’ beside ‘Zero’, gearing up for the journey to Walong. Chiranjitp leaves his blue Polo behind, and Ayan parts ways with his Fortuner. Jamini’s striking ‘Red Pepper’ that came to greet the team all the way from Sibsagar, returns from here.

Post lunch, we gate-crashed into Arunachal Pradesh through the Dirak gate (marked in the map above), passed through Namsai and stopped for the night at Tezu. Total distance covered, 769 kms.

View from Prakreetij's Hulk as we entered Anjaw district the next day. One of India’s least populated regions. Our destination for the day was Walong, passing through places like Khupa and Hayuliang. Khupa happens to be the last petrol bunk on this route, making it the ‘Easternmost’ fuel station in the country!
Filled our tanks and marched further east towards Hayuliang, which was the administrative and logistics hub, in the Eastern sector during the 1962 war.



With its advanced landing ground and the adjoining Namti Plains, Walong had witnessed some historic battles of the 1962 Indo-China war. Our team made it to Walong just after sunset. And despite having a reservation in a hotel, some unexpected VIP visit left us waiting for some clarity. While waiting, I managed to sneak into a local badminton court with Priyankar, borrowing a racket and playing a match with the locals. Total distance traveled Tezu to Walong, approximately 210 km.
As I was carrying grocery, stove and utensils for my extended trip to Vijoynagar and Namdapha, I parted with some of my supplies. Together with Prakritij, we cooked a hearty dinner together in Walong, that evening.

From Walong, first we went to Kaho, had our lunch and found a place to stay. Then we headed to Kibithoo, a picturesque settlement and India’s easternmost village on the Tibet border. A detour later, near Kaho led us to a riverside clearing, where we lit a fire and spent the evening by the water. Eventually, we made our way to our homestay in Kaho.
At the Kaho homestay, we gathered around a cozy fire in the courtyard. The snow-capped peaks stood in stark contrast to a wildfire illuminating the night sky on the opposite side.
After a hearty dinner lovingly prepared and served by our host, the next morning, it was time for the Fortuner to leave. Chiranjitp, Prakritij, Ayan, Debarshi (devonwheels), and Amarendra bid farewell. BhaskarG also joined the rest as he had limited time. So it was just me and Priyankar now.

Skipping breakfast at our stay, we too set out at the “Land of the Rising Sun”.
Breakfast of Wai Wai noodles, on an under-construction stretch of the 1700 km long Arunachal Frontier highway. On our return, we stopped at Namti and Walong War Memorial, then arrived at Parshuram Kund. The strong winds on the Parshuram Kund bridge nearly yeeted Priyankar out when the door swung open. I laughed hard—until I unlocked my own door and nearly took flight myself!

In Namsai, we refueled, withdrew cash, and visited the Golden Pagoda which was now open. We left the trans-Arunachal highway and swerved left at Mahadevpur, Zero point towards Miao, Namdapha and eventually to Vijoynagar.
At Miao, we secured permits at the Namdapha forest check gate. Driving through “Gibbon Land,” the wilderness and the haunting gibbon calls heightened the mood. We paused briefly for breakfast—a quick Wai Wai stop at a roadside clearing. After leaving Namdapha behind, the gracefully flowing Noa Dihing could be seen on our left.

By late afternoon, we were driving alongside its banks, eventually taking a break on the riverbank to cook up some more Wai Wai for lunch before continuing on our journey to VN. By sunset, we reached Vijoynagar and checked into the worn-out circuit house.
The next morning, after filling the tank from the jerrycan we were out to explore Vijoynagar and around. Ajay the young cook from the circuit house, agreed to show us around. What had started with a river crossing, soon brought more water crossings, until the Noa Dihing (river) itself had become our road.

Gave a ride to some locals on their way to work, then set off on a trek to an ancient temple by the riverbank. When hunger struck, we simply parked on the water. By now, Priyankar had mastered the art of cooking Wai Wai. However we agreed never to eat Wai Wai again once the trip was over.
Ajay was having his share of fun, throwing challenges at us. He now directed our attention to an approaching truck, fording the river. He claimed the driver had only one hand. Curious, we dropped everything to take a closer watch. Only to see a fully capable driver behind the wheel. Ajay had his line ready, “Must be someone else today.” What a classic anticlimax! We picked our plates up and finished eating our Wai Wai.
Next, we visited Two Hut Village, home to fewer than 300 residents. Quite an achievement considering it all started with just ‘two huts’. Ajay had an old Buddhist site further ahead, on his radar. He took us to his uncle’s house, where we are served rice and a unexpected glass of milk. While Priyankar saved himself the ordeal and refused, I went ahead for the sake of courtesy. Ajay’s uncle offered to join us since his daughter lived in the same village where we were headed. With him onboard we were on our way - now more confident than before.

Isn’t there some wise old saying about the rather thin line between confidence and overconfidence? Well, we were about to witness the difference unfold before us - firsthand. Our first trial started as the uncle kept hopping out of the car like a detective on a mission, inspecting the tractor trail. Zero suddenly decided it had had enough and settled to a gradual stop. Shuffling through 2H, 4H, and 4L did absolutely nothing—except for making the RPM needle shuffle through the red zone and sending up smoke in distress.
Since I was at the wheel, it was Priyankar’s turn to get out and assess the scene. And the moment he stepped down, his foot sank into the soft bog. No amount of pushing or revving could free the car. Ajay after getting muddied knee below, from the pushing, now headed to the neighbouring village for help. He returned quickly with a spade in hand, and a few helping hands.
Despite the extra hands, it was still proving to be a challenge. And just as we were considering bringing in a tractor, Zero managed to break free. The spot bore telltale signs of past struggles—broken ropes, pieces of wood in the bog, and footprints. As it turned out, a tractor had gotten stuck in the same spot two days ago, after missing a small diversion, much like we did.
At the next village (where our help came from), we marked the success with a small celebration, treating everyone to some cold drinks and snacks from the lone shop. And we resumed. The last house in the village (of about 5-6 total homes), led us straight into a forest. After repeatedly scraping the underbelly with rocks hidden by the undergrowth, we decided to leave the Jimny behind.
The last hundred meters of our journey were covered on foot. The site consisted of a small wood-and-bamboo structure, assembled by the local Nepali community to safeguard Buddhist artifacts—coins and human bones—that were frequently discovered there.
As we walked back to the car, Ajay’s uncle came running and quickly got in. Sadly, his daughter wasn’t home. If there had been a contest that day for who was having the worst luck among the four of us, he would have won hands down.
The next morning, we left Vijoynagar and retraced our path all the way to Miao. Upon entering Assam, we made a half-hearted attempt to explore the famous Stilwell Road, constructed during World War II. After some rest and dinner at a friend’s place in Ledo, we set off at 11 PM for our journey home—a long 520 kilometers still ahead of us.
Witnessed sunrise near Tezpur (Kaliabor) after the all-nighter and dropped Priyankar by 8.20 am at Guwahati and made it home by 10.30 am.
Odo: 10,365 kms

16 Nov, 2023
Collecting fallen orchids from the trees cleared for the four lane project on NH17, near our home. A local photography club (Goalpara Photographic Society - GPS) had made an appeal to save the fallen orchids.

December 2023 A year-end Christmas trip to Gupta Kashi (Biswanath Chariali) for a small gathering, as my friend Dhritiman was opening a camping site, guiding visitors into Kaziranga National Park’s newest range, Panpur, located to the north, near the Himalayan foothills. Journey began late in the afternoon and got ourselves a small windshield chip just as I’d exited the fuel station.
Since we got a late start, we decided to wrap up for the night after covering 215 km at Shyamal and Elora’s lovingly curated strawberry and dairy farm.

The next day, we reached the campsite near Biswanath Sariali and celebrated Christmas with cooking and singing. The following morning, we took a boat ride from Biswanath Ghat. After the river cruise, we headed straight to Arunachal Pradesh through the Namorah gate, with our nightstay planned at Boken’s home in Dikalmukh, a friend of Dhritiman. Along the way, we crossed rivers, a reminder that many of these villages remain cut off during the monsoon months. At Abhijit’s home, we enjoyed tea and some delicious puri-sabji, which turned into a little tea ceremony. Abhijit runs a green tea brand called Mrittika. We made it home, covering a total of 810 kilometers.

Meanwhile the scale model kit of the ‘Zero’ arrived ahead of schedule. And I got myself busy assembling it.

Feb 2024 Anniversary trip to Darjeeling and from there to Sandakphu. Information was sketchy if one is allowed to drive a private car from Manebhanjan, but we decided to go ahead.

Lal Jhamela
For the sake of chronicling, I’ll share a small incident that took place in a place aptly named Lal Jhamela in West Bengal. We were getting hungry and started looking for a spot to cook. While crossing a bridge, we noticed a dry riverbed below. After the bridge, we took a U-turn onto a trail leading back to the riverbed. Judging by the signs of previous campfires and scattered remains, it was evident people had used the spot for cooking before.
We parked our car on the sand and wandered around a bit. Soon, I noticed a Tata Magic vehicle approaching, kicking up a cloud of dust on the trail. It blocked our exit, and to our surprise, it turned out to be a Forest Department vehicle. One of the men, presumably a forest official, questioned what we were doing there. He seemed even more bewildered when he learned we had come all the way from Assam. Without hesitation, he began taking photos, peeking into our car, and throwing around accusations of poaching and smuggling.

At that point, something shifted in my wife. Usually reserved and polite, she unexpectedly took charge of the situation. Within five minutes, we were back on the road, leaving the commotion of Lal Jhamela behind.

We soon crossed Siliguri, the coronation bridge and landed in the Dooars and its beautiful tea gardens. And we took the road through Peshok tea garden area - a steeper road. I noticed the gears jamming and soon it became stiff. We managed to reach Ghum, explore Darjeeling in a Sumo and the toy train and decided to keep Sandakphu for a later time. Instead we headed to the Nexa service centre in Siliguri (Sevoke Motors).

Celebrating anniversary at Sevoke motors, NEXA, Siliguri. The Gear box needed replacement and was going to stay here until the new gear box arrives.
An old friend from from Teesta Thumpers Motorcycle club, Mr. Anupam Das helped get a cab from Siliguri to home.

Bharati NEXA, Bongaigaon (Assam) provided a loaner Jimny (AT) with 4767 kms on the odometer. And it was time to head to Balpakram National Park in Meghalaya with Bulls of Assam Motorcycle club. After Balpakram we rounded up the trip with a trek followed by rafting inside the famous Wari Chora lake.
Odo at 6072 kms at the end of the trip. And it was time to pick up Zero from Siliguri.

March 2024 Dropped the loaner Jimny at Bharati NEXA Bongaigaon at 5 am. Then took the train journey to Siliguri. Crossed Lal Jhamela and we had a good laugh.

Finally picked up Zero from Mr. Sanjay at Sevoke Motors, exactly a month after dropping it off. A big thank you to Mr. Sanjay and the entire team at Sevoke Motors for their support. Instead of staying overnight in Siliguri, we decided to drive straight back home. It was only when we reached the first toll at Sulkapara in the middle of the night that I remembered how the windshield had been replaced too at Sevoke Motors, along with the gear box. Fortunately, the Nepali-speaking attendants were helpful and issued us a new tag, carrying over the previous balance. We finally made it home at 3:38 AM after covering 277 kilometers.

April 2024 Jimny day drive in North Garo hills of Meghalaya, with fellow Jimny owners. Bikash and Ritupurna and friends.

18 April 2024: With members of Crew37, planning a roadtrip to Spiti.
10 May, 2024: Finally took the call to Upsize the tyres to 225/15.
12 May, 2024: Short test drive with Priyankar who’ll be joining me and my wife in our Jimny for the Spiti tour in June.
18 May, 2024: Nongstoin, Meghalaya to attend Bulls of Assam Motorcycle club’s anniversary meet-up.

4 June, 2024, 6 pm: Jamini and Prakritij arrives at my home after driving 500 kms from Sibsagar/Dibrugarh in Jamini's Red Pepper (AT), kicking off the Spiti tour.

Continue reading BHPian Hirohito's post for more insights and information.