...Trip to Tawang

The unforgettable trip to Tawang on the Indo China border (Lhasa in Tibet and Beijing are 450 Km and 4500 Km respectively from here) in Arunachal Pradesh via Tezpur (A cosmopolitan city in Assam with an Indian Air Force base), Bomdila, Dirang (and its hot springs) and Sela (The highest place I have ever been to. 14000 ft above mean sea level. The first time I got to experience snowfall, was here in Tawang) started on 19th of January.

Moored high up the mountain ranges of the Himalayas, at 3500 meters above the sea level is Tawang the beautiful land of the Monpas. With sobriquets like "the hidden paradise" or "land of dawn-lit mountains" this land evokes images of awesome mountain views, remote hamlets, quaint and sleepy villages, magical gompas, and tranquil lakes. Tawang brings you closer to Mother Nature. The legendry 17th century Tawang monastery perched atop a hill, over looking the ridge and surrounded by thick clouds, entices the spiritual part of even the atheists with its ethereal peace.

The drive to Tawang was indeed breathtaking! The stunning view nearly melts one's heart. First, we were treated with an appetizer of the beautiful view of the beautiful valleys and snow-capped mountains as we drove up the Himalayas ranges.                                                               

We  had our first night stay in Dirang, famous for  Monasteries and Hot spring where the people take bath for curing skin ailments.

 On the 2nd day,we started off early for Tawang.As we approached the hill station, the geographical features started to turn into a winter wonderland. The road to Tawang is very treacherous with its unpredictable hairpin curves.But the real fun is in driving through them as one gets to see the Himalayan ranges, all smothered with virgin forests, surrounded by the misty horizon. We screamed as we saw waterfalls, wild rivers, and ravines.But there was total quiet inside the jeep as we entered the snow zone. It was a beautiful Christmasy sight with the pines and the mountains all topped with snow. The small springs and the waterfalls were all frozen.

We halted at Sela pass (  It  is the world's second highest pass motorable pass at 14000ft. Height, which runs through a small ridge and along the paradise lake.). The whole place was covered with a sheet of snow. We had a ball with snowballs but had to hurry coz it was 5 degrees below zero the diesel in the engine had started to freeze.

We reached Tawang in the evening and spent the evening watching a bollywood blockbuster at a local theatre. The next morning was almost eight in the morning and I just looked outside and saw that there's snow on the ground, It was snowing!!!!   

The glories of the first quarter inch of snow on the road. the fluffy, virgin snow made for a glorious ride  in the morning. It snowed heavily all day long and what better time to explore Tawang? We  played all day long in snow and with snow.Next day we went for local sight seeing which included the  monastery which is the second largest monastery in Asia, built in the17th century AD, at a height of 10000 ft .Tawang monastery overlooking the town is beautiful and colorful like all gompas. Eight-meter high gold statue ofSakyamuni

 Historical Buddha) inside the gompa can be adored from two floors.Time went very fast and suddenly it was time to say goodbye to Tawang. We left for Tezpur early next morning . On our way back though, our luck ran out when at one point, our Tata Sumo was entangled in snow and we were stuck in  middle of nowhere.But thankfully, we managed to cross Sela-Paas, one of the highest motorable areas in the world. From there, the journey was mostly downhill and we managed to reach Tezpur and continued the onward journey to Guwahati early next morning.