Arunachal Pradesh: An Unexploded Paradise

Route :

Silchar to Guwahati

Guwahati to Tezpur 

Tezpur to Dirang 

Dirang to Sela pass and Tawang (which we never reached)

If road trips are your thing, along with unexpected pilgrimages, detoxing yourself from the hustle and bustle of city life and you  want to feel nature and its beauty untamed. 

Then I suggest you to take the path less trodden and head off to an adventure in the masked beauty of Tawang. Frankly, we were looking for cheap means of travelling and spending some family time together along with seeing a new place. Coming back to the trip, I took this trip with my family this October and it was one of the most memorable trips of all times. We started off from Guwahati as a group of 10 people with no plans or booking and no idea of the place. It seemed like a crazy idea to head into the wilderness but we did it anyways.  

As a child I always wanted to go to a hill station because I had a fantasy to play with snow! That feeling when fresh soft snow falls on your skin is something I can’t ever have enough of it. Well me and my sister had a fantasy to have a snow fight and build a snow man even though we are both practically adults. 

So if anyone who is not from Northeast is planning to go there, you can take a flight directly to Guwahati and a chopper service to Tawang. However, instead of landing directly on the destination I would advice you to take the longer route as the journey is more beautiful than the destination. 

NOTE: DON’T FORGET TO KEEP MOTION SICKNESS PILLS HANDY. 

But there is many a slip between the cup and the lip so as we were to head for Arunachal without much information we got to know we would need a pass to enter Arunachal. So we had to stay in Tezpur for a day 

 Somehow after  managing the pass we all headed to the land of rising sun. 
The road trip was a sequence of picturesque surroundings and lush greenery with hills and valley  in all directions and every turn leading to the discovery of a new waterfall, gushing and splashing. 

But above all I was bewildered by the beauty of the road, winding roads with blind twists and turns. 

The road trip was very challenging but with two stops in between we were able to pull it off very conveniently and reached Dirang.

We reached very late at night and stopped for dinner there. The hotel would make the perfect getaway for couples and for candle light dinners.(Guys note this place down and your girl will love you for this). 

Location: Hotel Pemaling, Dirang 

Well we took 2 guest houses as 12 people couldn’t fit in the same place. The next morning we woke up I couldn’t believe my eyes. Was it the same place or was I in paradise? The location was so beautiful that I still couldn’t get over the hangover of its beauty. And so I started doing the most obvious thing “clicking pictures” and having a sister who knows how to use a DSLR did not hurt. 

Well I could have been taking pictures forever but we had to head for breakfast as it was going to be a long journey to Tawang. A tea shop with momos was exactly what I needed plus a plate of Maggie: something no one can ever go wrong with. With breakfast sorted we again started our journey. 

This time it was an extremely beautiful terrain with snow capped mountain visible from afar. And my excitement to reach the place grew more and more. We were singing on top of our lungs and stopping the car every now and then to get pictures clicked. By far this was the best family vacation.

Location: Entrance to sela pass

As the snow capped mountains came closer and closer my excitement grew more and more. I was about to witness the first snow ever of my life. When I reached the place the entire peak was blanketed by snow and lots of Lakes surrounded it. 

My joy knew no bound and I jumped and raced with my sister to touch the snow first.

 But than the hard reality struck us as me and my mom started feeling nauseous and out of breath being asthmatic patients. So we went to a cottage type restaurant where they served Maggie only and ate 2 hot plates of Maggie sitting near a comfortable fire place. The entire family sat gossiping and sharing jokes and i took my medicines after eating. With that little break i was fully recharged now for a snow fight and of course pictures in the snow. 

Making a snow man seemed like a distant dream as it was too cold. And we stayed there for about 3 hours.
Sela pass was the high point of our trip. But our trip had to be cut short as an urgent work cropped up and we went back to Guwahati. While returning we stayed in Bomdila and next day came back to Tezpur and then Guwahati.

So something you should not miss while on a trip there is : 

1. Local kiwi wine (Which I never got to taste because of my strict parents but well it looked delicious).

2. To pet the cute furry and extremely friendly  Street dogs.

3. To learn a DIY trick on decorating the exterior of your home the local way.

(Ignore my pose. My dad is still brushing up his photographic skills)

4. Momos of Arunachal are the best.

5. Try investing on local jewellery as well as traditional clothing as a souvenir I bet you would not be disappointed. 

Model: Genu Ngomdir (Instagram Id: genu_ngomdir7 )

Designer: Toter Riba (Instagram Id: pennyriba)
6. Visit the Bomdila monastery which I apparently missed.

7. And last but not the least keep a really good portable charger and a phone with fabulous battery backup so that you can click as many pictures as you want.

I usually collect a souvenir of Gautam Buddha from every were i travel, so even in this trip i got one.

Happy clicking random pictures and Enjoy the trip to the fullest 

Behind the lense : Priya Singhi on Instagram as priya._.singhi 

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/neha._.singhi/
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Contact me by dropping a mail at: architectnehasinghi@gmail.com