Arunachal Pradesh Diary : Chapter 4 - Bum La and North Tawang

We started our Arunachal Pradesh journey from the Guwahati Airport. We explored Dirang and Bomdila in Chapter 1. From there, we reached Tawang in Chapter 2. Once in Tawang, we covered the nearby places in Chapter 3. Now, in the final chapter of our Arunachal journey, we'll be going north of Tawang, along the snow-capped mountains, exploring the beauty of Himalayas and ultimately reaching the China border at the Bumla pass.

It is recommended to read journey so-far in earlier chapters before continuing.

Travel Advisory:

Tawang is at the altitude of approx. 10000 ft. The altitude will keep on increasing during the journey towards the north of Tawang. So it is advisable to get used to the altitude and climate.

Y-Junction

We started our journey towards the Gurudwara and Sungester lake at around 9 am from Tawang. After crossing the town, our upward journey continued in the mountains. While the distances in kms might look smaller, it takes reasonable time to cover these places as the entire journey is on narrow mountain roads. At about 21 kms from Tawang, there is a junction known as Y-junction. As the name suggests, there are two roads going in different directions from this place. The straight one goes towards Sungester lake while the right turn goes towards the Bumla pass.

With Jawans near Y-Junction

While the climate was quite cold, to our pleasant surprise, we witnessed snow fall as we reached the Y-junction. It suddenly became too cold and we were lucky to find an army shop. We not only purchased some winter clothes, but were also offered delicious food by the jawans. The snow fall was quite heavy and we enjoyed it despite extreme cold.

Note:

• Carry extra winter clothes, including gloves, while going north of Tawang. The weather changes quite quickly here. Be extra careful if you are planning for a solo bike trip.

Gurudwara Teesri Udassi

As this was the day of Diwali, our first stop was Gurudwara Teesri Udassi. This is a small Gurudwara is located on the hill, and normally takes 20-30 minutes to climb a rather steep slope. Unfortunately, we could only go till halfway as the snowfall had made air quite thin and it became difficult to even breathe while climbing. We bowed down in respect to Guru Nanak Dev and climbed down. The langar is setup at the base only and we had a wonderful tea and sweets in the open langar. 

This is the gurudwara where Guru Nanak Dev stayed during his voyage to Tibet.

At the base of Gurudwara Teesri Udassi

T-Gompa

From the Gurudwara, we continued our journey despite snowfall and rain. We finally reached a small monastery called, Takshang Gompa (T-Gompa). This small but beautiful monastery holds a lot of significance in the Tibetan Buddhist history. When His Holiness 14th Dalai Lama escaped from Lhasa in March 1959, he entered India via this route and stayed at this monastery.

Takshang Gompa

Sungester Lake

From the monastery, we started our return journey, and finally reached the famous Sungester lake. This side of Tawang is quite known for its lakes and we crossed quite a few during this trip. While we didn't spend much time at other lakes due to lack of time, we did explore the beautiful Sungester lake. We had our lunch in a small cafe/restaurant near the lake. Thankfully the rain had stopped by now which allowed us to spend some quality time here. A collection of submerged black trees give this lake a distinct look. The lake became famous after the shooting of movie Koyla here, starring Madhuri Dixit. Therefore this lake is also known as Madhuri lake. 

Sungester lake was created by an earthquake in 1973.

Sungester Lake

While the water is quite cold, you can explore the lake surroundings and enjoy the scenic beauty. Clear lake water surrounded by mountains makes it quite a picturesque location. Here also there is an army camp that offers winter clothes and other accessories at quite an affordable prices.

After Sungester lake, we finally headed towards Tawang and it became quite dark by the time we reached back at 4:30 pm. Our BRO friends invited us to their temple for the celebration of Diwali in the evening. This Diwali celebration in BRO campus will remain one of the most memorable event of our trip.

Bum La

As the roads near border area were closed due to heavy snow fall, we spent next few days exploring places nearby Tawang as highlighted in Chapter 3. This also allowed ourselves getting used to the climate. Finally, we started our journey towards the Bumla pass one morning. Being a sensitive border area, you'll need to obtain a permit to go to Bum La. This can be obtained online.

We again crossed the Y-junction and this time took the right turn towards Bum La. While the road to Bum La was open, the vehicle movement was quite slow due to earlier snowfall. It took us more than 2 hours to finally reach Bumla. We crossed beautiful snowcapped mountains and Joginder Singh Memorial along the route.

On the way to Bum La

At 15,200 ft, Bum La is one of the highest border pass, and road to Bumla is maintained by BRO under Project Vartak. There is a reception area where visitors wait while waiting for their batch. Nice hot soup, samosa and kaju katli is available in the canteen here. You can see the border from the reception room glass window. As our number came, we walked up to the India-China Border gate on a small road under the guidance of an army officer. Photography is not permitted here. The officer passionately told about the history of Bumla, 1962 war and the sacrifice of Subedar Joginder Singh. There was a layer of thick snow all round and therefore there is no fencing along this border. The climate changes suddenly here and it can become quite cold within a few minutes. 

Subedar Joginder Singh was awarded Param Vir Chakra for his bravery during the battle of Bum La on 23 October 1962.

Bum La

The air of Bum La still smells the sacrifices of brave Indian soldiers of the battle fought 60 years ago. The battle is still on for the soldiers here as they face the harsh weather and a hostile neighbor. It is quite unfortunate for a heaven like Bum La to remain a politically sensitive area.

We had a plan to go up to the holy Chumi Gyatse waterfall along the India-China border and spend a night there. Unfortunately, the roads were closed due to heavy snowfall on that route. We therefore returned back to Tawang from Bum La. There is always something left for which we may return to this mesmerizing land again in future.

As we reach end of our journey, again a moment of appreciation for the BRO (Border Road Organization) that takes care of the road infrastructure in this difficult terrain. Many thanks to Gaurav Gupta sir, Rakesh Bhatti sir, Zuber Ahmad Sir and others from BRO whose warmth and hospitality we'll never forget.

Our good friends, Nini and Jay whom we met during this trip, have covered the places of Tawang quite beautifully in their vblog here  -

Like education, travel is also an investment that pays rich dividends, and this particular investment has indeed been such a case. On that note, ending the Amazing Arunachal Chapter here.

Arunachal Pradesh Diary : Chapter 3 - Tawang

In Chapter 2 of this blog series, we finally reached Tawang after exploring Bomdila, Dirang and all the wonderful places along the route. It is recommended to go through Chapter 1 and Chapter 2 before continuing on this journey here. We stayed in Tawang for 5 nights at Jambey Villa homestay, and this became our base to explore the near-by places. It is here in Tawang where we met our friends from BRO who made our stay extra-special. We even got to celebrate Diwali in BRO temple.

Places to stay:

• While Tawang is one of the least populated districts in the country, this town located on the mountain does have a good number of places to stay for the travelers. You can find good hotels and homestays to stay during your journey.

Food:

• While all types of non-veg food is quite easily available in Tawang, it was not difficult to find veg food as well. We found decent parathas and momos at the Delhi Darbar restaurant in town. 

Travel Advisory:

• Tawang is located at approx. 10000 ft (3,048 m) above sea level. The weather is also cold especially as the night approaches. It takes some time for the body to get adjust to these conditions especially when we travel from the plains of Guwahati. Therefore, it is recommended to not have a hectic scheduled and keep buffer of extra days while planning your trip. This will be also handy in case some roads are blocked due to snow fall or rain.

In this blog, we'll cover places located near Tawang. These include some of the famous monasteries of Tawang as well as our visit to nearby villages. The journey to Bumla and places along that route to be covered in the subsequent blogs.

Monasteries

Being a Buddhist town, Tawang has a number of monasteries, some of which hold a lot of historical and spiritual significance. We managed to cover below mentioned three monasteries, but missed out on a beautiful Nunnery, Gyangong Ani Gompa, located around 5 km from the town, due to bad weather. 

Tawang Monastery

The beautiful and historic Tawang Monastery is also known as the Tawang Ganden Namgyal Lhatse. The monastery has an 8 mtr tall Lord Buddha in the sanctum. Monastery has a residential building for the monks, a library, a museum and school for the basic education. The yellow rooftop residential building gives it a distinct look. The monastery is located at about 2 km from the town and it is better to visit it during the morning.

The Twanag Monastery is the oldest monastery in India and is the second biggest monastery in Asia.

Tawang Monastery

Urgeling Monastery

Urgeling monastery is located about 5 kms from the main town. This simple monastery was built around 1487 and was founded by Ugyen Sangpo. This place is the birth place of Tsangyang Gyatso, the 6th Dalai Lama. There is a holy tree in the compound of this monastery which is said to be planted by the 6th Dalai Lama. 

Urgeling Monastery

Khinmey Nyingma Monastery

Khinmey Nyingma Monastery also known as Sang-ngag-choekhorling. It is located at about 8 kms from Tawang in the Khinmey village. The main prayer hall has the statue of Buddhist sage Padmasambhava. The monastery was founded in 1440. His Eminence the 14th Thegtse Rinpoche is the current head of this monastery. The monastery provides accommodation and guidance to hundreds of monk students.

Khinmey Nyingma Monastery

Tawang War Memorial

The border town of Tawang has witnessed 1962 India-China war. Despite difficult geography, extreme weather and limited equipment, Indian army soldiers put a brave effort defending the country against much a superior armed force. Tawang War memorial is a beautiful stupa built in the memory of those brave soldiers.

The names of the brave soldiers of 1962 war who fought on this front are written around the central stupa.

Tawang War memorial

The memorial is located within the area of armed forces and there is a 30 minute light-n-sound show in the evening near memorial, depicting cultural heritage of Arunachal Pradesh and stories of 1962 war. As seating capacity is limited, make sure to reach on time for the show. The start time varies as per season, but normally it is 5:00 pm in winter and 6:30 pm in summer. There is a souvenir shop near by to collect memories. 

Lumla

During our trip, we also explored some offbeat locations, not frequently visited by the regular tourists. One such location was a beautiful Lumla village, located approx. 40 kms from the Tawang town towards the eastern Bhutan border. There is a scenic waterfall as we enter Lumla with a well constructed viewing platform. Just opposite to the waterfall, on the main road, is Lobsang restaurant. We recommend having your lunch here as not many food options are there in the mail Lumla village.

Lumla is known for its Tara Devi Temple. The temple is mainly visited by the local Buddhist population. The chanting of monks inside the temple creates a divine aura. There is a big Tara Devi statue on top of the temple which gives it a unique view.

Tara Devi Temple, Lumla

On our way back to Tawang from Lumla, we also stopped by the Mahabodhi School in Teli village. The entrance of the residential school has many white stupas on one side of the road. The center was inaugurated in 2016 by the Chief Minister. Mahabodhi runs an integrated program where senior citizens and children are living together like in an extended family.

Chagzam Bridge

Yet another offbeat location around Tawang is the historic Chagzham Bridge. We explored this during our return journey from Tawang. This suspension bridge is more than 600 years old. It was built by Tangton Gyalpo, a disciple of the first Dalai Lama using iron chains, over Tawang-chu river to connect to a monastery. The bridge is of religious significance to the locals and is believed to fulfil the wishes of devotees. There is also a newer suspension bridge built adjacent to the original Chagzam bridge.

Chagzam Bridge is a 100 mtr long suspension bridge.

 

Chagzam Bridge

Tawang Cultural Festival

Tawang Festival is quite a popular event of Arunachal Pradesh that celebrates the culture of Monpa tribes. Unfortunately, November 2022 Tawang Festival was called off due to some reason. Luckily for us, our young driver Nima took us to attend the Shyo Village Cultural Event one evening. The event had four folk dances, depicting different stories. It even had the famous snow lion dance. The snow lions and bulls do come to audience as well during their performances.

With Snow Lions at Shyo Cultural Event

After exploring Tawang, we'll head north to go to the famous India-China border at Bumla pass and the places located on the north side of Tawang in our final chapter. Stay tuned for the updates as the things are going to be quite chilly.

Arunachal Pradesh Diary : Chapter 2 - From Dirang to Tawang

In the Chapter 1 of this series, we entered Arunachal Pradesh via South-Western border and reached up to Dirang. In this chapter, we'll continue our 135 km northward  journey towards Tawang.

Our first stop on this journey was a place called Padma, a popular spot to have food. Padma has a few roadside restaurants/stores where you can get anything from chocolates to drinks to momos. We had our best veg momos of this trip at Padma. It is recommended to full your belly here as there are not many food points ahead.

Nyukmadong War Memorial

Nyukmadong War Memorial

Just ahead of Padma, there is Nyukmadong War Memorial. The Nyukmadong War Memorial is built overlooking the famous battle ground of 18 Nov 1962. The main memorial is a 'Chorten' and the names of soldiers who died in this battle are engraved in stones around this Chorten. This beautiful memorial pays homage to the supreme sacrifice of Indian Army soldiers.

Sela Pass

Sela Lake

After visiting the memorial, we continued our journey on the beautiful Himalayan mountain roads. The height continuously increases as we cross the various Army cantonments along the journey. The highest point on this route is the Sela Pass, located at 13700 ft.  This is where we enter the Tawang district. Due to its height, the region is quite cold, and it often snows here. We were lucky to have clear weather during our onward trip which allowed us to explore the scenic Sela Lake located on this pass. 

The pass holds a lot of significance to the local Buddhist community. You'll see a lot of colorful Buddhist flags here. It is named after a tribal woman Sela who fought along side Jaswant Singh Rawat during the 1962 India-China war. The pass is also important to connect Tawang to the Assam and for the movement of the goods. As it sometimes gets closed due to heavy snow, a tunnel is being built to ensure 365 day connectivity.

Jaswant Garh War Memorial

After Sela Pass, we'll continue traveling on the mountain roads through ups and downs. Approx. 25 kms from Sela Pass is our next stop - Jaswant Garh War Memorial. 

Jaswant Garh War Memorial

The story of Rifleman Jaswant Singh Rawat is that of the battle of Nuranang, on 17 November 1962. Even after 60 years of the war, Rifleman Jaswant Singh is still considered to be serving and on duty. The memorial is built on the location of this battle and to pay homage to Rifleman Jaswant Singh and the Gorkha rifles.

The canteen of Jaswant Garh memorial offers decent food. The army store is also there for winter cloth shopping or to collect souvenirs. This was the place from where we first started seeing the snowcapped mountains. After having some light snacks and tea, we continued our downward journey towards the next stop.

Jang Falls

Nuranang Falls/Jang Falls

Nuranang Falls is located near the Jang town, and are also known as Jang Falls. This 100 mtr tall waterfalls is a popular tourist destination for the locals. The milky waterfalls is famous for its rainbow formations and we were lucky to see the colorful rainbow formed due to the mist formed by the waterfall. The waterfall is on the Nuranang river which merged into the Tawang river at the base of the waterfall. There is small cafe near the base of the waterfall along side the river.

Jang Falls is located approx. 40 kms before Tawang. Our journey along the mountain roads continued after spending some time at the waterfall, and we finally reached our homestay in Tawang during late evening. Details of our Tawang journey is now available in Chapter 3.

Arunachal Pradesh Diary : Chapter 1 - Bomdila and Dirang

Travel is an investment in oneself. 

Ever since our first trip to the North-East India in 2019, we were eager to come back and explore the hidden gems. The pandemic delayed the next big travel, but finally we got a chance to come to the land of rising Sun, Arunachal Pradesh, in October 2022.

Mountains Calling

Arunachal Pradesh was formed from the earlier NEFA (North-East Frontier Agency). It is a border state having international borders with China, Myanmar and Bhutan. This hilly region of Himalayas has witnessed the 1962 India-China war. Our trip was on the western side of Arunachal, covering Dirang, Tawang and Bumla. In the first chapter, our focus will be on Bomdila and Dirang.

Before we begin, a moment of appreciation for the BRO (Border Road Organization) that takes care of the road infrastructure in this difficult terrain. They are continuously improving the road infrastructure in this region to make it all-weather accessible. Many thanks to Gaurav Gupta sir, Rakesh Bhatti sir, Zuber Ahmad Sir and others from BRO whose hospitality made our trip extra special.

How to reach:

• Nearest airport is Guwahati Airport. The road journey from Guwahati to Tawang is better to be broken into 2 days due to the hilly region.
• We stayed in Dirang  (Dirang Dzong homestay) during our onward journey and stayed near Sappers with our BRO friends during the return journey. 
• The towns in Arunachal are located on the hills and are sparsely populated. The journey on the mountain roads is mostly along the side of the river. 

Weather:

• Once you enter Arunachal Pradesh via land route, the altitude keeps on rising and temperature keeps on falling. Keep your winter clothes ready.
• Extreme winter starts November month onwards, but the cold climate remains throughout the year. It can be understood by the observation that there were no fans in any homestays we stayed!

Culture:

• While Christianity is a major religion in Arunachal Pradesh, people of the Western districts of West Kameng and Tawang are mostly Buddhist. 
• Hindi is quite commonly used by the locals in communication.

Bomdila

We entered Arunachal Pradesh via Balemu check point, quite close to the Bhutan border. As Arunachal Pradesh comes under the restricted area, you'll need Inter-Line Permit (ILP) to enter the state. It can be obtained online.

We crossed picturesque views of Kalaktang and Rupa before reaching Bomdila. This was an 10-hour journey from the Guwahati Airport. The mountain roads are full of cabbage plantations on this route.  Bomdila is a headquarter of the West Kameng district. Bomdila is mainly famous for the beautiful Bomdila monastery. We spent a quite evening here exploring the monastery.

Bomdila Monastery

A drone view of the same monastery can be seen on the YouTube channel of our friends Nini and Jay who met us first time at this Monastery. - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=taHxMGkmIVw

Dirang

Dirang is at an hour's distance from Bomdila. This is where we had our first stay at the Dirang Dzong homestay. During our return, we stayed at Sappers which is quite close to Dirang. The beautiful hilly region of Dirang was a pleasant surprise for us. For the nature lovers, this place has a lot to offer. 

Seven Brothers' Monument, Dirang

There is a monument in the memory of seven brothers who laid down their lives protesting against the tyrant king along side the road. The old Dirang Monastery was at walkable distance from our stay. It is a small monastery and was under renovation during our visit. The new Thuksang Dargeyling Monastery was built recently in 2017 and was inaugurated by his Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama. The new monastery is located on a hill top and it takes approx. 30 minutes to reach there. If you are looking for calmness and peace, this scenic monastery has got plenty of them. This beautiful structure overlooking Dirang offers great visuals for photographers.

Thuksang Dargeyling Monastery

Dirang is also a good base to explore nearby locations, like Mandala Top and Sangti Valley. Mandala Top, as the name suggests, is located on the top of a mountain, approx. 25 kms from Dirang. On a non-cloudy day, the hairpin road offers scenic view of the surrounding mountain ranges. On top, there is a recently constructed circular monument of 108 stupas. This is a good place for a day picnic.

Mandala Top

While Mandala Top is located on the top of a hill, Sangti Valley offers a picturesque location of a village along the river. The road to reach valley is not smooth but it crosses beautiful plantations of oranges, tomatoes and kiwis. The white sandy river beach of valley is a good place to relax and enjoy the chilled water. There are homestay available near the valley to stay here overnight. That would be quite an experience for sure.

Sangti Valley

We had planned our trip for Tawang, but Dirang came out as a beautiful surprise. There are few more surprises on our journey towards Tawang, to be explored in the subsequent chapters!

Head to the Chapter 2 here.

More photos of Arunachal trip can be seen at - https://www.instagram.com/nimeshddesai/

Statue of Unity - A Modern Marvel

Finally we got a chance to visit Statue of Unity just before it's first anniversary during Oct 2019. The statue is an architectural marvel built to honor the one of the greatest Indian, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel.

I have done reasonable amount of travel within India, from north to south and from east to west. One complain that I always have is that our governments have almost stopped building new tourism attractions for quite some time. In most cities and states, the places of tourism belong to British or pre-British era, or places of worships by independent organisations (like Akshardham). I have also seen during my foreign stay how Indian Freedom struggle has been reduced to couple of people in International media. For these reasons, I am quite happy to have a modern monument that not only establishes the legacy of national leaders but also becomes a major tourism destination. It also showcases the skills of Indian companies and engineers to the whole world.

Trivia - The height of 182 mtrs was chosen to signify 182 number of seats in the Gujarat Legislative Assembly.

The Giant talking to the mountains

Reaching Statue of Unity:

• Statue of Unity is located on Sadhu Bet, Near Sardar Sarovar Dam, Kevadia, Gujarat. Statue site is accessible by road from Gujarat's major cities, nearest one is Vadodara. It is at 90 kms distance from Vadodara Airport, a 2 hour drive. The road is newly developed and is a scenic drive along which we can see Pavagadh Hills in distance.
• Booking for Statue viewing can be done online at https://soutickets.in/. The dates open before 30 days. Tickets are also available at the ticket counters at Statue site.
• Statue site opens at 8:00 am in the morning, and entry to museum and statue is allowed till 6:00 pm.

Staying at Statue of Unity

• Though we made a day trip mainly to visit Statue and Dam, with the addition of Dino Park, Valley of Flowers, Cactus Garden, Butterfly Park and other projects, it is difficult to cover everything in a single day. There are multiple tent-cities near Kevadia for the overnight stay whose booking can be done online. With the increase in tourists, a number of new stay options are likely to come in future.

There is a parking space for private vehicles at the entrance of the Statue site. There are AC buses to reach Statue and other locations from here. These buses runs free of charge, and are quite frequent. Main statue is 6 km from the parking space.

The first place we visited after reaching here was Sardar Sarovar Dam view point. It is a small climb along local shops from where 163 mtr high dam can be seen. It is the biggest dam in the state of Gujarat, and provides water to arid regions of Gujarat, Rajasthan and Maharashtra.

Trivia - 1.2 km long Sardar Sarovar Dam is the fifth tallest dam in India.

Sardar Sarovar Dam

As the Valley of flowers was closed due to security arrangements for Prime Minister's visit, we directly headed to the Statue site from the dam view point. It is a huge space with separate entry and exit. There is a decent size cafeteria where good veg food is available, though it can be crowded during peak season. There is also souvenir shop, and a huge open space with benches. This is from where evening Light-and-Sound show is seen. Statue is constructed such that Sardar is overseeing the site of Sardar Sarovar Dam, his vision that was fulfilled almost 70 years after his death.

Trivia - It took 250 engineers, 3,400 laborers to build this statue in a record time of 3 years and 9 months.

Statue of Unity

At the feet of the Statue, there is a big state-of-the-art museum that showcases life of Sardar Patel, India's Freedom struggle, partition and unification of India. It also showcases photos of different animals, birds and trees found in Shoolpaneshwar Wildlife Sanctuary. There are two mini-theaters within this AC museum that continuously shows biography of Sardar Patel and Sardar Sarovar Dam construction in various languages. Museum also has a replica of statue, and outline of statue made from instruments donated by farmers.

Trivia - Indian Sculptor, Ram Sutar, created three models measuring 3 feet, 18 feet, and 30 feet to finalize the Statue design.

Statue of Unity Museum - Freedom Struggle

Statue of Unity Museum - Shoolpaneshwar Wildlife

From the museum, there are four high-speed lifts fitted within Statue can carry 26 people (each) to the viewing gallery at 153 mtrs in just about 30 seconds. This provides a scenic view of dam and surrounding area from that height.

After exploring museum during the afternoon, we reached the foot of the Statue through multiple stairs/escalators. While the Statue is visible from entire site, it is from here that we come to know about its giant stature compared human size. We took a moment to admire the great man at his feet, and in a true sense we are all dwarfs against this legend.

Trivia - It took 2,12,000 liters of concrete, 18,000 tonnes of reinforced steel and 6,565 bronze panels to build the statue.

View of Statue from the base

After 6:00 pm, entry to the Statue and museum is closed, and we sat at the benches near cafeteria, enjoying evening snacks. It started raining, but stopped after some time. Every evening at around 7:15 pm, there is a Light-and-Sound show projected on the Statue. It showcases the life of Sardar Patel, India's Freedom struggle and details about the Statue itself. Watching this 30 min show is highly recommended.

Evening @ Statue of Unity

The Statue provides good exposure to young minds about the life of Sardar Patel and freedom struggle. It ignites that curiosity in them which will lead to the path of greater knowledge about India's history.

Trivia - The Statue will turn from its original bronze color to green in 100 years due to natural aging process.

Monsoon Trek - Lohagad and Bhaja Caves

Arrival of monsoon in the month of June inaugurates Punekar's (and Mumbaikar's) one of the favorite activity - scenic drives and trekking. With number of forts and hills in close vicinity, this is one of the most satisfying experience one can have in this season.

Lohagad  means 'the iron fort'. Historically Lohagad was one of the many forts of Maratha empire. It is located in close to a larger Visapur fort.

Lohagad Fort

Reaching Lohagad:

• It is an 90 minute road drive from Pune to Malvali town on the foothills of Lohagad (and Visapur) along the Old Mumbai-Pune Highway. There is another road that comes via Pavana Dam.

Bhaja Caves

Bhaja Caves

Before we reach Lohagad from Malvali, there are Buddhist caves on the way that one must explore. A small trek up the hill steps, Bhaja caves were one of the oldest Buddhist religious centers in the Deccan. There are scenic waterfalls on the either sides of Bhaja caves.

Bhaja Caves Steps

View from Bhaja Caves

Lohagad

The 5 km drive from Bhaja cave to Lohagad base is along the steep mountain roads with number of sharp turns. While major part of this road is quite good, there are slopes with potholes which makes driving up/down the hill a bit tricky. We preferred parking our vehicle along the way, and trekked rest of the path. Advantage of this was enjoying delicious kanda bhajji and pitala bhakhri in the road side huts on this road. There are also number of waterfalls along this route.

Pavana Lake, as seen from Lohagad Fort

Lohagad has well maintained steps to climb, and it takes nearly 45 minutes to reach the top from the base. In monsoon, there will be water flowing along the steps. While this gives a nice rustic feeling, be careful with your footsteps. The trek along the steps is also accompanied by monkeys, and be mindful of them if you are carrying food items.

Visapur Fort, as seen from Lohagad Fort

The top of the fort is mostly covered with clouds during rainy season, and visibility reduces to few meters. The rush of wind instantly refreshes the body after a decent hike. Like most hills and forts, there is a temple (Mahadev Temple) on top of Lohagad , along with few other monuments. The fort overlooks Pavana reservoir on the southern side which provides an excellent view during clear weather. 

Lohagad is quite a good for a day outing from Pune/Mumbai, and is normally very crowded during weekends.

Assam and Meghalaya - God's Own Abode

India is a country full of surprises with so much diversity in its geography, culture and heritage. There are places with which you will instantly fall in love with. North-east is one such region. Each state is unique, with its own cultural identity, liberally blessed by nature.

We started planning for our trip in January 2019 along with our friends our friends Srihari and Anu. We explored different options, finalised plans, and did all the booking. Finally, we visited Assam and Meghalaya in March 2018. We pre-booked our transport, Innova crysta, for the entire journey. Nripen was our driver and companion who took us to the wonderlands of Assam and Meghalaya. His expertise about the region helped us cover everything that we planned for.

While across India there is common timezone (IST), do keep in mind the changed (early) routine of sunrise and sunsets if traveling here from western part of India.

Reaching Assam and Meghalaya

• Guwahati has a military airport where domestic flights also operate. There are regular flights to Guwahati from all major cities of India.
• There is an excellent road connectivity between Assam and Meghalaya. It is a 4 hour road journey from Guwahati to Shillong.

Best time to travel

• Every season offers different reason to travel this beautiful world. Monsoons starts April onwards, and it is a good time for monsoon lovers who want to witness heavy rains. But some of the places, like Kaziranaga remains closed during monsoon, and Dawki river may not be as clean as it is during summer. February/March is end of summer and is generally a good time when most places can be explored.

We started our journey from Lokpriya Gopinath Bordoloi International Airport of Guwahati. We explored Guwahati, Kaziranga, Shillong, Cherrapunji (Sohra) and Shnongpdeng. These places are well connected by road. While Assam is mostly flat lands, majority journey through Meghalaya is on mountain roads.

Guwahati

Guwahati as seen from Bhubneswari Temple

Guwahati is one of the major cities in north-east region, located close to the capital of Assam, Dispur. Located on the banks of Brahmputra, this city is known for its temples. Our stay here was at Baruah Bhawan, a walking distance from the riverbank.

Places to see

• Kamakhya Temple : Kamakhya is one of most famous temple of north east India. It is located on a small hill, where one can reach by car. It is usually very crowded and takes 5-6 hours for the darshan. We were lucky to do it within 2 hours. Try to reach early in the morning. Further on top of the hill is Bhubneswari Temple, from where a beautiful view of Guwahati is visible.

We also went to Navagraha temple and Umananda temple (on the peacock island in Brahmaputra) here, and crossed Saraighat bridge and IIT Guwahati. Guwahati market is good for Assamese Mekhla saree shopping, and delicious rasgullas.

Kaziranga National Park

Rhino at Kaziranga National Park

215 km from Guwahati, is World Heritage site of Kaziranga National Park. Famous for its Indian one-horned rhinoceros, the sanctuary is also a home to a wide range of animals and birds like Royal Bengal Tigers, Wild Elephants, Swamp Deers, Wild buffaloes, King cobra, tortoise, hornbills, eagles, vultures and stokes. Kaziranga is a part of Golaghat and Nagaon district, and spread across the area of 430 square kms along the Bramhputra river.

There are three major entry gates, western (Bagori), central (Kohora) and eastern (Agaratoli). Decent stay options are available here. We stayed at Sneha Bhawan which was closer to Kohora gate.

Things to do

• Elephant safari : Exploring the forest on the back of an elephant is an experience to remember. Every morning there are safaris that need to be pre-booked. Elephant safaris covers appx 15 sq km area, and takes us very close to rhinos and other animals. 
• Jeep safari : Jeep safari covers much larger area, and takes us deep inside the forest. We did multiple jeep safaris, from Bagori and Kohora gates respectively. This is enjoyed best by remaining quiet, observing the surroundings and listening to forest movements. Though we missed tiger by 10 mins, We saw hornbills, eagles, vultures, monitor lizard, rhinos, swamp deers, wild elephants, stokes, variety of tortoise and many different birds.
• Cultural Program at Kaziranga National Orchid And Biodiversity Park : After the hectic day that was spent mostly in the forest of Kaziranga, this cultural program provides a soothing relief. The group here performs various traditional dance forms and live music, and they are exceptional. There are souvenir shops to carry back memories.

Kaziranga remains closed for visitors during monsoon, May 1 to Oct 31.

Shillong

Airforce Museum

Shillong is a capital of Meghalaya and 3 hr journey from Guwahati. It's a scenic journey as most part of it is in hilly regions. We took a halt at Umiam lake to see the wonderful sunset. Shillong was the coldest place in our trip, and temperature drop is significant. We stayed at the wonderful and well maintained Pine Hill Homestay.

Places to see

• Elephant falls : This is one of landmarks of Shillong. You'll see couple of waterfalls along the small trek.
• Airforce museum : Shillong is the head quarter of eastern airforce, and a visit to airforce museum is highly recommended. Museum also has a souvenir shop.
• Shillong View Point: On top of the hill, within airforce area is a point that provides scenic view of Shillong city. It takes some time getting the entry here due to security reasons. Remember to carry id cards while going here.

We also went to Ward's lake, and explored Police Bazaar area for shopping. City Hut Dhaba is a recommended place for lunch/dinner.

Police Bazaar market remains closed on Sunday, so plan your trip accordingly if you are interested in shopping.

Cherrapunji/Sohra

Nohakalikai Falls

65 km south of Shillong is Cherrapunji, which is locally known as Sohra. It is famous for its rainfall, and we did get a glimpse of it during one of the nights.

On the way from Shillong to Cherrapunji, there are some good places to explore. Meghalaya comprises of large number of caves in Jaintia, Khasi and Garos hills, and few of them are a must visit.

• Arwah Lumshya Cave : Arwah Lumshya is a natural cave formed within the limestone rock. Along with stalactites and stalagmites, this cave has presence of fossils along its walls and roofs. Journey to the entrance of this cave from the parking is also quite scenic within the forest.
• Mawsmai Cave: This is another limestone cave that provides good view of the natural formations. Some of the passages are very narrow, and adds to the thrill.
• Nohakalikai Waterfalls: Nohkalikai Falls is the tallest plunge waterfall in India with the height of l115 feet. It is located quite close to the main town.

There are other waterfalls as well like Wah Kaba and Seven sisters (which is actually beyond Cherrapunji) in this region. Our stay here was at La Kupar, which was quite well maintained, offers campfire and provides amazing night sky view. Orange roots restaurant on this way offers good food.

Nongriat - Double Docker Living Root Bridge

Double Decker Living Root Bridge

Meghalaya is a land of living root bridges, and double decker living root bridge of Nongriat is a special one that has two levels. It is a trek down of 3500 steps to reach here. It is recommended to start the trek very early in the morning. Guides are available for hire here.

We started the trek at 8:00 am and carried breakfast with us. The trek has cement stairs at more places along the slopes of the hill. Along the way, we cross few small streams and couple of single level root bridges. It took us 1:45 mins to reach the double decker bridge. There is a small waterfall and a stream near the double decker bridge. From here, you can trek further to reach Rainbow and NohaKalikai falls though we didn't do that in the interest of time. After exploring the bridge and doing photography, we started the return journey upwards. There are small shops along the way, as well as drinking water outlets. We finally reached the top at 1:15 pm, headed straight to Jiva resort for a well-earned lunch!

There are students here who do this trekking everyday to reach their school.

Dawki/Shnongpdeng

Wah Umngot (Dawki River)

Further south of Cherrapunji, along the Bangladesh border is the town called Dawki. The road is along the hills, and as we reach near Bangaldesh, climate will be a bit hotter.

Along the way, we stopped at Mawlynnong, Asia's cleanest village. It's small village, and also has a living root bridge. Dawki is the last town on Indian side of the border, which is connected to Tamabil of Bangladesh by  road. We visited India Bangladesh Friendship Gate which is the entry point for either country.

From here, we went to Shnonpdeng, a small village established along the Wah Umngot (Dawki River). The stay here was in wooden cottages constructed along the slope, though one can book tents as well. Cottages provides direct view of river. This is one of the cleanest rivers, with river bottom visible. We did boating in this river for close to an hour. There are also options for kayaking and snorkeling. Crossing the suspending bridge over the river is a must act, and gives a good view of the river. River is full of pebbles and stones, and sitting here with feet soaked in river water is a calming experience.

During rains the river becomes muddy, but January onwards the river has crystal clear water. 

At Kaziranga Cultural Center

More pics can be found at - https://www.instagram.com/nimeshddesai