Dirang to Tawang Travel Guide | Road Trip to Tawang | Arunachal Pradesh Diary | Chapter 2

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.

Bomdila & Dirang Travel Guide | Road Trip to Tawang | Arunachal Pradesh Diary | Chapter 1

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/