One of our road journeys up the Lohit Valley our jeep encountered an insurmountable obstacle. Namely the Lohit itself we slithered to a halt on a damp riverbank and the driver shepherded us to a small boat.

The southern part of Lohit District lies in the plains. Logging has ravaged the enormous forests here but large swathes remain interspersed with paddy fields and few tea estates. They would probably have disappeared altogether were it not for the remoteness and wildness of this region. The Lohit River does a better job of environmental protection than any Supreme Court order. Its countless distributaries and channels sprawl across the plains rearranging themselves and the roads every monsoon. North of Tezu lie the Mishimi Hills which are entirely covered in lush vegetation tropical evergreen in the foothills and pine forests ahead of Chequenty.

The mishimi hills are recommended only if you are adventurous or very well connected with Bharat Sarkar. Or both which seems unlikely. Tourist facilities range from very basic to non-existent mostly the latter. The sarkari offerings circuit houses and inspection bungalows are very pleasant but few and far between. By the same token this region is untouched by tourism or other obvious sighns of development. The indigenous Mishimi peoples live for the most part as they have for centuries in small biodegradable settlements constructed almost entirely of bamboo. They practise shifting jhum cultivation grow a substantial crop of opium poppy and devote their lives to the acquisition of large herds of mithun. They dote on the beast but also sacrifice them in large numbers.

The Tai Khampti people whose culture is remarkable in different ways populate the lower reaches of Lohit district. The khampti people migrated to this region from northern Burma in the 18th century and retain links with their confreres in that country as well as in Thailand. They have retained their language a curlicued south East Asian script and their Theravada Buddhist religion. Gilded stupas and monasteries dot the khampti settlement most notably in chowkham 32 km from Tezu.

Road NH37 till Dibrugarh via Nagaon jorhat and sibsagar from dibrugarh continue on NH37 till Dum Duma via Tinsukia. At Dum Duma take the state road heading east for Tezu via Namsai and Chowkham

Railway Stations: Dibrugarh connected to Delhi and Kolkata by the Rajdhani Express Brahmaputra Mail and Kamrup Express.

Khonsa is an excellent jumping off point for exhilarating treks through uncharted forests. Venture out on fascinating excursions and Mother Nature will show you things you never dreamed existed. Now’s the time to brush up your knowledge about orchids after all out of the world’s finest species over 500 are to be found in Arunachal. Come April and the jungles here reveal the exotic beauty of these rare and exotic blossoms.

Spy on the white gibbon monkey swinging from branch to branch high overhead. Track the elusive red panda in its natural habitat around Khonsa’s great forested slopes which are home to the musk deer. The cute darling mithun, a cousin of the common buffalo, is a venerated creature in this region many an Arunachali lass has been married in exchange for mithun buffaloes as dowry. Tread carefully lest you offend them by treating the mithun with disrespect.

Tradition

It’s best to have a good travel agent to help organize trips to the Kheti and Lajo villages, inhabited by the Nocte and Wanchoo tribes. Life is hard yet they remain contented as they grow crops on steep mountainsides and fetch drinking water from streams hundreds of meters below.

Khonsa Museum

Khonsa’s museum isn’t really a museum in the traditional sense. Rather it is a collection of traditional tribal artifacts, showcaseing delicate bamboo and cane work and colourful handlooms from different areas of the region. Weapons share space with household implements. Long flat swords were used for cutting the undergrowth or the enemy’s hands.

Around Khonsa

Miao 154 km

Take a drive down the road to Miao headquarters of Changlang District an dgateway to Namdapha National Park. The drive winds through the historic 430 km long Stillwell Road, which used to connect margherita in Assam to Kunming in china. Built by Chinese troops under the supervision of US Army General Joseph Stillwell during World War II, it cost about $130 million way back then and is said to be one of the most expensive roads in the world. But it closes down soon and since all road routes into Myanmar are closed it remains mostly free of passengers.

Namdapha National Park. 166 km

An hour’s drive from Miao lies Namdapha, a wildlife enthusiast and botanist’s dream come true. It is the only park in the world that has four of the great cats inhabiting this thick jungle tiger, leopard, clouded leopard and snow leopard. The park is also home to several species of macaque and the endangered Hoolock gibbon. Birds like the hornbill, Bengal florican and whitewinged wood duck nest freely in the 2,000 km park. The sheer remotensess and inaccessibility of the greater part of the park have protected it from the interfering and often insensitive Homo sapiens species. More then 150 species of timber stand tall on the hills here.

You enter Namdapha through a 25 Km stretch of forested road. On one side is the clear Noadehing River on the other the mysterious jungle. We spotted hornbills and green pheasants flopping around on the main road itself. The forest department at Namdapha arranges treks, elephant rides and camping in the forest.

The Forest Lodge (Field Director, Project Tiger, Namdapha Reserve, Miao, Changlang) is situated in Deban Village. The river flows swiftly in the fornt and at the back loom the high-forested hills. There is also a Tourist Bungalow (Tariff Rs 100, Meals are available on order.

Air Nearest airport: Dibrugarh 216 km/5 hrs. Taxi costs Rs 4,000 return fare. For helicopter service to Khonsa, check at Itanagar’s AP helipad.

Nearest Railway Stations: Tinsukia 169 km, 4 hrs, Taxi costs Rs 3,000 return fare.

Road Khonsa is near India’s border with Myanmar. Drive down NH37 form Guwahati till Makum via Jorhat, Dibrugarh and Tinsukia. Take NH38 till Margherita via Digboi then head for Khonsa via Changlang.

District Museum

Established in 1956 the museum hosts a collection of artifacts turquoise and coral jewellery bone and ivory ornaments bamboo and cane household products, textiles and a small collection of Dao machetes. The museum is what you might expect in a remote place like Ziro but if you don’t mind the randomness of display it gives you some interesting insights into the indigenous skill base of the tribal communities of the district.

Mithun Spotting

Try spotting the mithun the bovine family member that’s a cross between the wild gaur and the buffalo. A large lumbering loner the mithun prefers the quiet of the forests and the Talley Valley Wildlife Sanctuary 38 km away to the banter of the villages and towns. The APA Tanis too let the mithun be until that is there’s a bride price or a fine to be paid or a sacrifice to be made. Then a hunting group sets out into the forests with salt said to attract the mithun and help it identify its owner.

Festival Harvest
Being an agricultural community festivities are often timed around agricultural activity. The Mloko Festival (March-April) is celebrates at the beginning of the agricultural cycle and is associated with the popular local sport, Bobo. Bamboo poles are installed in open spaces with cane ropes stretched between them on which the locals perform acrobatics. It can be a heady experience, especially if you have a couple of rice beers in your belly. The Dree Festival (july) marks the end of the plantation cycle. Offerings are made to the gods for a healthy crop.

Around Ziro

Talley Valley Wildlife Sanctuary (35 km)
A jeep ride from new town Ziro drops you off at the Manipolylong settlement from where the Talley Sanctuary is another 8 km. This natural botanical garden is a treasure trove of flora and fauna. Several orchids can be spotted here and the shy and retiring mithun. Pange on the way to Talley is an ideal spot for angling.

Train Fish Farm

This regional high altitude fish seed farm at Tarin near Ziro is a great example of the Apa Tenis paddy and fish culture.

Daporijo 172 km

Part of the popular Itanagar Ziro Daporijo along pasighat travel circuit in Arunachal Paradesh. Home to the Tagin, Hill Miri and Adi tribes Daporijo is a fairly large village town located at the confluence of the Sippi and Subansiri rivers. The long, long drive to Daporijo takes anywhere from 6 to 8 hours. It is the district headquarters of Upper Subansiri and is a favourite camping destination en route to along the head quarters of west siang district.

Air Nearest airport Lilabari, North Lakhimput (100 km/3 hrs). Shared Sumo to Ziro is Rs 110 per head

Rail Nearest station North Lakhimput. Sumo taxi to Ziro costs about Rs 1,500-2,000 (return fare). Shared cab is about Rs 110 per head

Half the fun of visiting Tawang is in reaching there as it involves driving over 200km of Himalayan country, weaving through a kaleidoscopic quilt of scenic and cultural variances. You can opt for an 80 minute copter flight from Tezpur but you will miss one of the most scenic chill drives India offers albeit one of the longest.

Following the age old trade route connecting Tibet to the Brahmaputra plains your journey will get exiting the moment you turn northwards from Tezpur in Assam, 347 km short you’re destination. A little after Sari Duar a traditional trading center and entry point into the erstwhile Ahom kingdom the road enters elephant country the Nameri Wildlife Reserve. If you are driving after dusk you face the prospect of having elephant herds blocking your passage. Once out of the forest, the road follows the turbulent Bharali River, whose waters constantly threaten its existence, washing off sections and tragically a few careless tourists each year.

Making the border a Assam and Arunachal is Bhalukpong 60 km from Tezpur a tiny commercial center on the rivers edge that gets overrun by angles every winter. The most interesting part of the ride is the section beyond Bomdila 100 km after Bhalukpong. It’s the start of your Himalayan adventure one of crazy hairpin turns and breathlessness due to a combination of awesome scenery and rarefied air.

The real climb starts from the Sela Pass 109 km ahead of Bomdila which at 13,828 ft is the highest motorable pass in the North east. The approach to Sela is usually marked by og, traces of landslides and imperfect roads. After crossing the Sangrila and Baisaki army camps, the air takes on a suddent chill. Atop the pass, there is a temple and three small lakes, The two lower ones are interconnected, while the third one is located at a slight distance above the pass. Back on the road after cutting through a pine forest you will reach Jaswant Garh 21 km ahead a war museum and memorial of the Indian army. A bend beyond is the vast Tawang valley and one can glimpse the seemingly tiny yellow roof of the tawang monastery 57 km away. A little after Lhau is a crossroad one fork leading to Bum La at the Chinese border, a restricted area the other into the heart of Tawang where a giant Army War Memorial greets visitors on the outskirts. Perched on a vast slope of the Himalayan mountainside is Tawang. The Tawanchu River flows in a gorge to the south while to the east tower a few peaks. And dominating the skyline like a mighty medieval fortress is the massive Tawang Monastery.

The comparatively tiny sanctum of Urgeling the birthplace of the 6th Dalai Lama stands a little away from Tawang Monastery. Attended by a solitary monk this simple shrine is the perfect hermitage. The huge tree growing beside it believed to have tree growing beside it, believed to have grown from a staff thrust into the ground by the 6th Dalai Lama himself casts copious shadows all around.

Also rebuilt recently the Sange Ryabelling shrine is located at a slight distance. A few kilometers from town is the Khinme Monastery a regular Himalayan structure, which belongs to the Nyingmapa sect and is popularly viewed as the oldest shrine of the area. Not far from the fork on the Tawang to Bumla Road is the Singshur Nunnery.

Around Tawang

Bomdila 187 km
Spread over the southern face of the Bomdila Ridge the town marks your entry into the region of Himalayan or Tibetan Buddhism. At the end of the bazaar line stands the Lawer Gompa a beautiful monastery built in traditional Tibetan design. High above the town is the Garden Rabgyeling Monastery better known as the Upper Gompa. Bomdila is also the best equipped town en route to Tawang so break your drive here. The hotels are basic but clean.

Taktsang Gompa 12 km
Taktsang Gompa or Taktsang Gompa half an hour by car from Tawang is one of the holiest Buddhist shrines of Arunachal Pradesh. Standing amidst high mountains, its sanctity is credited to Padmasam Bhava the maverick missionary who brought Buddhism to Tibet.

Not far away is the serence Sangeshar Lake 3 km renamed Madhuri after a dance sequence of the film koyla starring madhuri Dixit was shot here.