TAWANG – THE LAND OF DAWN LIT MOUNTAINS

I have already mentioned that I am a traveler at heart, the love for travel got rooted in me as a child. There are numerous places around the world that I’d like to visit. I would like to write about them but lets start with someplace closer home, the exotic Tawang Valley. Located high up in the mountain ranges of the Himalayas approx. 3500 meters above sea level is the beautiful land of Monpas-Tawang. Also known as The land of dawn-lit mountains, Tawang evokes images of picturesque mountains, quaint and sleepy hamlets, enchanting Gonpas and tranquil lakes. I have always wanted to visit the place and almost taken the trip once last year when a friend suggested. The idea did not materialise then now with the increased chaos and noise caused due to Dalai Lama visit, the dream has been revived.
Situated in Arunachal Pradesh, it is bordered by Tibet in the North and Bhutan in the Southwest. The inhabitants are from the Monpa tribe who belong to Mongoloid stock, are well built, and fair in complexion. The Monpa society is greatly influenced by the lamas (priests). In every spheres of their social life, Lama's intervention and guidance is beseeched. The religious bent of mind is depicted as village council is also deeply influenced and guided by the monasteries and their Lama.
Domestic tourists require an, Inner Line Permit to visit Tawang, while the foreigners need to apply for special permit. One can reach Tawang via Guwahati or Tezpur in Assam. From Guwahati /Tezpur one has to proceed to Tawang by road which takes about 10 hours from Bhalukpong and 13 hours from Tezpur. So, it is advisable to halt on the way in Bhalukpong/Bomdila/ Dirang in West Kameng District of Arunachal Pradesh. Apart from enjoying scenic beauty throughout the drive, one can see a number of monasteries on the way. On the way to Tawang lies the World's second highest pass, the Sela Pass through a high altitude lake of crystal blue water. Both sides of the lake are decked with miles of rhodendrons
In terms of sight seeing too Tawang has a lot to offer :
Tawang Galden Namgyal Lhatse - The spiritual center of the universe for the Monpas, also know as Tawang Monastery. It took almost 40 years of construction work to complete the structure of the monastery.

Tawang Library - The library is a repository of thousands of block-printed commentaries and treatises on the subject of Mahayana Buddhism. This is a valuable resource for Buddhist scholars in the region. Even the paper used is produced by the Monpas locally, from the bark of the Hong Seng tree.

There are beautiful lakes around Tawang, the most being Pankang Teng Tso (P.T. Tso) Lake, about 17 km away from the city. The other scenic lakes are Sangetser Lake, Banggachang Lake. The Losar and Torgya festivals are held between January - February, when lama dance and religious rituals prove a big draw for tourists across the world.

Till 1951, Tawang (also called Monyul) was under the Tibetan government. Its claim to fame is the 400 years old Tawang Monastery belonging to the Galukpa faction of the Mahayana sect of Buddhism. The huge fort-like monastery can house more than 700 monks. The name denotes ‘founded by the horse’ (Ta= horse: Wang= chosen).
Tawang has its own heritage and is definitely an uber exotic destination still highly unexplored by the touring junta. It most definitely is one of the most beautiful location in the lap of Arunachal and if promoted well can fetch tremendous tourism revenue. It also help develop the infrastructural facilities around Tawang, specially the road route between Guwahati and Tawang. Though travelling through the battered and rustic roads of the valley would most definitely create a memorabilia worth storing for a lifetime. I sure hope to take that trip soon.

THE LAST ROADTRIP

As a child my best memories are of the family vacations we took every year. My brothers and I would eagerly wait for these annual trips, the fun filled,no books,no pressure days filled with joy when we got to see the carefree avatar of our parents. As we grew up and moved to different cities, these trips stood for our reunion. The family trips now have become rare, however it did make each of us siblings explorers at heart.
My last adventure trip was a road trip from Mumbai to Hyderabad. It was the last week of august and luckily the weather was great so the 14 hour drive seemed like a cakewalk(well I didn't care about the distance anyway because of the great company). We started the trip pretty early in the morning, the receding monsoons had blessed the day with light rain showers. The route between Mumbai and Pune was simply heavenly, Mumbai-Pune expressway is a treat to drive through, specially during monsoons. The cool breeze kept us in good spirits as we drove through the clouds on the expressway. One of my favorite element of the expressway drive is the tunnels, though its not as many as you see on the railway route, still every time I cross one its quite exciting for me.
The drizzle and cold called for a cup of tea and of course wada pav, so we stopped to treat ourselves at one of the many food plazas we find on this route, and I must say they serve great food. We found the expressway bundled with travelers stopping and taking pictures of the great view of the lonavala and Khandala valley. The clouds seemed to have completely encompassed the hills, we were mesmerized. Of course, we took pictures, but none of them could match up to the image I have saved in my memory. As we traveled through Pune, I got nostalgic, remembering all the good memories I have of the years spent in the town. We stopped at the German bakery for a coffee :) great huh!!
As we resumed the trip on NH9, we stopped at several spots, clicking photos of picturesque forts, cascading waterfalls and rivers, lush green farms, funnily named dhabas, pretty houses (some sites so beautiful that we were forced to take a detour). What I enjoyed the most was the food on small dhabas on our way, the authentic maharastrian lunch, the mangalorean snack and the typical andhra dinner, simbly awesome!!!
I think everyone should take a road trip, it makes us realize the delectable beauty hidden in our countryside. When we cross small towns and villages, traveling by rail, we get to see the beauty but we miss on the opportunity to experience them...
So, good luck for your next or maybe first road trip...