A Journey Through the Soaring Mountains

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On 23rd March, we started again from Tenga valley, on the supposedly last leg of the journey to Tawang. The car was buzzing with anticipation as all of us were looking forward to today's sights. The Army guesthouse I was staying at rested at the very bottom of the valley - and the surrounding mountains were rising high above us. A fast flowing rocky stream cut through the valley. Short metal bridges spanned it at intervals. We crossed several of them on the road. We were climbing higher and several times I felt my ears pop. We bypassed the town of Dirang, and headed higher towards Bomdila. Bomdila is a sub-city - it rests on a horseshoe ridge and is fairly developed. It had two museums of craft, culture and ethnological basis, both of which we left for our journey back; we still had long way to go.

We stopped for lunch at the Senge Transit Camp. This Camp was solely built for the heavy military trucks that cross the Sela Pass into the Tawang valley everyday, and the ones which come back from Tawang. Unfortunately here the news reached us that Sela Pass had experienced snowfall the night before, and was currently closed for the day. The snow should be cleared by the next day, and therefore at around 2 o'clock in the afternoon we ended our journey for the day without completing it. I, however, explored the Transit Camp; it had some quaint houses on the side of the small hill on which it perched. The top of the hill was flattened and had a helipad built on it. The other side was a sheer drop into a valley surrounded by three different snow-capped mountains. I sat there for some time - enjoying the feeling of being on top of the world.

My family and I decided to go up a bit in the car to where the snow was still intact. My brother and I had a massive and hilarious snowball fight, and I nearly gave my fingers frostbite while building a snowman. I chose a spot in the Governor's garden for my snowman (the Governor was out) and my brother lied spread-eagled on the snow to make an imprint of an angel in it. The pine trees' branches held slivers of slowly melting snow and sometimes unexpectedly a whole shower of it would drench us. We spent the night at the Transit Camp.

The next day was a bit of a nightmare for all of us. The Commander of the Senge Camp had kindly lent us some chains to wrap around the tires so that the chances of the car skidding in the snow lessened. We had decided to travel behind the military trucks so that we might have a chance the heavy vehicles cut tracks in the snow. We climbed a while without the chains, but when the snow became too thick, we had to stop the car and put them on. The air on the road was bone-chilling and an impenetrable fog descended down to swallow everything. It was only 10 am but already I felt exhausted and drowsy. Later my mother informed that these are symptoms of hypoxia, or lack of oxygen. Visibility had dropped drastically. After that, I succumbed to the fatigue I felt and lay down in the back - asleep.

The ordeal of the Sela Pass was over when I awoke. Sela Pass is the world's second highest motorable pass at 14,500 ft. It is also one of the most dangerous passes of the world. The shore of a melted-snow lake lies nearby. In good weather, the glimmering lake in the valley's backdrop is a sight to behold. I couldn't see it, unfortunately. We continued on the journey to Tawang.

The snow was light on the road when I woke up. We were three-quarters down a valley and past the hill blocking the way ahead was the drop into Tawang Valley. Looking back, you could see a blindingly white peak rising above shrouded in heavy mist. A single dark strip of road follows it; but that disappears very soon. The clouds seem to be closing in on the peak, as if to keep it hidden forever. The sight of a force of nature so ancient and powerful made me shiver. I was glad to be out of the Sela Pass.

During our descent to our destination - Tawang - we saw two more places worthy of note. The first was Jaswant Garh. It's a war memorial built in honor of Veer Jaswant Singh. The story goes that during the 1962 Sino-Indian Aggression, Jaswant Singh single-handedly held back the Chinese Army for 72 hours. Looking at the story of a man of my country as brave as him - no expression in words could express the patriotism I felt towards my country. The Indian tricolor was whipping in the wind next to the memorial. A small gift-and-tea shop was in front where we bought T-shirts and some food to warm ourselves.

Our second stop before Tawang was at the Jang Waterfalls. Water cascades from a snow melt from somewhere close to the Sela Pass. We picked our way to the base of the cliff and had a leisurely walk towards it. The thundering waterfalls have several crevices in the stone cliff behind it. Strange shapes seem to twist themselves out to solid rock and I would have dearly wished to see them clearly. But alas, we did not have the time. We spent some time enjoying the spray of the falls and then, finally, sat down and drove till Tawang arrived and the road ended as the destination arrived.

In my mind, the travel on the roads of Arunachal will always stand out harder, better and stronger than any other range I may travel to. Even the final destination - Tawang - did not mean quite as much to me as the journey we undertook to reach it. After exploring the border city of Tawang, we took the same road we had used to come here to get back. The second time around on Sela Pass was much easier, though still we could not go to see the Lake. On the way back, we explored the museus of Bomdila, hot water springs of Dirang, and orchidariums Tipi and Sessa. This journey, for me, has been the most extraordinary and thrilling adventure I could have had. I'm glad my family and I chose to come to this offbeat destination rather than any classic tourist-flooded place.

Coming out to the untamed and unexplored peaks of Arunachal Pradesh, it often felt like I was away from the Mainland of sorts; I felt as if here was an entirely different world. The roads are rugged and only the truly adventurous dare come out here. I dared to be one of them; and I'm proud that I have seen the far corners of my own country so well.

Jai Hind.

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