[Prakritij]

When the date for a picnic was finalized, we were scratching our heads to come up with a destination for the same as in the last three years most of the nearby picnic spots were covered.

This log is more about the scenic beauty of Arunachal Pradesh than about the picnic we enjoyed which I will try to convey with pictures.

Some amount of playing with Google-Maps led me to finalize Wakro as the destination. Wakro is a small town in the Lohit district of Arunachal Pradesh and is in the hub of Kamlang Tiger Reserve and Wildlife Sanctuary. The pilgrimage spot of Parashuram Kund is around 20kms from Wakro. I have never been to this part of AP before and the prospect of driving there made me excited so much so that I could hardly get the much needed sleep that night. The idea of writing a log to share came to me that night itself and this, my friends, is the first log I have ever written. So please bear with me.

Our route was decided as Dibrugarh-Chowkham-Wakro-Parashuram Kund-Tezu-Dibrugarh totaling 306kms and 6hrs 55mins as per Google.



Coming back to the journey, we started at 07:30am from Dibrugarh and reached Dirak Gate (AS-AP border) at 09:30am. This was our entry point to AP and a Temporary ILP was made here for the journey. The roads are in good condition with less traffic. Once inside AP, the traffic is even lesser and roads generally better. We bought some oranges at the gate and moved on.




A few minutes of onward drive later we reached the Noa-Dihing River and stopped on the bridge for a light breakfast.



With our tummies filled for the moment, it was time to fill the car’s tank. Fuel bunks are sparse in AP just like the population here. But the stations are always clean and well maintained. Petrol is cheaper by Rs.1.1 here compared to my home town owing to lesser taxes.
There is a water treatment plant near Chowkham with a park attached to it which looked beautiful.




So, finally we reached the Kamlang River bridge just before Wakro which was our spot for picnic at around midday. The water is so clean you can see the bed and fishes swimming in it. The vista around was beautiful and we chose our spot to cook the fresh fish we bought en-route at Chowkham.













We wrapped up quickly as we had more distance to cover for the return leg and the Sun sets early here. We left the bridge by 02:45pm and headed towards Parashuram Kund via Wakro town.
This small town has the Divisional Forest Office of the Kamlang Tiger Reserve and the place is diverse in flora and fauna.
The road to Parashuram Kund is a narrow one where a car and a two wheeler can pass comfortably. Anything bigger in size requires one to slow down and if a truck comes along, you will have to get off the road, which has very less room with the mountain on one side and a deep valley on another. Fortunately, there are little road extensions to a side about half a km apart which allows to give way to traffic. The traffic is very very less here upto Tezu and driving is a delight. We stopped on the Lohit bridge at Parashuram Kund and clicked some photos and moved on towards Tezu.

[Prakritij]

The road to Tezu has seen some landslides and repair work is going on at places. Apart from this, the narrow road is drivable and enjoyable with hairpin bends and pristine scenic beauty to keep you engaged.










We were lucky that there was no army movement along our route as that would mean slow driving behind the convoy and being late overall.
The Sun was setting by the time we were entering Tezu and we found the roads to be in excellent condition with a capital E. The main roads in AP are in very good condition all thanks to BRO.



Clock tower of Tezu sits in the middle of the town.



Tezu is the HQ of Lohit District and is the 5th largest town of AP. People of various ethnicities reside here with less local populace than others.

Wikipedia says
Quote
“According to Census 2011, Bengali is Spoken by 3,373 people, Nepali at 3,371 people, Bhojpuri by 2,197 people, Hindi at 1,884, Mismi by 1,790 people and Assamese at 1,561.”
Unquote

By the time we left Tezu, it became dark and we happened to see a beautiful glimpse of the famous Golden Pagoda on the way.



We stopped at Mahadevpur at Namsai Districe to have a cup of coffee. The weather was chilly at around 10 degree centigrade and a breeze was omnipresent adding to wind chill. We had some hot black tea and momos there and reached home by 08:15pm.




This cat was found sleeping on the stabilizer in the hotel soaking in the warmth it provided. It was so fast asleep that it didn’t even moved an ear when I patted it.

Its sleepiness reminded us how much tired we actually were and in fact I slept like a log that night after having dinner, dreaming about the awesome drive that I am willing to do again someday soon.

[gunin]

Very nice write-up there with beautiful pictures. We guys are lucky to be so near these beautiful places and make a day trip of it. At Dirak gate, they issued ILP for a single day? Is it possible to get a longer duration ILP from there?

[Prakritij]

Originally Posted by gunin

Very nice write-up there with beautiful pictures. We guys are lucky to be so near these beautiful places and make a day trip of it. At Dirak gate, they issued ILP for a single day? Is it possible to get a longer duration ILP from there?

Thank you for your kind words. We indeed are lucky. You even more so living amidst the heaven of a state.
There is a space to fill up your duration of stay in the T-ILP. I guess it is possible for longer durations. As we had to return that day itself, we filled for a day only.


The T-ILP

[sandeepsc]

Your first ever attempt of writing a travelogue is well deserve for appreciation. You guys are very lucky to be close to heaven on earth. Very well written and equally complimented by nice pictures. It is dream to visit this part of the country.

[Prakritij]

Originally Posted by sandeepsc

Your first ever attempt of writing a travelogue is well deserve for appreciation. You guys are very lucky to be close to heaven on earth. Very well written and equally complimented by nice pictures. It is dream to visit this part of the country.

Thank You so much.
On another note, Arunachal Tourism is increasing their efforts to promote the state. Apart from the well known destinations of Tawang, Mechuka, etc, there are many hidden gems in the state untouched and unknown to the world.

[am1m]

That pic of all the oranges, reminded me of a question I've always had - why are the oranges in the North-East so much sweeter than the oranges elsewhere in the country? On a similar route in 2012 (we went past Parsuram Kund and further east into Walong), we came across oranges. We just couldn't stop eating them. The three of us would buy a kilo thinking we'd eat one or two each, but end up finishing them there, then go back and buy another kilo, then kept going back! I thought it must be just in Arunachal, but years later in Sikkim we sampled similar awesome oranges.

Is it the weather? The soil? The altitude? No fertilizers? Water? When the fruit is harvested? The fact that it is picked and eaten fresh? I've looked for answers online, it seems to be a combination of one or more of these factors. Perhaps it's just the species of tree, mandarin I think it's called. But in that case why not grow these elsewhere? Once you eat these oranges, the rest seem bland. Anyone else experienced this?

[Prakritij]

Originally Posted by am1m

That pic of all the oranges, reminded me of a question I've always had - why are the oranges in the North-East so much sweeter than the oranges elsewhere in the country? On a similar route in 2012 (we went past Parsuram Kund and further east into Walong), we came across oranges. We just couldn't stop eating them. The three of us would buy a kilo thinking we'd eat one or two each, but end up finishing them there, then go back and buy another kilo, then kept going back! I thought it must be just in Arunachal, but years later in Sikkim we sampled similar awesome oranges.

Is it the weather? The soil? The altitude? No fertilizers? Water? When the fruit is harvested? The fact that it is picked and eaten fresh? I've looked for answers online, it seems to be a combination of one or more of these factors. Perhaps it's just the species of tree, mandarin I think it's called. But in that case why not grow these elsewhere? Once you eat these oranges, the rest seem bland. Anyone else experienced this?

Yes, oranges from AP are a bit smaller in size but a lot more sweeter.
Since oranges are commercially produced in AP, fertilizers can't be ruled out. But the weather, altitude, soil, etc do play a vital role I guess.



This was clicked about a year ago at Dambuk.
Dambuk hosts the annual "Dambuk Orange Festival" which may interest you.

[Prakritij]

Originally Posted by gunin

Very nice write-up there with beautiful pictures. We guys are lucky to be so near these beautiful places and make a day trip of it. At Dirak gate, they issued ILP for a single day? Is it possible to get a longer duration ILP from there?

Quoting you again, as the edit tab has disappeared.
I have enquired with a friend who visited Bomjir-Dambuk-Roing-Tezu-Parashuram Kund fron 28th Jan to 30th Jan about the LP they had taken. They entered via Shantipur Gate and got a similar T-ILP as we did but for 3 days.

[Dr.AD]

Originally Posted by Prakritij

This log is more about the scenic beauty of Arunachal Pradesh than about the picnic we enjoyed which I will try to convey with pictures.

Lovely travelogue, with nice pictures, very beautiful landscapes, and a nice driving circuit. I enjoyed reading this. Thanks for sharing this.

I got a chance to drive to Arunachal Pradesh last month and totally loved that land and the terrain. In fact, we drove on some of the exact same roads you took - from Dibrugarh to Namsai, and then we went on to Roing, Pasighat, and then back to Dibrugarh on our way to Kaziranga. Your travelogue brought back memories of our drive through that area.

Regarding the oranges, yes, agree that they were really juicy and sweet. We had the oranges in one place near Pasighat, after climbing up a small trail, when we were tired and hungry, and those oranges tasted heavenly at that point. I will forever remember the sweet oranges we had in Arunachal Pradesh.

[XDriver]

Very nice write up and superb images of the road trip in AP. Felt like I was actually there! I have been to Assam, Meghalaya but never to AP! Hope some day, inspired by Dr AD and your trip I will some day!!

[Prakritij]

Originally Posted by Dr.AD

Lovely travelogue, with nice pictures, very beautiful landscapes, and a nice driving circuit. I enjoyed reading this. Thanks for sharing this.

I got a chance to drive to Arunachal Pradesh last month and totally loved that land and the terrain. In fact, we drove on some of the exact same roads you took - from Dibrugarh to Namsai, and then we went on to Roing, Pasighat, and then back to Dibrugarh on our way to Kaziranga. Your travelogue brought back memories of our drive through that area.

Regarding the oranges, yes, agree that they were really juicy and sweet. We had the oranges in one place near Pasighat, after climbing up a small trail, when we were tired and hungry, and those oranges tasted heavenly at that point. I will forever remember the sweet oranges we had in Arunachal Pradesh.

Originally Posted by XDriver

Very nice write up and superb images of the road trip in AP. Felt like I was actually there! I have been to Assam, Meghalaya but never to AP! Hope some day, inspired by Dr AD and your trip I will some day!!

The Trans-Arunachal Highway is under construction and work in many stretches are complete. This will join the eastern and western AP by a two lane highway. Earlier, all the major towns were connected via Assam. Once this highway is complete, we shall have a very picturesque road to explore the untouched beauty of AP. This will also promote the tourism in the state.

[ampere]

A true look into the brilliant driving locations in Arunachal. I was looking at the roads in the maps that you followed! Truly amazing and so are the vistas. Water and the mountains are truly a killer combo.

[Prakritij]

Originally Posted by Prakritij

.....dreaming about the awesome drive that I am willing to do again someday soon....

Attachment 2267219

Another day, another trip, another destination, same route.



My dream came true with another trip via the same route to a different destination.



In my previous log, I wrote about covering the road from Dibrugarh-Wakro-Parashuram Kund-Tezu and back. Here, we traversed this same route upto Tezu and moved further west to Bomjir via Roing.



While the road from Wakro to Tezu was a narrow one, the one from Tezu-Roing-Bomjir-Pasighat-Dibrugarh is a proper 2 lane highway with good tarmac.
We started early by 6:30am and our lunch destination was Tezu via Parashuram Kund, the same route we traversed in the starting post of this thread. This stretch is about 250kms. While gMaps shows around 6 hours, adding breaks like making T-ILP, breakfast, photography, etc consumed another 2 hrs and we reached Tezu by 2:30pm.
The is the 2nd time in less than two weeks I am on this route (till Tezu) and my love for this state is only growing. It also makes me wonder why I haven’t explored this heaven of a state in the past so many years I have been residing in Dibrugarh. Maybe it’s the improved road infrastructure which has made travel more appealing now. Earlier there was no bridge to cross many a rivers which are coming down from the hills of AP to the plains of Assam.
We had our breakfast in the same spot on the Noa-Dihing bridge near AS-AP border.

After breakfast, the road was smooth till Chowkham and broken till Wakro.


Mountains lurking behind clouds, beckoning us nearer.


So near yet so far.




Clear waters of the Kamlang River


Some light refreshment we had on the bridge over Kamlang river.


The bridge is wider than the roads leading to it.


Typical local houses perched on pillars.

[Prakritij]

You got to be present there to really appreciate the scenic beauty of the place. Photos simply do not do justice.


Unlike my previous visit, which was partly sunny, this day was overcast with clouds and we encountered a light rain while driving from Wakro to Tezu.


Parashuram Kund Bridge


Rain drops decorating the windshield.


Kids behaving good.


Another pic.

We left soon after and were on our way.




Parashuram Kund to Tezu is quite a scenic route.

The drive upto Yezu went uneventful except a convoy of VIPS came from the opposite way and we had to give them way on a road like this.


It was past 2pm and with tummies rumbling we were about to reach Tezu when we passed a beautiful restaurant and reversed to have our lunch. We were half expecting to find a good place to eat at Tezu and luckily we came across this property. Take a look.






The name of the Restaurant is Golden Masheer and you can find it in this location:
https://g.page/gigi-s-golden-mahseer?share


A lone Sunflower was waiting for the sun to come out from behind the clouds.


While we had our lunch, this feline mammal guarded our steeds.
The food was good and so was the ambiance and surroundings.