Exploring Walong and Vijaynagar in Arunachal Pradesh with 4x4 SUVs

Vijaynagar, situated near Myanmar border, though connected through helicopter services, is yet to be connected to the mainland via proper roads.

BHPian BhaskarG recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

"Which is more important?" asked Big Panda, "the journey of the destination?"

"The company." said Tiny Dragon.

Nov 26, 2023:

I remembered these exact words, when bhpian @prakritij had been saying about this group of 8 people, who were huddled up near a bonfire on a chilly November evening in the remote village of Kaho in the Eastern Himalayas. "Yes, absolute gem of a company we have here", I said. As we were slowly welcoming the night while witnessing a wildfire on a mountain peak at the Indo-China border, I knew that these 8 people, few of whom were strangers till some days before, were there to make lasting memories.

One week before that:

Bhpian @hirihito had recently got himself a new Jimny MT; and when he called, I was eager to accompany him to a trip that he was planning to the remote Vijaynagar area of Arunachal Pradesh. Vijaynagar, situated near Myanmar border, though connected through helicopter services, is yet to be connected to the mainland via proper roads. Only it has been an year or two that people have been able to visit this place using capable offroaders.

You'll know more on that later by the man himself, as I have asked him to pen down the Vijaynagar part of this thread. Now, it so happened that one fine morning, he and I along with his long-time friend jumped on to the Jimny for a 2000 km long trip, which might take more than a week's time. Our plan was to join another group of bhpians who were on their way to Walong, Kibuthu and Kaho (in Arunachal Pradesh, Indo-China border), and then to head over to Vijaynagar on the way back.

After a 600 km drive from Guwahati, we caught up with BHPians @prakritij, @chiranjitp, @devonwheels and others at Dibrugarh. The fun fact was that some of us knew each other for long, but were meeting in person for the first time. The people and cars that assembled in Dibrugarh:

Tezu:

The two cars that went ahead for the next part of the journey were @hitihito's Jimny and @prakritij's Fortuner. We finally moved ahead to cross the interstate border to Arunachal Pradesh. It was almost dusk by then.

We halted for the night at Tezu, a lovely town situated on the plains, with modern amenities available. It was a eager night, with the anticipation of what was to come:

Walong: Nov 25

Early next morning, we moved on to Walong, a place of 1962 war significance. Walong, along with the border mountainous villages of Kaho and Kibithu, have a significant war history, but not so widely known.

Perhaps a better person to provide more insight to the 1962 War aspect is @hirohito who is researching on this particular area. Till he writes his part, let us move ahead to more picturesque aspects of Walong and nearby Tilam and Dong hikes.

Continue reading on BHPian BhaskarG's Arunachal road trip for BHPian comments, insights and more information.