Brief Itinerary:

Widely known as the South Tibet by the Chinese, here’s how we’d travel around the heavily protected region,

Day 1: Pick up from the assembly point of Guwahati airport at 10:00 AM. A long journey ahead to Bhalukpong. En-route visit Tezpur’s Koliabhomora Ghat of Brahmaputra river. Board on a locally made country boat to spend a thrilling hour watching the freshwater dolphins and many migratory birds. Overnight stay Bhalukpong. 

Day 2: Visiting the infamous Orchid research centre of Tipi en route to Dirang. Halt at the villages inhabited by the Sherdukpen tribe. Stay facilitated at Dirang town.

Day 3: Leave for Tawang but not before visiting Nuranang Falls, Monpa village, Sela Pass, and the Sela lake. Dinner and stay in Tawang. 

Day 4: After breakfast, prepare for sight-seeing around Tawang. Our first halt would be at the Pangateng Tso lake. We’d pass through the infamous War memorial and be at the Tawang monastery for the evening light show. If further time permits, Madurai lake, Bum La pass, and Tawang ropeway would be covered. 

Day 5: From Tawang, we drive to Bomdila. Relax here at the Bomdila Monastery and the Lower Gompa. Hike to the Bomdila View Point. End the day with a stroll across the Emporium Local Market and some souvenir purchasing. 

Day 6: A fun journey lies ahead of you today. Bomdilla to Kaziranga will be covered today, with very few stops across places like the Nag Mandir. 

Day 7: Exploring the pride of India, Kaziranga National park. We leave early morning for the elephant ride and jeep safari package arranged at the park. After lunch, drive towards Guwahati and stay overnight. 

Day 8: Morning checkout and transfer to the Guwahati airport. We bid goodbyes with tons of beautiful memories with the HikerWolf family. 

Inclusions:

• Entire travel as per itinerary
• Accommodation
• Breakfast on all Days
• All inner line permits for the trip
• All Internal transfers and Sightseeing
• Airport Transfers
• Driver night charges, toll tax, parking charges, etc.
• Inner line permit for Arunachal Pradesh
• TATA Sumo for Tawang local sightseeing
• HikerWolf trip leader throughout the trip
• HikerWolf expertise
• An oxygen cylinder 24×7 in the cab in case of an emergency

Exclusions:

• Any personal expense like entry to the monuments. monasteries, camera/video camera charges, camel safari, laundry, telephone bills, tips, etc.
• Any cost arising due to natural calamities like landslides, roadblocks, etc. (to be borne by the customer on the spot)
• Insurance
• Anything not mentioned in the inclusion

Things to Carry

• Headlamp and flashlight for all those pesky power outages
• Get your headlamp
• Warm socks
• A rain cover for your backpacks
• Reusable water bottle to save on plastic and keep Arunachal clean
• Portable battery pack because you can’t count on 24/7 power
• Insect repellent, trust me, you’ll want it – get your insect repellent before you forget.
• A Rucksack and Day Pack
• Sunglasses
• Moisturizer
• Thermals, Jackets, Coats for Winter
• Towel
• Poncho
• Shoes
• Flipflops
• Personal Medicines

Note: Do not carry any valuables. Please take care of it in case you are carrying the same. We will not be responsible if you lose them by any chance.

Detailed Itinerary:

You’d more or less feel like Dora here, with a map in her bag and yet confused about the routes. There are almost 12 routes to get to the beautiful realms of Arunachal. 

While there are no rules to stick by during the trips, the routes can get a little tricky so we’d appreciate exploring all of it together. 

The route we opt for is both challenging as well as convenient, so you’re always in for surprises.

Guwahati–Bhalukpong–Dirang–Tawang– Bomdila–Kaziranga–Guwahati

Day 1: Arrive at Guwahati Airport & head to Bhalukpong

Distance covered – 240 km

Time – 6-7 Hrs

Welcome to the HikerWolf fam-jam! If you’ve joined along with us on this trip, you need to know that you’re also signing up for endless fun. 

We’d be receiving you at the Guwahati airport by 10:00 am. Even if you take the earliest flight possible and reach the airport way too soon, no worries. You can always contact us via WhatsApp or Call, and we’ll make sure we’d reach out to you. 

After every participant assembles by 10:30, we’d be briefing about the trip once again and get to know each other a bit. 

Once we head towards Bhalukpong, we talk more and do a better round of introductions. Journeys like these are what bring us closer, so there’s no way you’re going to escape the round of lame jokes that we’d shoot. 

This would continue after we have a hearty lunch by 2 pm. In case you are eager to join the wagon to try local food, most of the stalls serve a decent platter of Dal-Chawal along with crunchy papad and sabzies of healthy greens. 

Just like the food options here, there’s always backup in case of places as well, if we have time at our disposal. With the number of activities and exciting places we’d go to, we’d be completely packed for fun for the incoming 7 days. 

En-route visit Tezpur’s Koliabhomora Ghat of Brahmaputra river. Board on a locally made country boat to spend a thrilling hour watching the freshwater dolphins and many migratory birds. These belong to the endangered species, Platanista gangetica or Xihu in Assamese. The boat ride will also give you the opportunity to view the Assamese villages, their fishing activities, and the mesmerizing countryside.

Once we reach Bhalukpong, we check in to our hotel and stay for the night. 

Day 2: Bhalukpong To Dirang

Distance covered-  180 Km

Time Taken – 5-6 Hrs

For Day 2, we will head for one of the most important places in West Kameng. The place that is coronated Arunachal Pradesh as the “Orchid State of India” – Orchid research center of Tipi. 

Surrounded by the crystal Kameng river on one side and the green Earth on the other side, the centre looks like a fantasy come true. There are around 1000 exotic species grown in the orchidarium, tissue culture lab, herbarium, and the glass-houses. A good share of time would pass by here without you even realizing it. 

Make sure you come here with ample storage in your mobile or camera. Because you are gonna be in the middle of a colourful floral landscape and believe it you won’t be satisfied even after taking 1000 pictures.

It is said that Lord Krishna had married his wife Rukmini amidst these orchid valleys. If God’s chose to be this level filmy, why’d we spare the chance either, right? It’s the perfect scenario for a Bollywood song sequence out here, so pull out your best tricks whether it’s a classic slow motion or a wide-angle shot.

Later in the day, we move towards the tribal settlements of Sherdukpen. There is a story which goes on like a sing-song around the village, tracing back to their Tibetan ancestry, that a descendant of Tibetan king Songtsan Gampo had tied the nuptial knots with a native Ahom princess and settled here in these plains 

One of the main reasons why we visit these villages is because of its interesting culture and practices. Most of them are draped in shades of white and grey with a contrasting tinge of red to it. Ornaments adorn them heavily and it’s said that many of these jewelry are created by melting the rupee coins.  

Entering the villages you’d be engulfed with the homely aroma of butter, milk, and cheese. A lot of Arunachalee meals consist of milk byproducts and after all what’s a good meal without a dollop of butter melting over it. All of the products are ingrown, from the freshly plucked vegetables to the milk collected from the domesticated yaks.  

After stories narrated over a bowl of lip-smacking snacks, we leave for a hotel at Dirang and stay there overnight. 

Day 3: Dirang To Tawang

Distance covered- 140 km

Time- 5-6 Hrs

By 8 am, we’ll scoot out of the hotel to Tawang. The journey ahead of us will take almost 5 and a half hours and en route we halt by several exciting spots such as Monpa village, Sela pass, and Nuranang falls.

Monpa tribes being one of the most populous tribes of Arunachal Pradesh has known and understood the hills better than anybody else. These untouched stories play the backdrop for many of their festivities. If we’re bound to travel during the months of the celebrations, let’s just say we’ve hit the jackpot. 

The Monpa people are what we love to describe as the life of the party. Wearing elaborate traditional attires and headwear made purely out of yak hair and tassels, they welcome us with wide arms to their little world. If you would love to try on the headwear and get some pictures clicked, they’d let out a small laugh and place it right over your head. 

During the major festivals of Losar, Choskar,  and Torgya, the localities exhibit their excellence in craftsmanship through wood carvings, beautiful carpets, and other weaved products. 

We take back a souvenir from here and move towards Sela pass and Sela lake. Bordering Tawang and West Kameng at an altitude of 13,700 ft above sea level, Sela is like the best of both worlds. 

The pass gets heavy snowfall and you know what it calls for? SNOW FIGHT! We will stop for a little while by the lake and it’s your chance to globe some cold snow as your potential weapon.

We play around here, with scores of course, and the losing team gets to do dares chosen by the winning team. So brace yourself, there’s no consideration you’d get here over the fact that you’re a part of the family.

Following the northern slopes of the Pass, we reach the Nuranang river and waterfalls. This hidden gem flowing at an altitude of 100 meters high, gives one of the most unforgettable experiences in Tawang.

Flowing right to the Tawang River, this place was named after one of the Monpa tribe girls, to honour her act of kindness during the 1962 Sino-Indian war. If you’re a Bollywood fanatic, you would also remember having seen this misty beauty in King Khan’s movie Koyla. 

When it becomes our cue to stop messing around as we do at every place, we’d retire for the night in Tawang.

Day 4: Tawang Local Sightseeing

Distance covered – 40 km

Time Taken – 1-2 hours.

This mesmerizing town amidst the Himalayas is our next stop. With Buddhist culture being the silver lining of this beautiful town, there’s just so much to learn and experience here. 

We drive towards Pangateng Tso lake, also known as Madhuri or Sangetsar lake. Clearly, the people here knew that we’d have a hard time trying to pronounce names of places that sounded more like tongue twisters. Now that we’ve tried repeating the names as fast as we can, we’d go exploring this lake which looks captivating just like a crystal shard of mirror. 

This wide expanse of natural beauty lies at around 2,700 meters above sea level. Stopping by here is a sure shot trip to surprises. Frozen at times, basketed amidst vivid blue flowers at other times and almost always sprinkled with snow. 

The route leading from the lake goes through the off-beat destination of Bum La pass. A brief deviation from here is the antique marvels of the Tawang War Memorial and Tawang monastery.

The monastery is often called the celestial paradise, and it would be a shame to not have visited this place. Not just that it has the most peaceful vibes surrounding it, this is also one of the best views in the valley. Being the second largest monastery in the entire world, this sacred abode was made as per the wishes of the 5th Dalai Lama. 

We reach here before the light show, which starts off when the sun goes down in Tawang. We’d have sufficient time to walk around and explore the 925 feet high complex with above 60 structures within it. Strolling across the three stories high framework and getting the topmost view from here is unmistakably one of the best sights in Tawang.

After a good time spent around Tawang, we retire for the day and stay overnight at a hotel. 

Day 5: Tawang To Bomdila

Distance covered- 180 km

Time- 6-7 Hrs

Like our routine alarm rings up, we leave Tawang by 8 am after some warm chai and breakfast. En route, we would be spotting the Indo-Chinese War Memorial. The beauty of their traditions lies within these tiny acts of respect and honour they have for their martyrs and ancestors. 

We’ve always got company in the form of localities who are more than happy to show us around and exchange stories over a cup of butter tea. 

Making occasional stops by monasteries and markets, we hike up to the highest point in Bomdila – The Bomdilla viewpoint. 

Like Bunny from Yeh Jawaani Hain Deewani said, “Main udna chahta hoon, daudna chahta hoon”, we are going to try flying without actually flying. Sounds fun, right? Well, wait until you experience it.

Giving a bird’s viewpoint, you get to see the entire West Kameng valley along with the Nechipu pass clouded mystically. From here we scream our hearts out insanely. 

After all that screaming if our throats haven’t given up, at night we go singing around the bonfire we have arranged at the hotel. Dumb charades, Truth or dare, Antakshari, non-stop games till we all drop down tired. 

Day 6: Bomdila To Kaziranga

Distance covered- 205 km

Time Taken- 6-7 Hrs

By 8 am we check out and leave for Kaziranga. This drive will be an extended upgrade from our last campfire game sessions. Because as much as we hate to admit it, we didn’t want the night to end when we have such a fun family to savour it with. 

Now, that we have around 7 hours in our hands, we continue what we left-back, and this time with much more josh! 

We won’t be making many stops en-route unless you see a place that looks enthralling. Then we’re all on board to stop by and enjoy ourselves there for a while, before resuming. 

Nag Mandir is one such place that might seem interesting because of the beauty it holds in its simplicity. 

This is also believed to be the place where Lord Shiva had married Parvati Devi. That makes it the second god we’d come across who married their other half here. Probably Arunachal Pradesh was the idea for a destination wedding to the gods. Quite understandably too, its heavenliness goes beyond what words could describe. 

We’re expected to reach Kaziranga around 5-6 pm and put a break to further travelling. So we stay overnight at a guest house here and start afresh at the National park tomorrow morning. 

Day 7: Kaziranga To Guwahati

Distance covered – 194 Km

Time Taken – 3-4 Hrs

By now even if we don’t ask you to wake up by a certain time, you’d be ready by 8 am to leave for the next destination. In case you’re not, we completely understand it and might upturn a bucket of chilling water over you as a reminder. 

Since it’s the last two days you’d be spending with the HikerWolf family on this trip, we want it to be more than memorable. From the very minute the sunrises till it sets down, we’ve activities that’d completely blow your mind. 

In the early morning hours, we take an elephant ride through one of the zones in Kaziranga National park. For one hour we’d have the luxurious option of seeing around the park on an elephant. After which we go around for 3 to 4 hours jeep safari facilitated by the park. These two options ensure that we leave no stone unturned around here and understand the rich biodiversity of India.

The steep slopes of Himalayan ranges protecting the incredible biodiversity along with the Brahmaputra river eternally flowing across it is a sight that can not be missed in one’s lifetime. Especially because this is one of the treasured world heritage sites and the home to almost  2/3rd of the world’s one-horned rhinoceros. 

We can walk past the river, splash around and watch the animals calmly drinking water from the banks after the sun gets covered by the clouds. 

After a decent lunch of authentic Assamese cuisine, we leave for Guwahati. It takes a 4-5 hour drive from the Park to Guwahati via the national highway. 

We break for dinner and stay at Guwahati overnight. 

Day 8: Guwahati

We’d finish off the trip in the form of a circle and check out by the same time we had started off the trip in the beginning. 10 am sharp.

You can check up the flight schedules beforehand itself, or if you require any assistance from the HikerWolf family we’d be more than glad to help. 

Transfer facilities to the airport will be arranged, and as we depart from the airport we carry along with a piece of Tawang and Kaziranga close to our heart.