BEST SEASON – TREKKING IN ARUNACHAL PRADESH

The trekking route of treks can be very fascinating in right season in Arunachal Pradesh. The best season is from October to February. For the energetic leisure seeker, keen to undertake a rare wilderness experience, few destinations in the world would match the dimensions of Arunachal Pradesh.

SOUTHERN FLANK – TREKKING IN ARUNACHAL PRADESH

The southern flank of the Arunachal Himalaya is visible from the plains. This part of the range includes peaks as secluded as Kangto, among the highest unclimbed faces in the world. A puzzling approach and thick jungle has kept these summits virtually off-limits to mountaineers.
Five of the main tributaries of the Brahamputra rise in these ranges : the Kameng, Subansiri, Siang, Lohit and Tirap. Geographical seclusion has made the people of these valleys self contained. Cross communication is a relatively recent phenomenon. The total population of the state is small and it retains much of the original forest cover. It has an international border with Bhutan, China and Burma.
Se La PASS– TREKKING IN ARUNACHAL PRADESH
The western most district is West Kameng, named after the Kameng river which drains the basin of Groi Chen and Kangto peaks. From the Inner Line Check post at Bhalukpong, 52 km from Tezpur, the road winds through the Tipi Orchidarium to Bomdilla. It crosses the crest of the Se La Pass at 14,000 ft, finally reaching the Mahayana sect Buddhist monastery at Tawang. These are the environs of the Bailey Trail and the old border trade route over Tulung La from Tibet, first used in 1913 by the British surveyors F.M. Bailey and H.T. Morshed.

SELECT TOURIST ROUTES

Certain tourist routes have recently been opened in Arunachal Pradesh. In an area as pristine and as delicate as this, widespread endorsement is accorded to carrying capacity and environmental safeguards.
The first of these routes originates at Itanagar (capital of Arunachal Pradesh) and links up with Ziro in the centre of the state 150 km away, at an altitude of 1754 metres in the resplendent Apatani plateau. The trail pushes further east and north, crossin the Subansiri river at Daporiji to reach along. Here we meet that peripatetic harbinger of Manasarovar, the Siang, still within its white water section. In 1991, an Indo-Japanease team rafted the length of the river in India, putting in near Geling in West Siang district, just a few kilometres short of the Indo-Tibetan border. The final section of this circuit goes downstream to Pasighat and re-enters north Assam before returning to Itanagar. Day excursions include Ganga Lake, the State Museum and a ride on elephant back to the saluburious camp on the nearby Dikrong River.
MARGHERITA RAILHEAD– TREKKING IN ARUNACHAL PRADESH
The second tourism circuit covers the well-known Namdapha National Park in Tirap district near the east end of the state, not far from the Burmese border. The designated entry and exit point on this circuit is the railhead at Margherita, also reached by National Highway 38 from Tinsukia. Coaches continue up to Miao for entry into the Park. Unique in that its elevation varies between 200 and 4500 metres, the park is also unmatched as the home of four of the large cats : tiger, leopard, clouded leopard and snow leopard.
THICK FORESTS– TREKKING IN ARUNACHAL PRADESH
Using Pasighat as the base, where the Brahamputra enters the plains, a reasonably good meanders up-river through thick forest. Neat Settlements at Yembung, Pangin and Boleng lead to the Siamang bridge, 110 km from the base. the route is a Photographer’s delight. Here also lie promising tracts for catch-and-release mahaseer angling. Again for Dibrugarh ferry, there is another access via the 415 km drive from Tezpur roughly parallee to the north bank of the Brahamputra.
Indian nationals intending to visit any part of the state may obtain an Inner Line Permit from the Arunachal Pradesh Government office in Delhi or Itanagar. For the permitted areas, the total time allowed to foreigners is 10 days. The usual stipulations of entry permit, group size and advance application also hold good. These can be filled with any Indian Mission overseas, foreigners registration offices, the Home Commissioner of the state in Itanagar or its Resident Commissioner in Delhi.