Arunachal Pradesh is probably the least publicized travel destination. But once you’re there, the “land of the dawn lit mountains” what Arunachal means in Sanskrit, will leave you mesmerized with its beauty. Most of Arunachal Pradesh is covered by the Himalayas and the ranges that extend up to the eastern Arunachal separate it from Tibet.

A Must visit in Arunachal is Tawang, which is the land of the Monpa tribes and a major centre of the Mahayana Buddhism. It is home to a 400 year old famous Buddhist Monastery locally called Gompa. It is the oldest and 2^nd largest monastery in Asia after Lhasa in Tibet. The Tibetan influence here is unmistakable, with the elaborately painted wooden windows and other motifs and prayer flags fluttering in the breeze.  The most impressive part of the monastery is the three storied assembly hall which houses the temple and the 8 meter high gilded statue of Lord Buddha.

Other attractions are Sangester lake, Gorsam Chorten, which is a stupa of about 100 ft in height and about 700 years old built by Lama Pradhar, a Monpa Monk.  Nuranang falls, Singsar Ani Gompa(a nunnery still being runs by nuns), and a Craft Centre producing very fine woolen carpets of colorful designs. On the way to Tawang lies the World’s Second highest motorable pass, the Sela Pass at 14,000 feet which runs through a small ridge and along a placid lake called the Paradise Lake, in India.

Taktsang Gompa is located at the distance of 45 Kms from Tawang Township, is believed to have consecrated by the visit of Guru Padmasambhava in the 8th century AD. It is perched on the ridge of the hillock surrounded by a dense coniferous forest and lofty mountains and visitors can conduct a visit round about the places nearby Taktsang Gonpa where Guru Padmasambhava had meditated.

The Banga Jang range will leave you spell bound with its beauty and one cannot help resist themselves from exclaiming the fabulous design of the nature. Every year Pilgrims tour round about the Banga Jang range to acquire the heavenly bliss and sanctity.

Tawang is endowed with many hot water springs which are known for their medicinal value on account of the high sulpher content in the hot springs which cure many skin ailments. One such hot spring is the Tsachu hot spring which can be reached by traveling by a light motor vehicle for two hours from Tawang up to Sarong Gonpa and trekking from there for another three hours. Other Hot springs are Kitpi Hot Spring, Thingbu Hot Spring, Greng-khar Hot spring etc.

Best Time to Visit: June to October

How to Reach:

Entry to Tawang is via Guwahati and Tezpur in Assam which are well connected by flights and Railway to other parts of the country.  From Guwahati /Tezpur one has to proceed to Tawang by road which takes about 10 hours from Guwahati and 13 hours from Tezpur.

This entry was posted on Saturday, January 16th, 2010 at 12:54 am and is filed under Romantic Destinations. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.