Author Archives: memoriesandsuch

2022 Week 29 Update

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It’s the end of another week and things are pretty much the same. Covid cases seem to be increasing in Singapore, especially of the newer omicron subvariants, known as BA.4 and BA.5, that account for about 30% of new Covid-19 cases recently. I wonder when we will ever go back to some semblance of normal. And I feel like a broken record saying this all the time, but what can we also do? Everytime we think we are over the hill, a new obstacle comes up and we take one step forward and two steps back.

Today’s quote is courtesy of one of my favourite authors, especially for children, Roald Dahl. This quote is part of a larger sentence which goes like this:

And above all, watch with glittering eyes the whole world around you because the greatest secrets are always hidden in the most unlikely places. Those who don’t believe in magic will never find it.

Roald Dahl

Magic was very important to Dahl who believed it to be transformative and provided a way out of a difficult situation or an escape from a dull or harsh reality into a stranger, more exciting world. Acording to Dahl, it is all about using the eyes. If we closely at something and observe minutely, it’s amazing what wonders will pop up and that true magic often begins in minute observation.

There’s nothing to update about BB & GG as they are busy with school and internship and nothing has changed since last week. Work-wise, I am also at the same place, though I am hustling for new clients, but nothing has happened that as well. I am still hopeful that something will change and soon.

And on that note, please continue to remain safe and stay masked.

In My Hands Today…

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Pole to Pole – Michael Palin

Having circumnavigated the globe from west to east in Around the World in 80 Days, Michael Palin proceeded to stretch even his endurance with his next journey, travelling due south from the North Pole, arriving five months later at the southernmost point of the globe, the South Pole.

The result is Pole to Pole, Palin’s account of his extraordinary journey between July and December 1991, passing through 17 countries from Greenland and the former Soviet Union in the north to Kenya, South Africa and Chile in the south.

From the frozen wastes of both poles, to the scorching heat of Africa, Pole to Pole is a travelogue of bizarre extremes. Palin revels in the surrealism of it all as he travels through a range of vastly different European and African communities undergoing massive social and political upheavals in the aftermath of the fall of the Berlin Wall.

Palin’s shrewd observations are as ever interspersed with his eye for the weird and the comical, as he meets Santa Claus and Lenin, goes shopping for camels in Omdurman, and makes a final hectic dash to the South Pole via Chile. It’s all quite exhausting!

Travel Bucket List: India – Arunachal Pradesh Part 3

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Ziro

Home of the Apa tribe and famous for its pine hills and rice fields, Ziro which lies 109 km north of Itanagar at an elevation of 1688 metres is a quaint old town and a peaceful paradise. The climate in Ziro is mild throughout the year, making it a year-round holiday destination. Ziro is included in the tentative List of UNESCO’s World Heritage Sites for the Apatani cultural landscape.

The Apatani cultural landscape comprises 32 sq km cultivable areas out of a 1058 sq km plateau. The Apatani tribe, which has inhabited this region for centuries, is known for practising ecologically sustainable existential sustenance. The Apatanis have a few unique special characteristic features which differ from other tribes in Arunachal Pradesh and the rest of India. A few of these special characteristic features include practising permanent wet paddy cultivation whereas other tribes practice shifting cultivations called Jhom cultivation and cultivating permanent wetland cultivations whereas other tribes practice dry land cultivations by clearing the forests by burning the jungles. Apatanis once practised the art of facial tattoos.

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The Meghna Cave Temple is dedicated to Lord Shiva and is located close to Ziro. The 10-minute climb up the stairs is completely worth it when one reaches the 5000-year old temple 3000 feet above sea level. The temple boasts magnificent carvings and architecture and has amazing views of the area. The self-manifested Shiva Linga at Ziro with a Sfatic as garland and is 25 feet in length and 22 feet in width. This shiva linga is said to be the world’s largest which was recently discovered.  Kile Pakho is a viewpoint with unique views on both sides with the Ziro plateau on one side and the snow-laden Himalayan peaks on the other. Ziro’s famous attraction is the trek to the top of the Dolo Mando to view Hapoli town and old Ziro. The hillock is situated on the western side of Ziro on Daporijo Road. Located 3 km from Ziro are pine groves known as Midey which make for an excellent picnic spot and also provide excellent trekking trails.

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The 337 sq km Talley Valley Wildlife Sanctuary is home to a wide and exotic variety of flora and fauna. The endangered clouded leopards are also found here and the sanctuary has a spectrum of flora as well which includes silver fir trees, ferns, orchids, bamboo and rhododendron. Established in 1995, it ranges in elevation from 1,200 to 3,000 m and harbours subtropical and temperate broadleaved and conifer forests and have about 16 endangered plants that have survived in this area.

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Yinkiong

Located about 250 km north of Itanagar, Yingkiong lies just 1 km east of the River Siang. In 1911, following the Anglo–Abor wars, the British gained administrative control of the Upper Siang region. Yingkiong is characterised by its hilly terrains and river valleys and lies about 200 m above sea level. The town gets its name from the River Siang that flows beside and is known for its diverse and colourful ethnic tribes. This region has been inhabited mainly by four tribes, the Adi, the Khamba, the Mishmis and the Memba. The area is also known for its spectacular panorama with dense forests and birds with vibrant feathers.

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The Dr Daying Ering Memorial Wildlife Sanctuary is spread across 190 sq km with more than 75% of the sanctuary covered by grassland and surrounded by the Siang river. It is also a bird watcher’s paradise with many endangered species found here. This sanctuary also spreads to Assam where it is known as the Khobo Ehapori.

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The Mouling National Park is named after a mountain peak Mouling where Mouling is an Adi word which means red poison or red blood, which is believed to be red latex from a tree species found locally. It was the second national park to be created in the state, after Namdapha National Park in 1972. The Mouling National Park and the Dibang Wildlife Sanctuary are located fully or partly within Dihang-Dibang Biosphere Reserve. Spread across 483 sq km it has the Siang river flowing on the west and the Siring, Subong, Semong and Krobong rivers on the eastern ends. The national park is very isolated and communication is very weak and barely any transportation means. The national park covers an area of about 483 sq km forming the western part of the Dihang-Dibang Biosphere Reserve. Approach to the park is not possible via roads, due to the remoteness of the area and communication facilities in the area are poor. The area around Mouling National park is one of great bio-diversity, with a juxtaposition of different biotopes, and is often called the state’s cradle of biodiversity. With elevations ranging from 400 m to over 3000 m in the park, it forms a transition zone between tropical forests at lower altitudes to the more temperate forests at altitudes above 2800 m. The overall inaccessibility due to poor or no roads and stories associated with the forest itself has kept the core area of the national park relatively untouched by human activities.

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Mechuka

The town of Mechukha or Menchukha is a town located about 6,000 ft above sea level in the Mechukha Valley of the Yargep Chu or Siyom River. In the Memba dialect, Men means medicine, Chu means a waterbody and Kha means snow and the town’s name means the land blessed with medicinal snow-fed water. Before the 1950s, the Mechuka valley was known as Pachakshiri. The Line of Actual Control or the McMahon Line between India and Tibet border is 29 km north of Menchuka. The valley is home to the people of the Memba, Adi and Tagin tribes.

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The 400-year-old Samten Yongcha monastery of the Mahayana Buddhist sect is a contemporary of the much-revered Tawang Monastery. Numerous ancient statues can also be found here. A new giant flying squirrel was discovered here which was named Mechuka’s giant flying squirrel Petaurista mechukaensis. The IUCN Red List has classified it as a Data Deficient species.

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The Namdapha National Park is a 1,985 sq km protected biodiversity hotspot in the Eastern Himalayas with more than 1,000 floral and about 1,400 faunal species. The national park harbours the northernmost lowland evergreen rainforests in the world at 27°N latitude and extensive dipterocarp forests, comprising the northwestern parts of the Mizoram-Manipur-Kachin rain forests ecoregion. The fourth-largest national park in India, Namdapha was originally declared a Wildlife Sanctuary in 1972, then a National Park in 1983 and became a Tiger Reserve under the Project Tiger scheme in the same year. Its name is a combination of two Singpho words where nam means water and dapha means origin and the name means the river that originates from the Dapha Bum glaciers.

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Located near the international border with Myanmar, the park is located between the Dapha bum range of the Mishmi Hills and the Patkai range with a wide elevation range between 200 and 4,571 m and is crossed from east to west by the Noa Dihing River that originates at the Chaukan Pass, located on the Indo-Myanmar border. The Namdapha flying squirrel was first collected in the park and described. It is endemic to the park and critically endangered. The best time to visit the park is during the winter season because the humid subtropical climate keeps the winters mild. There is also a museum called the Miao Museum where visitors can get to see genuine animal specimens from the forest and also gain insights into the life of the villagers.

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Roing

The last major township in India’s northeast, at the foothill of the Mishmi Hills, Roing lies about 350 km east of Itanagar. A natural haven with snow-peaked mountains, deep gorges, turbulent rivers cascading down the hills, numerous waterfalls, placid lakes and archaeological sites Roing is an ideal tourist destination. Located in the Lower Dibang Valley, it is home to the Adi-Padam and Idu-Mishmi tribes. The Reh festival of the Idu Mishmi is celebrated in February while the Solung festival of the Adi is celebrated in September.

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The enormous Mehao Lake is located within the Mehao Wildlife Sanctuary and about 14 km from Roing at a height of almost 3000 m and covers an area of nearly 4 sq km. The lake attracts a lot of seasonal birds and provides an ideal trekking experience and is a photographer’s delight. Because the lake is low in nutrients, there are no fish in the crystal clear lake. Trekking the small pathway leading to the lake through the virgin forest is a wonderful experience. Salley Lake is also a part of the Mehao Wildlife Sanctuary and a popular scenic spot. There are many varieties of fish in the lake which lies about 3.8 km from Roing. Itapakhur and Padum Pukhri are is a historical brick built ponds, located in Ithili village, are two famous ponds where lotuses bloom in October and November. The Kampona Pond is believed to have been the abode of the Naga King and the pond’s name translates to good looking or beautiful in the Adi dialect. Famous for fishing and angling, the Iphi Pani Ghat has amazing views of the Dibang river and valley.

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Located on the banks of the Deopani River, the Nehru Van Udyan houses an exciting cactus house, an orchid area and a beautiful garden. A guest house located close to the garden is an excellent place to view the Deopani River. The park has a well-maintained garden and a few hundred meters from here is the confluence of rivers Eje and Eme.

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Also called the Chimiri Fort, Rukmini Nati is located in the heart of the Chimiri Village, some 10 km from Roing and is believed to be built in the 14th century. Built with burnt bricks in the 12th century, the Bhashmaknagar Fort is an important and oldest archaeological site in the state. Various artefacts like potteries, terracotta figurines, terracotta plaques and decorative tiles that were found during its excavation process reflect upon the forward state of civilization at that time. It is believed that Rukmini, the consort of Lord Krishna is from this region, but there is no evidence to support that. The ruins of the fort which are about 30 km southeast of Roing remain and are an ideal trekking route and birdwatchers’ paradise. The remains are generally ascribed to the rule of the Chutias, a Bodo-Kachari or Tibeto-Burmese ethnic group that ruled over the region of Sadiya from the 11th to the 16th centuries. The fort, with its fortifications and buildings, is built of fired bricks. The Mipi Pene Centre was established in the year 2017 to preserve and promote the Igu system of the Idu Mishmi tribe. Mipi Pene refers to the Igu or the shaman and the centre was inaugurated in 2018.

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Hunli is a small quaint town about 2 hours from Roing on way to Anini. Hunli is famous for trekking and the Temple cave at Kupunli.

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Located about 56 km from Roing, the Mayodia Pass lies at an elevation of 2,655 m above sea level. Mayodia is a combination of two Idu-Mishmi words: Mayu which is the name of the mountain and Dia meaning the peak of the mountain, which makes the pass the peak of the Mayu Mountain. It is a popular local tourist attraction due to the snowfall it receives during winters.

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Known as the real ocean of green paradise on Earth, the Mehao Wildlife Sanctuary is a virgin forest left largely untouched and unexplored with a large number of animals, plants, birds, fish, butterflies and reptile species. The Mishmi Hills are a birdwatcher and wildlife enthusiasts delight. The region boasts of so many rare species found only in this region in the entire Indian sub-continent. The medicinal plant Coptis Teeta or the Mishmi Teeta, an endemic species and the Taxus baccata are available here. The area is also rich in orchid varieties.

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The Dihang-Dibang or Dehang-Debang is a biosphere reserve constituted in 1998. One of the eight wildlife sanctuaries in Arunachal Pradesh, the Mouling National Park and the Dibang Wildlife Sanctuary are located fully or partly within this biosphere reserve which spreads over three districts: Dibang Valley, Upper Siang, and West Siang and covers the high mountains of the Eastern Himalayas and the Mishmi Hills. This Biosphere Reserve has natural vegetation stretching in an unbroken sequence from the tropics to the mountain tundra. The reserve is rich in wildlife with rare mammals such as the Mishmi takin, the red goral, at least two sub species of the musk deer, the rare Sclater’s monal and Blyth’s tragopan, amongst others.

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Tirap

Located in the southeastern part of the state about 336 km east of Itanagar, Tirap shares a state border with Assam and an international border with Myanmar. The town with its gushing rivulets, green and vibrant orchards and fresh air heals the mind and soothes the soul. The name Tirap is derived from the River Tirap which originates from a high peak in the Laju Circle and flows from the southeast to the northeast before joining the Buri-Dihing river near Ledo in Assam.

Since ancient times, Tirap has been inhabited by indigenous tribes. Japanese troops invaded and controlled the area for a brief period in 1945, until the collapse of the Japanese Empire. Recently, Tirap has been a major target for the NSCN, a Naga rebel group that aims the creation of Greater Nagaland, using military force.

In My Hands Today…

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Travels with Charley: In Search of America – John Steinbeck

A quest across America, from the northernmost tip of Maine to California’s Monterey Peninsula

To hear the speech of the real America, to smell the grass and the trees, to see the colors and the light—these were John Steinbeck’s goals as he set out, at the age of fifty-eight, to rediscover the country he had been writing about for so many years.

With Charley, his French poodle, Steinbeck drives the interstates and the country roads, dines with truckers, encounters bears at Yellowstone and old friends in San Francisco. Along the way he reflects on the American character, racial hostility, the particular form of American loneliness he finds almost everywhere, and the unexpected kindness of strangers.

Travel Bucket List: India – Arunachal Pradesh Part 2

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Bomdila

270 km west of Itanagar, Bomdila is a lesser-known destination set in the eastern Himalayas with beautiful views amidst nature. It is also well known for its apple orchards and many Buddhist monasteries. Bomdila was ruled by tribal rulers until the arrival of the British who made it part of Arunachal Pradesh in 1873. The Bomdila Monastery also known as Gontse Gaden Rabgyel Lling monastery and the Eaglenest Wildlife Sanctuaries are the major attractions. Tourism is on the rise here and Bomdila has become a halt station for tourists travelling to Tawang. The Bomdila pass offers views of Kangto and Gorichen Peaks, the highest in the state.

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Also known as Gentse Gaden Rabgyel Lling monastery, the Bombdila monastery was built in 1965 by the twelfth incarnation of the TsonaGontse Rinpoche. And was rebuilt by the thirteenth reincarnation, TsonaGontseRinponche who renovated the monastery by building a larger prayer hall. Inside the Gompa, there’s a huge prayer, which is used by the lamas for praying; the temple of Buddha, and a tiny quarter of monks. Apart from its religious significance, the monastery is also known for its natural beauty with stunning vistas that are fabulous and breathtaking. The Upper Gompa is located atop a steep hill. There is a monk school, a prayer hall as well as a temple dedicated to Lord Buddha on the premises. The Lower Gompa is located at the end of Bazaar Street and the main attraction is the marvellous Tibetan architecture and massive prayer hall inside. There is also a craft centre located opposite it which should be visited. R.R Hill is the highest point of Bomdila and from this height, visitors can see the roads leading to the Bhutan border as well as the one up Tawang.

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The Eagle’s Nest Wildlife Sanctuary lies between the Sessa Orchid Sanctuary and the Pakhui Tiger Reserve. It’s a great place for bird watching with over 450 species spotted here. The sanctuary conjoins the Sessa Orchid Sanctuary to the northeast and the Pakhui Tiger Reserve across the Kameng river to the east. Altitude ranges here are extreme, from 500 m to 3,250 m and are part of the Kameng Elephant Reserve. The sanctuary derives its name from the Red Eagle Division of the Indian army which was posted in the area in the 1950s. Eaglenest is bounded to the north by the Eaglenest Ridge and the reserved forests of the Bugun community and adjoins the Tawang district to the north. There are no distinct geographical features delineating its western boundary along the Bhutan border and the southern boundary. Eaglenest has an unpaved road running from its base to Eaglenest pass at 2,800 m allowing good access to the entire altitudinal range, making it accessible to the military, scientists and ecotourists.

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Eaglenest Wildlife Sanctuary is well known as a major birding area and is home to at least 454 species of birds. The sanctuary has the distinction of having three tragopan species, perhaps unique in India and is where the Bugun liocichla was first discovered in 1995 and again observed and described in 2006. The sanctuary is also home to a wide variety of herpetofauna including at least 34 species of amphibians, 24 species of snakes and 7 species of lizards as well as at least 165 species of butterflies. This area is extremely important for the continued well-being of the Asian elephant. Elephants regularly move up from the Assam plains to the Eaglenest ridge at 3250 m in summer, perhaps the highest altitude that elephants reach in India.

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Tawang

The town of Tawang or Dawang is located about 450 km northwest of Itanagar at an elevation of approximately 3,048 m to the north of the Tawang Chu river valley, roughly 16 km south of the Line of Actual Control with China. In 1989, the present-day Tawang district to the north of the Sela Pass was split off as a separate district. Tawang is inhabited by the Monpa people.

Historically, Tawang was under the control of Tibet. During the 1914 Simla Conference, Tibet and British India signed an agreement delineating their common boundary in the Assam Himalaya region, which came to be known as the McMahon Line. By this agreement, Tibet relinquished several hundred square miles of its territory, including Tawang, to the British. This agreement was not recognised by China and records show that the Tibetans regarded the border agreed upon in 1914 as being conditional upon China accepting the Simla Convention. Since the British were unable to get China’s acceptance, the Tibetans regarded the MacMahon line as invalid. The British did not implement the McMahon Line for over two decades, during which Tawang continued to be administered by Tibet. In November 1935, the British government demanded that Tibet implement the border agreement which was met with resistance from the Tibetan government implying that China’s acceptance of the Simla Convention was a prerequisite to all such concerns. Tibet refused to surrender Tawang, partly because of the importance attached to the Tawang Monastery. In 1938 the British tried to assert sovereignty over Tawang by sending a small military column which was met with strong resistance from the Tibetan government and a serious protest was lodged against the British Indian government.

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After the Sino-Japanese war in 1941, the Assam government tightened its hold on the area of the Nort-East Frontier Agency, NEFA which later became Arunachal Pradesh. In 1944 administrative control was extended over the area of the Tawang tract lying South of the Sela Pass Though the Tibetan tax-collectors packing and protests were brushed aside, no steps were taken to evict Tibet from the area north of the pass which contained Tawang town. This situation continued after India’s independence but underwent a decisive change in 1950 when Tibet lost its autonomy and was incorporated into the newly established People’s Republic of China. In February 1951, India sent an official with a small escort and several hundred porters to Tawang and took control of the remainder of the Tawang tract from the Tibetans, removing the Tibetan administration. During the Sino-Indian war of 1962, Tawang fell briefly under Chinese control, but China voluntarily withdrew its troops at the end of the war and Tawang returned to Indian administration. But China has not relinquished its claims on most of Arunachal Pradesh including Tawang.

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The Tawang Monastery was founded by the Merak Lama Lodre Gyatso in 1681 following the wishes of the 5th Dalai Lama, Ngawang Lobsang Gyatso. To fix the perimeter of the Dzong, the Dalai Lama had also given a ball of yarn, the length of which was to form the limit of the monastery. Perched at the height of 3,000 metres above sea level, the monastery belongs to the Gelugpa sect and is the largest Buddhist monastery in India and the biggest Buddhist monastery in the world outside of Lhasa, Tibet. It is a major holy site for Tibetan Buddhists as it was the birthplace of the sixth Dalai Lama, Tsangyang Gyatso. The monastery is believed to be 400 years old and has control over 17 gompas in the region.

Offering breathtaking views of the Tawang-Chu Valley, the monastery is built as a large three-storeyed mansion enclosed by a 925 feet long compound wall and is home to over 300 monks. The most prominent attraction in the monastery is the massive statue of Lord Buddha which is 8 m in height. The main temple, Dukhang, boasts magnificent interiors with beautiful artwork while the inner walls contain sketches and paintings of Bodhisattvas. The library is stocked with valuable old scriptures like Kangyur and Tengyur and all primary structures are built in the traditional style of Buddhist architecture. The Tawang Manuscript Conservation Centre was established in the monastery in August 2006, which has curated 200 manuscripts, and 31 manuscripts have been treated for preservation.

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The full name of the monastery is Tawang Galdan Namgye Lhatse where Ta means horse and wang means chosen, which together form the word Tawang, meaning the location selected by a horse. Gadan means paradise, Namgyal means a complete victory and Lhatse means divine. Thus, the full meaning of the Tawang Galdan Namgye Lhatse is the site chosen by the horse is the divine paradise of complete victory.

There are three legends which speak of the establishment of the monastery. In the first legend, it is said that the location of the present Monastery was selected by a horse which belonged to Merag Lama Lodre Gyatso who was on a mission assigned by the 5th Dalai Lama to establish a monastery. After an intense search, when he failed to locate a suitable place, he retired to a cave to offer prayers seeking divine intervention to choose the site. When he came out of the cave, he found his horse missing. He then went in search of the horse and finally found it grazing at the top of a mountain called Tana Mandekhang, which in the past was the palace of King Kala Wangpo. He took this as a divine and auspicious guidance and decided to establish the monastery at that location. Seeking the help of the local people, Mera Lama established the monastery at that location in the latter part of 1681. The second legend of the derivation of the name Tawang is linked to Terton Pemalingpa, the diviner of treasures. Here, he is stated to have given initiations of Tamdin and Kagyad, which resulted in the name Tawang where Ta is an abbreviated form for Tamdin and Wang means initiation. According to the third legend, a white horse of the Prince of Lhasa had wandered into Monpa region. People, who went in search of the horse, found the horse grazing at the present location of the monastery. The people of the area then worshipped the horse and the location where it was found and venerated it every year. Eventually, to honour the sacred site, the Tawang Monastery was built at the site. There is one more legend narrated about the Goddess painted on a thangka in the monastery which is that of Palden Lhamo. This female deity is compared to the Hindu Goddess Kali. Like Goddess Kali, Palden Lhamo’s thangka is drawn in black colour, with flaming eyes, dressed in a skirt made of tiger skin, and a garland of skulls around her neck. A moon disc adorns her hair, similar to the one seen on Shiva. She is also associated with Goddess Saraswati and Ma Tara. Legend also states that in the past she had lived in Sri Lanka as the consort of a demon king who practised human sacrifice. As she was not supportive of this practice she fled from the kingdom. As she was running away, the king shot her with an arrow, which struck the backside of the mule that she was riding. When she drew out the arrow, it left a gaping hole in the mule’s back, and through this gap, Palden Lhamo could watch the teachings of Lord Buddha.

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At the entrance to the monastery, there is a colourful gate structure, known as the Kakaling, built in the shape of a hut-like structure, with the roof featuring mandalas. A distinctive mural is of Ningmecahn, the protector deity of the Bon religion, who is considered the guardian deity of the Tawang region. A notable feature on the wall of the front porch on the ground floor is a footprint on a stone slab said to have belonged to a resident, a water carrier, known as Chitenpa who served in the monastery for a long time and on one day announced that he had completed his service to the monastery and then stamped his left foot on the stone slab which created a dented formation of his step. This step is venerated as a miracle.

Torgya, also known as Tawang-Torgya, is an annual festival held in the monastery whose objective is to seek protection from evil spirits and pray for the prosperity and happiness of the people in the coming year. The famous dance, Losjer Chungiye is performed by the monks at the festival. The monastery is open daily between 7 am and 7 pm.

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Arunachal Pradesh’s lifeline, Sela Pass connects Tawang to the rest of the country. Not just important geographically, Sela Pass is breathtakingly beautiful always covered in snow providing gorgeous views of the eastern Himalayan range. The rocky pass is also home to one of the state’s most beautiful lakes, the Sela Lake. One needs an inner line permit to visit Sela Pass. Located at an altitude of 4170 m, Sela Pass and Sela Lake lie on on your way to Tawang which is about 80 km from the pass. Also known as Se La where La means a pass, the pass is usually covered in snow and supports scarce amounts of vegetation. Sela Lake, near the summit of the pass, is one of approximately 101 lakes in the area that are sacred in Tibetan Buddhism. Sela Lake is a large lake located on the north side of the pass at an elevation of 4,160 m and often freezes during winter and is drained in the Nuranang River, a tributary of the Tawang River. Limited vegetation grows around the lake which is used as a grazing site for yaks during the summer. Construction of the Sela Tunnel which is underway will bring Tawang on the railway map through the Bhalukpong–Tawang railway line.

According to legend, a sepoy of the Indian Army named Jaswant Singh Rawat fought alone against the Chinese soldiers near the pass during the 1962 Sino-Indian War. A tribal woman named Sela who had brought food and water to him is said to have killed herself upon seeing the dead body of Jaswant Singh Rawat. Singh was posthumously awarded the Maha Vir Chakra for his courage and devotion to duty. Even though the pass is open throughout the year, the best months to visit are October, November, March, April and May as there are fewer chances of the route being snowed in.

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One of India’s remotest lakes, Madhuri Lake or Sangetsar Lake is a gorgeous lake against the Himalayas. The lake was made popular due to its appearance in a Bollywood movie and is known after its lead actress Madhuri Dixit who danced on its shores. The lake was previously known as Shonga-tser Lake and is located on the way from Tawang to Bum La Pass at an altitude of 12,000 ft above sea level just 30 km northeast of Tawang. The lake was created by falling rocks, boulders and trees in an earthquake and is tucked between huge mountains with many upright tree trunks standing in its belly as if guarding the lake and is special to Buddhists of India and Tibet who come here every year to pray. The best months to visit the lake are during October, November, March, April and May as the cold at this time subsides a little to allow normal tourist activities. Visits by civilians are only possible with permission from the Indian Army. The track is very treacherous, only SUVs advisable, and that too only on clear days with no snowfall or rainfall. Located almost 25 km from Tawang, the immensely picturesque P.T. Tso Lake is a perfect picnic spot, depending on the weather.

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Largely known, the Nuranang Falls lie deep in the forest of Tawang and is one of the most spectacular waterfalls in the country. A beautiful white sheet of water that descends from the height of about 100 meters, it is a part of the Nuranang River which originates at the Sela Pass and just after the falls, merges with the Tawang River. Popularly known as the BTK waterfall, the Bap Ten Kang has crystal clear waters inside a lush green forest. The scenery around the falls is dotted by high hills all around, covered in thick greenery and mist hanging about. At the falls, one can visit the Hydel plant.

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Gorichen Peak is Arunachal Pradesh highest peak and is located between Tawang and West Kameng at an altitude of 22,500 f above sea level, roughly about 164 km from Tawang. The peak is locally known as Sa-Nga Phu, which means the Kingdom of the Deity and is considered to be one of the sacred peaks protecting the people from the evils according to the local Monpa tribe.

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The Tawang War Memorial is a 40 feet colourful structure dedicated to the martyrs of the Sino-India War of 1962 overlooking the scenic Tawang-Chu valley.