THRILLING ROAD TRIP IN ARUNACHAL PRADESH: GUWAHATI –TAWANG
Introduction: The road trip in Arunachal Pradesh starts from Guwahati (Capital of Assamstate) and goes to Tawang (The highest administrative town of Arunachal Pradesh state). This is one of the most thrilling hill side road trips worth undertaking in India. Following are the important places lies in between this road trip:
BOMDILA:
It is the headquarters of West Kameng district located at the height of 8500 ft above the sea level. It has a lot of attractions for the tourists with its cool climate, Apple orchards, artistic people, snow-capped Himalayan peaks and Buddhist Gompas (Monastery). The Buddhist monastery of Bomdila is the repository of culture. This place has a tourist lodge, a craft centre displaying local crafts and a shopping centre where the visitor’s gets first feel of the local version of Himalayan Buddhist life.
DIRANG:
A beautiful valley on the way to Tawang. Is a worth seeing places. There is hot spring in Dirang, normally locals don’t disclose to the tourist as it is used by the locals for bathing along with their families.
SELA PASS:
Sela Pass, where war and romance meet at 13,700 feet above sea level. A tale of tragedy unfolds amidst the scattered snow. Sela was a local girl who loved Jaswant, an Indian soldier against her father’s wishes. During the Indo-China war, Jaswant Singh single-handedly fought the Chinese for three days by fooling them while Sela brought him ammunition and food from the camp. The story goes that Jaswant positioned himself on a hill top in a long trench and placed rifles to give an impression that the entire army was behind him. Finally he was betrayed by Sela’s father and was captured and beheaded by the Chinese. Sela in agony and anger, took two Chinese army officers on the false pretext of showing Indian main land and committed suicide by jumping from the hillock while holding their hands and thus killed them too.
TAWANG:
If Shangri-La conjures up images of an earthly paradise isolated from the outside world, happy people, Buddhist chants floating in the air, and mystical monks engrossed in prayers, then Tawang is what you’re most likely thinking about. Located at a height of near about 10,000 ft above sea level, picturesque Tawang is a thinly populated mountainous tract lying on the northwest extremity of Arunachal Pradesh in north east India. It is also the seat of the 400-year-old Tawang monastery, one of the oldest and the largest monasteries in India and the biggest outside of Lhasa.   As the birthplace of the sixth Dalai Lama, it is a holy site for Tibetan Buddhists and a prominent center for Gelug or Gelugpa, the pre-eminent Buddhist school in Tibet. Tawang shares boundaries with Tibet in the north, Bhutan in the south west and Sela range of West Kameng in the east. Origins of Tawang are tad obscure. It was part of Tibet in the medieval times. Prior to the construction of the monastery, Tawang was traditionally inhabited by the Monpa (name given to Buddhist tribal’s) people. The spread of Buddhism in the area started with the arrival of Guru Padmasambhava, the Indian saint, in the 8th century. Tawang Monastery was founded by Merak Lama Lodre Gyasto in accordance with the wishes of the fifth Dalai Lama, Ngawang Lobsang Gyatso. There are two legends about how Tawang derived its name. ‘Ta’ means horse and ‘wang’ means chosen. The site of the present monastery is believed to have been chosen by a horse owned by Merak Lama Lodre Gyatso. Gyatso failed in his search to find a suitable place to build the monastery despite his best efforts. So, he decided to sit and pray in silence for guidance. When he opened his eyes, he found his horse missing. He found his steed on the top of a hill known as Tana Mandekhang. Considering it as a good omen, Gyatso decided to initiate work for building a monastery. The monastery was founded in late 1681. According to another legend, the saint Pema Lingpa gave initiations such as Tamdin and Ka-gyad and hence the place came to be known Tawang (Ta is an abbreviation of Tamdin; wang means initiation). After gaining control of Tawang, the British hoped it would be a center of influence for them on the north east frontier. Tawang was under Chinese rule when the People’a Liberation Army invaded India in 1962. It became part of India again when the Chinese army withdrew.
JASWANT GARH:
Rifleman Jaswant Singh Rawat of the Fourth Garhwal Rifles infantry regiment is the only soldier in the long history of the Indian army who is known to have risen through the ranks after his death. Rawat remained at his post at an altitude of about 10,000 feet (3,000 meters) and held back advancing Chinese troops for three days single-handedly before succumbing to an enemy bullet during the bloody winter war with China in 1962 along the northeastern state of Arunachal Pradesh. The rifleman may have died, but his heroics have not gone unrecognized -- Rawat gets an unofficial promotion at regular intervals, with his rank today being that of a major general. The post that he held to repulse the Chinese troops has been renamed Jaswant Garh in recognition of his courage. Rawat’s act of bravado has earned him a distinct place among all ranks of the federal army manning the unfenced 1,030 kilometer (650 mile) Sino-Indian border -- for many he is like a guardian angel protecting the frontiers. Myth, folklore, and superstitious beliefs are so strong among the soldiers that the battle site was converted into a Hindu temple with troops now giving Rawat the status of Baba or saint. The Garhwal Rifles are today deployed on India’s western borders, but the unit makes it a point to keep at least half-a-dozen personnel here to take care of Rawat as if he were alive. For us he is immortal and continues to protect and bless us in this treacherous mountain terrain said a Garhwal Rifles soldier posted at Rawat’s shrine. He has an orderly who cooks for him daily, makes his bed, irons his clothes and polishes his boots, while guards patrol his shrine around the clock. Each morning his bed is found crumpled and his freshly ironed clothes lie crushed on the floor another soldier said. He is here all the time although we cannot see him. According to locals and soldiers posted near Jaswant Garh, Rawat’s spirit roams the area and he comes to their dreams and solves their woes and miseries. Legend has it that the Chinese troops after killing Rawat beheaded him and carried his torso as a trophy after he had stood alone against them, firing from a .303 rifle. After the ceasefire, the Chinese commander, impressed by Rawat’s bravery, returned the head along with a brass bust of the gallant soldier. The bust is now installed at the site of the battle.
JANG JONG:
Jang/Jong water fall/ Nuranang Falls (also known as Bong Bong Falls), some 100 meters high, is located in the Tawang district of Arunachal Pradesh, India. It is one of the most spectacular waterfalls in this part of the country yet unknown to many travelers. It lies some 2 kilometers away from the town of Jang on the road connecting Tawang and Bomdila, so it is also known as the Jang Falls. There is a small hydroelectric plant located near the base that generates electricity for local use. The Nuranang river originates from the Northern slopes of the Sela Pass. Just below the waterfall it falls into the Tawang river.

- Detailed Itinerary (PDF)