The Enchanting Zemithang Valley

Day 20 of Pedal the Himalaya Tour

West of Tawang deep in a narrow valley leading to the Indo China LAC lies the historic and ancient village of Zemithang, the last Indian village in Arunachal. This village was the first halt for the exhausted entourage of the Dalai Lama as they made their precarious escape from the Chinese oppression of Tibet in March 1959. The Nyamjangchu river gushes down the valley from the border, it’s waters creating a fertile farmland. In fact Zemithang means ‘river swept land’, and from its lands you can see the daunting peaks afar which are dominated by the Indian army overlooking China to the North and Bhutan to the West. On the way to the village standing majestically is the famous Gorsam Chorten which was constructed in 13th century AD by Lama Prathar. The height of Stupa is 186 feet and it is modelled after the stupa of Boudhanath of Nepal.

This is a stunning and densely forested part of India, largely raw, pristine with massive cliffs and mountains flanking the river and largely unknown and unexplored.