The Celestial Abode of Tawang

The ride from Jang to Tawang at 10,000 ft. was a daunting one with an elevation gain of 1200 metres / 3700 ft staring at us. I don’t think we had fully recovered from the Sela Pass ascent even after a day’s rest but chose to go for it.

The 42 kms ride to our homestay in Upper Tawang was a gorgeous one though quite tough with the sun beating down most of the day. We explored the famous Fong Fong Ma waterfall after descending to the the river and then began climbing. On the way we passed numerous villages with lovely welcome gates but the villages that struck us the most impactful were that of Lhou, Khirmu and Namte. The pretty village of Lhou was the most touching. It seemed to be populated mainly by the ageing, men and women with weathered faces, gleaming smiles and a very caring nature. They were all working on drying their produce for the autumn season – fiery red chillies, soya bean and a local millet variety, of which I was tempted to carry a sackful as it’s meant only for consumption within the village.
We were met and greeted very warmly by the village elders and they were surprised when I asked if could take a picture of them ‘Why do you want to photograph an old woman like me?’ they would say. ‘We are no one’. They did not know their age as there are no written records which was not surprising. One elderly woman was wearing a hat made of yaks wool ( portrait in the post) and she was happy to pose with it!

Another beautiful feature of the ride were the series of cascading water turned prayer wheel monuments in the village of Namte. They are called Mani wheels. The village had numerous homes with blossoming flowers, so neatly arranged and decorated, that it made our tiredness disappear!

The last three kms within Tawang were an extremely steep climb and we pushed our bikes all the way up in the cold and the dark through a blissful forested area called the ‘Sacred Forest’. Along the way as we were pushing up a steep bend, we coincidentally met with Dr. Magu, a keen cyclist himself ( and ortho-surgeon ) who gave us directions into Tawang town. Finding one’s road around a busy hill station can be quite difficult in the dark and he was a big help!