The Land of the Dzong
Days 7 to 9. September 2023
We descended to the Dirang valley and rode for about 35 kms through some sharply curvy roads to 4900 ft., having to apply brakes all the way down. We found a homestay by the Dirang river, nestled on the edge of a hamlet away from the market and in the midst of pure natural surroundings again. It was called the Dirang Boutique Cottage. A bit pricey for the limited meal options ( only dinner for instance ) and so we had to cook a bit on our own stove itself.
Dirang is a very picturesque town by the river Kameng, with paddy fields and lush forests across the river. The well constructed road skirts the town and makes it way towards Tawang. It’s a busy town with many small shops and hotels. Tourism is a vital economic activity here because of its altitude ( 4900 ft), pleasant weather and proximity to Bomdila.
Dirang is also famous for its Dzong or fortress and the Dirang Dzong is around 150 to 200 years with some of the older stone houses more than 500 years old.
Just 18 kms away was the oldest Arunachal village of Thembang and on our second day in Dirang we managed to make the journey on a very difficult and rocky road.
Thembang is the oldest village in Arunachal Pradesh and is populated by the Monpa tribe since the 1st century AD which makes it more more than 1900 years old. The village stands remotely high above Dirang at 2000 metres.
Treading through the fortified village, called Dzong, we experienced a living heritage settlement that took our breath away. We walked in silence, came across a small ‘village square’ where some corn was being ground in the traditional manner with a rounded stone and a game of ‘Parchao’, a dice game a bit like Ludo was being played by some men. Roaming through the hamlet we came across a lonely 98 year old lying sick in an old hut, blackened by decades of firewood smoke and oil. We got him some provisions and though he was weak and fragile, his expression really touched us deeply. Thembang left us stirred because of its sheer anthropological and human history footprint on earth. Hopefully it will soon be declared a UNESCO World Heritage site.
It was truly a life defining visit, deeply impactful and stirring. We returned to Dirang in the evening and I called someone locally to see if any help could be extended to the old man. We had bought essential provisions for a month for the old man and gave Rs. 500 to the lady running a small grocer shop near his hut for basic medicines. But beyond that we could not do much except seek help for him. It was time for us to refocus on our challenging climbs ahead. Our graded ascent to 13500 ft to Sela Pass, involved steady acclimatisation and adaption from hereon.
