Walks in India: Along, Arunachal Pradesh
This post is part of a series on ‘Walks in India‘.
Place: Along
Highlights: Riverside Walk, Tribal Villages, green countryside
Season: October to April, when it is not raining.
Time of the day: Morning – 6.30pm to 11.30pm
Distance: Approximately 9kms
Difficulty: Easy to Moderate
Map. This is an interactive map of the walk. Zoom in to get a closer look. Click on the blue markers to identify of each location.
View Walks in India – Along in a larger map
Place to see and walking map of Along, Arunachal Pradesh
The Walk.
With photographs and inputs from Lavanya.
This walk is from one of the remotest regions of India, in Arunachal Predesh. It is also the longest of the walks in the series. But the weather is pleasant, and you can walk at your own pace besides the river and amidst lot of greenery, because of which it is not likely to be very tiring.
Start walking westwards from from Along, on the south bank of Siang River. The walk goes along the edge of the forest to its left, and fields and river to the right. First stop is Kabu Village, where, if you wish to, you can take a deviation to the river and walk across a flaky hanging bridge, and get back to the main road.
Continue walking westward from Kabu on the main road. The next stop is Pobdi village. Pobdi has a small tea shop where you can rest for tea and some snacks, but do not expect much from the place. Cross the bridge across Siang at Pobdi, and walk a little further to get to Paia Village.
The villages on the way – Kabu, Pobdi and Paia are inhabited by people of Gallong Adi tribes. In these villages you can see people making of rice beer(apong), old men weaving baskets, children wrapped in a cloth and being carried on the backs of women, women weaving, and life of tribals in general. You can also see a few mithuns(a kind of buffalo) grazing around the village.
The walk ends at Paia village. Do keep in mind that Pobdi is the last point of the walk connected with a tarmac road. Paia is not accessible to vehicles.