Travelling in the North-East in the summer of 2006
Guwahati >> Eaglenest >> Tawang >> Nameri >> Kaziranga >> Shillong >> Cherrapunjee
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We left Eaglenest after a week in it’s beautiful wilderness. We hired a Tata Sumo which picked us up around 6am.
I knew the distance to Tawang, but in the Himalayas, knowing the distance doesn’t mean you can tell how long it takes to get there. We drove and drove and drove and Tawang still remained far off. But unlike many other journeys I have made, and unlike my usual resentment to journeys, I loved this one.
We stopped at Bomdila first to shop for some clothes for the higher region. Our next stop was a leisure stroll at the beautiful town of Dirang. We continued to move upwards from here and stopped somewhere on the way for lunch. An hour of drive after lunch, I realized that I had left my jacket at the restaurant during lunch. And it turned out, the lady of the restaurant had kept it aside for me and gave it to me when we were on our way back!
The Sela Pass at 13,700 feet
The ascent continued from here and kept climbing higher and higher for a long distance. There was little habitation after Dirang except for a few patches of military establishments. Later in the afternoon, we were at Sela pass at a good height of 13,700 feet. Sela pass has beautiful views all around it. Vast and steep Himalayan valleys on both sides of the pass are great to look at. The pass was also the point where we first encountered snow.
The lake at Sela Pass
We had a surprise waiting for us at the other side of the pass – a small lake with some snow around it. A few Ruddy Shelducks(a kind of duck) were floating in the lake. I was told later by someone in Tawang that they saw a huge pile of them on the lake the previous day. I wished to stop by and walk down to the lake, but it was getting late and we had to keep moving.
I posted some questions about Himachal Pradesh in a forum, but could not get any answers. I am looking some information on travelling in Himachal Pradesh before I head that way next month. Below is what I posted on the forum, if you know anything about these, please do drop a comment and let me know.
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I am planning to rent a bike in Manali and drive around in Himachal Pradesh for a week. From whatever research I have done, it is possible to rent Bullet 500cc or 350cc bikes, but I did not see mention of modern bikes. I am not too particular to hire a Bullet and would rather prefer a Pulsar or equivalent and if they are not available, may be smaller bikes. Bajaj Avenger is my ideal choice though.
I will be on Manali approximately on 5th of June.
Now the info I am looking for.
1. I am wondering if any of these bikes can be hired in Manali or Bullets are the only available choice.
2. I have nearly a week for biking ex-Manali. I am thinking of riding to Darcha and back to Manali, and then via Kunzum La to Kaza and back. I presume road to Darcha would be bikeable anyway, but how about the road to Kaza? Is it worth taking? Or should I simply head to Leh instead?
3. I also want to bike to Sangla, but doing it from Manali would be too much. Will there be any bikes available for rent in Shimla?
Thanks in advance for all the information.
I have been thinking of travelling to Himachal Pradesh some time in the last week of May or first week of June. I have around three weeks of time, and haven’t exactly planned anything about the trip yet. Since it is my first visit to the mountain state, would also want to cover some popular places that are normally called tourist traps. A 3-5 day high altitude trek also would be a nice add on. I am yet to start my research, but do pour in your suggestion if there is something unmissable. Roughly, I am contemplating on starting at Manali, hire a bike there and go around some beautiful places accessible by road in the bike(Spiti/Sangla/Rohtang..?) and also cover a few of the towns like Kullu, Dharmashala and Shimla. I hope to spend some time photographing Himachal’s beauty on the days I am on bike. After 7-8 days of biking, relax for a day or two and head for good multi-day trek in the mountains. This is just things I am thinking of today and might give a shape to a plan after doing some research. I am open to changes and will be looking for inputs.
If anyone would be interested to join me for part of the journey or full, do let me know.