Travelling in the North-East in the summer of 2006
Guwahati >> Eaglenest >> Tawang >> Nameri >> Kaziranga >> Shillong >> Cherrapunjee
+Previous: Returning from Tawang
+Next: Arriving at Kaziranga
+Go to the beginning of the series
The angling camp at Potasali village is the only place to stay anywhere close to Nameri National Park, and so it was our natural choice. It was a delightful place to be in, located in a quiet village at the border of the park, just next to Bharali River.
Potasali Angling Camp
The names were many – Bharali river, as it was written in the map, was locally called Jia Bhorelli. The angling camp being in Potasali village, was normally called Potasali angling camp while the sign on their gate read – ‘Bhorelli Angling Camp’.
It was early evening when we had arrived, and the rest of the day was consumed in a short walk towards the river. Bharali river served as a border to the park, and we could see the thick forest with tall trees to the other side of the river. As we walked on the shore, a couple of people in a raft with some angling gear arrived floating down with the current, ending their day-long fish hunt.
Bharali river and the forest of Nameri National Park
The next morning we went on a guided trek in the park. The guide said that the park does have some tigers, and obviously we did not get to see any. But the birds were in good numbers and there were many species that we had never seen earlier. Green Pigeons – yellow footed green pigeon and a few more varieties were prominent. But what awed us was the presence of hornbills in great numbers. We were once walking on an open patch when my fellow traveller sighted four great hornbills flying past. When another one followed from behind, he started counting. Soon came two more and then there was silence. There were seven in all, he said, and by the time he finished, another one followed! We were all walking towards them, and now stopped and decided to wait. In the next few minutes while we waited, they kept coming one after another, taking the count up to more than 30! None of us had ever seen great hornbills in such big numbers, and watching them arrive with swooshing sound of their wings was a real treat. We walked further only after waiting for a few more minutes and ensuring that there were no more of them coming in.
Great Hornbill flying past us..
We decided to go rafting later in the afternoon. This was no rafting in the rapids, but a pleasant floating journey down the river with no major obstacles to worry about. We descended into the river almost 15km upstream from the camp. Two boatmen in the raft took care of steering and rowing the raft while we sat back and enjoyed the beauty around. The Himalayan river Bharali, which probably originated somewhere near Sela pass carried down perfectly clear water in which we could clearly see the bottom even in the deeper stretches. At the start of the ride, we saw a few Ibis Bills, a bird which is hardly seen anywhere else in India. It was a pleasant sailing down the river as the current carried us smoothly downstream most of the time, with few or little turbulences. At some place where the river widened, the boatman pulled out the raft ashore and said we can swim here if we like. We were all waiting for an opportunity and jumped in the very next moment. It was indeed a bit cold but not too cold to feel chilling. We were accustomed to it in no time and immensely enjoyed swimming in those clear waters. Infact we did not really feel like getting out of there, but we eventually had to. We spent nearly four hours on the river and it was late in the evening and already pretty dark by the time we arrived at the camp.
A bird we had managed to identify with great difficulty; but I can’t recall its name again..!
It was time for us to depart the next morning. We were all heading in different directions from here. I was planning to go to Kaziranga, another one of us was headed to Namdhapa and the third one was heading back home. It was a short, but very eventful stay for us at Nameri.
About Nameri National Park
Nameri National Park, adjoining Pakke Tiger Reserve in Arunachal, falls in Sonitpur district of Assam. The Potasali Angling Camp or Eco Camp as it is sometime called, is the only accommodation close to the camp. Book in advance, as it often gets full. Next option to stay would be at budget hotels in nearby town of Bhalukpong. To reach the camp, drive to Tezpur from Guwahati. Take the Tezpur-Bomdila highway and drive for another hour via the town of Balipara till you reach a place called Haathi Gate. Turn right on a small road without tarmac at Haathi Gate, and ask around for the camp. Frequent buses connect Guwahati and Tezpur. From here, you can take local buses or shared jeeps to reach Haathi Gate.
You can trek in the park with the assistance of a forest department guide. The angling camp can organize angling trips and pleasure rafting trips on Bhorelli river.
Travelling in the North-East in the summer of 2006
Guwahati >> Eaglenest >> Tawang >> Nameri >> Kaziranga >> Shillong >> Cherrapunjee
+Previous: In and Around Tawang
+Next: Nameri National Park
+Go to the beginning of the series
We did not stay for long at Tawang and headed back after two days. The journey on the way back was uneventful. We retraced the same path via Sela pass, Dirang and Bomdila. We had thoughts of staying at the beautiful town of Dirang for the night, but the hotels there were all booked. So we moved further and halted for the night at Tenga village. The only reason we chose the place was that it was familiar to us, as it was the gateway to Eaglenest and we knew a few people there.
We started easy next morning towards Assam. The road from Tenga to Bhalukpong is very pretty and goes through some thick undisturbed evergreen forest. We continued down the Bomdila – Tezpur highway in Assam to Haathi gate, where we were planning to stay for the night in an angling camp bordering Nameri National Park. It was late in the afternoon when we reached there. We checked in at the angling camp and spent rest of the evening walking around the place.
Travelling in the North-East in the summer of 2006
Guwahati >> Eaglenest >> Tawang >> Nameri >> Kaziranga >> Shillong >> Cherrapunjee
+Previous: At Tawang – Snow and Lakes
+Next: Returning from Tawang
+Go to the beginning of the series
Tawang is not very different from any town on a hill in the Himalayas. People are friendly, and everything you buy is expensive! My friend wanted to get some clothes washed and ironed in 24 hours, and expressed his shock when he heard the prices. The lady of the laundry laughed and replied – “Yeh Tawang hai saab..” – “This is Tawang sir!”
It is a small town with a small city center crowded with a few hotels, some military presence at one end of the town and the monastery at the other end. Petrol is not available in or anywhere a few 100 kilometers around Tawang. The only fuel station serves Diesel but don’t expect stocks to be available all the time. The 5-6 hotels that you find around the city center tend to be full most of the time during the tourist season. There are no upmarket hotels or resorts, so if you are used to comforts, be prepared to live without it while you are in Tawang.
Kids waiting for school bus in Tawang
We also took a short trip to a village near Tawang. Surprising, men are not to be seen anywhere in and around the villages and people you see are usually women and children. Agriculture seems to be the primary source of income for most families. Unlike in the rest of the high ranges, we did not see much of livestock though most people eat non-vegetarian food. Wood seems to be the primary source of fuel in the houses. Hardly anyone in the village seemed to own any automobiles.
A woman belonging to local Mumpa Tribe
Most businessmen in Tawang are outsiders. Like the tourists, these businessmen also need to get permits to be in Arunachal. A restaurateur said he is from Rajasthan and they need to renew their residential permits every year. There were many Bengalis too. Tourism, though is a happening thing in Tawang, doesn’t seem to be an organized industry and is not contributing much to the local economy yet, but things may change in the days to come. The few hotels and restaurants in the town were not exactly customer friendly. One night in a restaurant when we gave our orders, we were rudely told to order the same thing for everyone so that it is easy to prepare. Next morning, another guy told that us that sandwiches and parathas are available, and when we ordered parathas, he said it is a pain to make them and will serve sandwich for all instead!
ABOUT TAWANG
Tawang is a faraway place by any standards. Bluntly speaking, unless you are very keen, you are better off travelling somewhere else instead of getting to Tawang. Not to deny the fact that the way is beautiful and so are the regions above Tawang. But the road is very long from Tezpur and feels monotonous at times. And you can’t move around freely in the region above Tawang, since it is controlled by army. You need permits, and then you can go only in the designated path. You don’t have any options of staying or camping in the higher regions as you are expected to be back in Tawang before sunset. Monastery is a nice place, but not really inspiring enough to travel that far.
To reach Tawang, you need to start from Tezpur, which is 5 hours by bus from Guwahati. Although I can’t recollect exactly how long does it take(we split it into two days), it should take more than 16 hours of driving between Tezpur and Tawang. People usually hire Tata Sumos for the journey. If you intend to split the journey, you can choose to stay in Tenga, Bomdila or Dirang. Book your accommodation in these places in advance, especially if you intend to stay in Dirang. You also have a limited number of buses plying between Tezpur and Tawang. It is better to plan your journey properly and book your bus tickets and hotels in advance.
The most important place to see in Tawang in the monastery. PTSO and surrounding high altitude region have some beautiful lakes. Sela pass on the way is a nice stop-over. I suggest skipping Madhuri falls near Jung.