India Travel

Tawang east from Bomdila in the Northeast

Related Properties from Gurgaon

Practicalities of West Arunachal in the Northeast

There are just two routes out of Bomdila: onward and upward towards Tawang, and back down towards the Assamese border. State buses run from the bus station in the lower part of town to Tezpur (1 daily; 7-8hr) and Tawang (3 weekly; 8hr). Private buses run by Akama depart from outside Himalayan Holidays for Tezpur (1 daily; 6-7hr).Tata Sumos are the best way to negotiate these steep switchback roads and are quicker, more comfortable, though more expensive. Daily services run to Tezpur, via Rupa and Tawang. The majority of the hotels arc in the middle part of town, near the main

Bomdila of West Arunachal in the Northeast

Bomdila is a picturesque and peaceful town (2530m) set amidst apple orchards on a spur of the Thagla Ridge, the dividing line between rainforests to the south and subalpine valleys to the north. Bomdila's three Tibetan Buddhist monasteries reflect the origins and culture of the local people and its proximity to Tibet. The largest of these, a Gelugpa gompa high above the town, was inaugurated by the Dalai Lama in October 1997. The caretaker monk will show you round. A small suite of rooms make up the Dalai Lama's private residential quarters. The rooftop offers superb views of the town and

West Arunachal in the Northeast

Bordered by Bhutan and Tibet, the isolated hills and valleys of western Arunachal climb to some of the remotest glaciers and peaks in the Himalayas. With the exceptions of Gori Chen (6858m) and Nyegi Kangsang (7047m), most of the 6000-metre-plus mountains remain completely unknown. The solitary road serving the region runs from Tezpur in Assam to Tawang. ending bone-shakingly high in the mountains at one of Asia's largest monasteries. On the way you pass through the small friendly market town of Bomdila, set haphazardly on a steep hillside and home to three Tibetan monasteries, and Dirang, an ancient-looking fortress town

Arunachal Pradesh in the Northeast

ARUNACHAL PRADESH, "the land of the dawn-lit mountains", is one of the last unspoilt wildernesses in India. In a state where almost every major river valley is home to a different tribe, Arunachal has a wealth of fascinating cultures and peoples, though much is still off limits for foreigners. There is a wealth of biodiversity too, with a dazzling array of flora and fauna, including more than five hundred species of orchids, in a habitat that combines glacial terrain, alpine meadows and subtropical rainforests. Despite its beauty, tourism in Arunachal Pradesh has been discouraged due to the extremely sensitive border with

Bhalukpong of West Arunachal in the Northeast

The river Kameng, famed for its fighting mahseer fish, emerges from a deeply-forested valley at Bhalukpong. The Kameng Angling Association can help you pit your wits against the river life and can also arrange white-water rafting. All public transport services from Tezpur to Bomdila stop here for border formalities and refuelling. Accommodation is available at the Aama Yangri or just across the state border at the Assam Tourist Lodge. Tipi, seven kilometres north of Bhalukpong, has an orchidarium with five hundred different species of orchid. From here, the narrow highway winds up through dense and beautiful mountain forests to Bomdila,

Rupa and beyond at West Arunachal in the Northeast

The small picturesque settlement of RUPA, 17km below Bomdila, is the centre of the Sherdukpen people who occupy the hills that stretch all the way to Bhutan. They practise a mixture of Tibetan Buddhism and-animism, and their two main annual festivals reflect this duality. Rupa has an attractive Tibetan gompa and a colourful riverside lhakang (chapel) a little further up the valley. A small roadside Guru Rinpoche cave graces the entrance to the town. Places to stay include the Arohee and the Sawme. Views of Bomdila way up on the ridge can be enjoyed from various vantage points around Rupa. Another

Practicalities of Tezpur in The Northeast

Tezpur's ASTC state bus stand is on Kabarkhana (KK) Road, 500m north from the tourist office (Mon-Sat 10am-4.30pm) in the Tourist Lodge on KP Agarwalla Road in the town centre. The GPO (Mon-Fri 10am-6pm, Sat 10am-2pm) is on Head Post Office Road, parallel to the main road. The State Bank of India does not change foreign currency here. Flights on Indian Airlines and Jet Airways can be booked through Anand travels at the Luit hotel. Tezpur's top hotel, the Luit, a large white building 100m north of die state bus stand on Ranu Singh Road, offers hot showers and a/c rooms

Dirang and beyond at the West Arunachal in the Northeast

Ninety minutes beyond Bomdila and halfway to the Sela Pass lies the ancient fortress of Dirang. Although most of the original fort lies in ruins, the village itself is worth checking out and there's a five-hundred-year-old gompa above the village. New Dirang is 5km further on. The only accommodation consists of the brand-new Hotel Pemaling, with attached bathrooms, hot showers and a restaurant, and the adjacent Tourist Lodge, halfway between the gompa and the new town, and with great views over the latter. Soon after crossing the Sela Pass, you reach the Jaswant Singh Memorial, where buses and Sumos make

Details of The Northeast

Certainly the least explored and arguably the most beautiful region of India, the NORTHEAST, connected to the rest of India by a very narrow stretch of land between Bhutan and Bangladesh, has long been all but sealed from the outside world. Arunachal Pradesh shares an extremely sensitive northern border with Chinese-occupied Tibet and together with Nagaland, Manipur and Mizoram, a 1600-kilometre border with Myanmar. Insurgency has plagued the region since Independence, with tribal groups pushing for various degrees of autonomy and independence as well as fighting each other. A huge influx of Bengalis into the region and consequent displacement of

Practicalities to the Arunachal in Northeast

The nearest airport 67km away at Lilabari in Assam is served by NEPC flights to and from Guwahati (2hr 20nun) and flights to, but not from, Dibrugarh (45min).There is also a thrice-weekly Pawan Hans helicopter service between Itanagar and Guwahati from Naharlagun just 10km away. Trains from Guwahati run as far as Harmuti, 33km away in Assam. Overnight buses (Blue Hill, Network.Taara etc) connect Itanagar with Guwahati (11hr), and Arunachal State Transport run an extensive but basic service throughout the state. As there's no bridge across the Upper Brahmaputra, services to Tinsukia, Jorhat and Dibrugarh go via Tezpur. Recently introduced

Practicalities to the west Arunachal in the Northeast

Independent travellers should register at the foreigners' registration office, above and behind the state bus stand. Arunachal State Transport run buses to Bomdila and there are also private buses, but the daily Tata Sumo services arc by far the best mode of transport if you're willing to pay the extra rupees. Book in advance from ticket agents in the bus stand square. The few restaurants in town offer basic Tibetan food - momos (meat or veg dumplings), thukpa (thick noodle soup) - and simple Indian dishes- The Masaang Norling restaurant opposite the Masaang hotel bakes delicious Tibetan bread with home-churned butter

Guwahati and around in the Northeast

Once known as Pragjyotishpura (Light of the East), the most striking feature of GUWAHATI (or Gauhati), the capital of Assam, is the Brahmaputra, whose swollen sandy channel is so wide that the far shore is often rendered invisible. Of its many atmospheric temples, Kamakhya and Navagraha both occupy commanding hilltop positions, while Umananda sits on a small island in the middle of the Brahmaputra. Guwahati's mam business, tea, is booming. The Assam Tea Auction Centre (Tues & Wed 9.30am-lpm & 2.30-6pm) in the outlying suburb of Dispur holds auctions of a scale that previously took place in Calcutta and London. The

Haridwar northeast of Delhi

At Haridwar - the Gates (dwar) of God (Han) - 214km northeast of Delhi, the River Ganges emerges from its final rapids past the Siwalik Hills to start the long siow journey across northern India to the Bay of Bengal. Stretching for roughly 3km along a narrow strip of land between the craggy wooded hills to the west and the river to the east, Haridwar is especially revered by Hindus, for whom the Har-ki-Pairi ghat (literally the "Footstep of God") marks the exact spot whore the river leaves the mountains. As you look north along the vast Doon Valley, the

East of Jaipur in Rajasthan

The fertile area east of Jaipur, interspersed with the forested slopes of the Aravalli Hills, holds an inviting mixture of historic towns and wildlife sanctuaries. The fortified town of Alwar to the northeast, fought over for centuries before its incorporation into Rajasthan in 1949, served as refuge for the exiled Pandava brothers of the Mahabhamta during their thirteenth year of hiding, before Krishna helped them in the fierce battle against their cousins, the Kauravas, chronicled in the Bhagavad Gita. Not far from Alwar, Sariska Wildlife Sanctuary is renowned for its tigers, while further east are the former princely capitals of Deeg

Pathankot in Haryana and Punjab

The dusty town of PATHANKOT, 270km north of Chandigarh and 101km to the northeast of Amritsar, is an important cantonment and railway junction close to the frontier with Pakistan and near the borders with Himachal Pradesh and Jammu. Many travellers pass through to pick up bus connections to Dharamsala, Dalhousie, Chamba and Kashmir, or to take the slow train east through the picturesque Kangra Valley.

Arrival, information and city transport of Guwahati in the Northeast

The railway station lies in the centre of town, with the state bus stand. which operates a left-luggage service (4.30am-10.30pm), right behind. The back of the railway station leads into the hectic Pakan Bazaar area, from which most of the private bus companies operate. Guwahati airport, 18km east of the centre, is served by taxis (from outside the Nandan Hotel) and airport buses, including those run by Indian Airlines. The Assam government tourist office in the Tourist Lodge on Station Road (Mon-Sat 10am-5pm; closed 2nd & 4th Sat of month) organizes day-trips and longer tours; their day- and overnight-packages to Kaziranga

Arrival and information in Gujrat

Porbandar is largely enclosed by water; by the sea to the south and by a smelly freshwater creek curving round from the north into the busy harbour on the western side of town. A path follows the coast from east to west but the beaches in between, used as public toilets, are rather unpleasant. Porbandar's main street, Mahatma Gandhi (MG) Road, runs from a fountain at its eastern end, northeast of which is the railway station, to a triple gateway at its western end, near Gandhiji's house, in the middle, at the main square, it is bisected by Aria Sumaj

Kanpur and around in the Central UP

The teeming metropolis of KANPUR, 438km east of Delhi and 190km west of Allahabad, is among the most polluted cities in the world, and most visitors are there solely for business. Kanpur has been a textile-manufacturing centre since its cotton mills were established in 1869, and together with its twin city, Lucknow, 76km northeast, it dominates the industrial heartland of Uttar Pradesh. Unlike other points along the Ganges, the riverside is of little significance; its ghats are run down, and only those at Bithur, 20km upstream, are worth exploring.

The trek to Yamunotri northeast of Rishikesh in Uttaranchal

Cradled in a deep cleft in the lap of Bandarpunch, and thus denied mountain vistas, the temple of Yamunotri (3291m), 223km northeast of Rishikesh, marks the source of the Yamuna, India's second holiest river after the Ganges. The least dramatic but most beautiful of the four dhams (temples) of Garhwal, it's also the most unspoiled and the least commercial, and the undemanding fourteen-kilometre (5hr) trek up to it from Hanuman Chatti is one of the region's most popular short hikes. The trail leads through attractive countryside, following the turbulent ice-blue river as it runs below terraced fields, with snowy peaks

Bindevasani and forest trails northest of Chila at Uttaranchal

Along the Kimsar road, which penetrates the deep sal forests northeast of Chila, visitors have a reasonable chance of glimpsing wild elephant. Elephant herds migrate here seasonally from as far away as Corbett, and can sometimes be seen in the forests behind Swarg Ashram in Rishikesh. The tiny hamlet of BINDEVASANI, 14km northeast of Chila and linked to both' Chila and Haridwar by regular buses, stands at the foot of steep hills. Besides a small dhammshala and a teashop, there's little here to detain travellers, but it's possible to camp in the covered forecourt of the small cliff top Durga