Arunachal is calling…

The tourism industry is also growing in these areas facilitating tourists with a comfortable stay providing them the experience of savouring the local cuisine,giving a glimpse of the traditions and culture and at the same time offering facilities to explore the unexplored terrain.

Arunachal - the name has always engrossed my mind and the meaning `Land of Rising Sun’ - is an additional temptation to explore the scenic wonders of this beauteous land.

This beautiful land of our country, where the first sun rays fall, is not very far from the place where I live. Winter season is the season when its scenic beauty increases manifold with clear blue skies, blue river, snowclad mountains and bright oranges. During this season, its innumerable rivers and tributaries propagating down the extended Himalayan ranges dry up, exposing the beautiful white round pebbles and making the topography a mesmerising sight to behold .

A few of the places we visited in Arunachal Pradesh while on a family trip were Pasighat, Roing, Mayodia, Namsai, Tezu , Miao, Debang, etc. Thebeauty of each of these places is amazing and all them left an indelible imprint in our minds, leaving us wanting more.

So whenever, Arunachal calls us, we will try to visit and be rejuvenatedbyits mesmerising beauty and serene atmosphere.

The roads to these places are really good and are being maintained by BRO. Bypass roads are now being laid andthere is no need to go through the busy roads of the original national highways. In addition to that, inner line permits, which are an essential document for entering Arunachal Pradesh, are now available online or at the gate making the journey to Arunachal Pradesh easier.

The tourism industry is also growing in these areas facilitating tourists with a comfortable stay providing them the experience of savouring the local cuisine,giving a glimpse of the traditions and culture and at the same time offering facilities to explore the unexplored terrain.

Pasighat is a beautiful place in Arunachal Pradesh, situated in the foothills of Himalayas and is only a four hour journey from where we reside. I love its serene beauty, especially the sunset and sunrise over the river Siang - a mesmerising sight to remember.

Pasighat is the headquarter of East Siang district and is one of the oldest cities of Arunachal Pradesh. Situated in the foothills of the mighty Himalayas with the mighty Siang River flowing through, its scenic beauty is simply majestic.

The mighty Brahmaputra emerges from the foothills as Dihang or Siang in Pasighat. It enters the plains from here. Flowing south west, it receives its main left-bank tributaries Dibang and Lohit and thereafter, it is known as the Brahmaputra in the plains.

Previously going to Pasighat was really tough as one needed to cross different streams of the Brahmaputra by ferry. The Bogibeel bridge over river Brahmputra has really made going to the other parts of Brahmputra river faster, easier and comfortable.

Yes, Pasighat was calling us…..

And we made a weekend escape to this serene place to rejuvenate ourselves.

After crossing Jonai in Assam, we entered a small town named Ruksin, where we got our inner line permit and we headed towards Pasighat. The change in the architecture of a rural village houses gave us the feeling that we had entered a different state. In between, we crossed a few local markets and could see the beautiful garden-fresh oranges in lucrative bamboo bags. Also, we could see small trucks carrying oranges down to Assamto be sold. Slowly, the distant blue mountains came closer and closer to us and we enjoyed the tranquil scenic beauty very much.

Pasighat is quite a big town with schools, colleges, hospitals, markets and an airport also. Because of its scenic beauty blessed by the mighty Siang river, tourism has grown and a few good resorts have been established. We stayed at DonyiHango Resort, which is very close to the Siang river. We booked two of its tent houses which are made of wood in beautiful Arunachaliarchitectural designs.

The sunset and sunrise from Siang river are mesmerising experiences. Sunset over the mountain and sunrise from the distant blue river are very beautiful and eye catching. Because of the favourable weather, we could enjoy both the scenes. We enjoyed the evening sunset from the riverbed and sunrise from the Ranaghat bridge over the river.

On reaching Pasighat in the afternoon, after checking in at the resort, we drove to the nearby Siang river to enjoy the sunset. After crossing the Ranaghat bridge, theright handroad goes down to the riverbed and we reached the riverbed at the right time to enjoy the magnificent sunset over the majestic blue mountains across the river. The riverbed is full of silver-coloured pebbles of different size and shapes scattered all over. Evening sun rays made the water colour dazzling with golden hues and the sky above was scattered in golden pinkish hues - what a breath-taking sight to remember. We enjoyed the sunset to the fullest.

After the sunset, the warm breeze turned cold and the darkness came running over the mountain. We returned to the resort. At night, we enjoyed the bonfire with mouthwatering snacks under a dark sky surrounded by total darkness.

Early morning, we walked down to Ranaghat bridge to watch the sunrise and enjoyed the mesmerising beauty of the morning sky. It was a nice morning walk for us as we walked down the bridge to the other end and returned back. We went down to the riverbed also to collect some beautiful pebbles as memory.

There is a photography point near the bridge with the signage “ I love Pasighat” and also a butterfly mark on the wall of the bridge to facilitate tourists to carry beautiful memories from the place. We also took a few photographs at the photography points.

After a heavy breakfast we went to explore the nearby areas. The weather was kind enough giving us good company with its beautiful clear blue skies reflecting in the blue river, making the water sparkle and the pebbles dazzle in the bright sun. The place looked picturesque and is really a photographer’s paradise.

We roamed around the nearby sights taking pictures. Arunachal Pradesh has many hanging bridges over its innumerable rivers which connect rural villages to the mainland. There exists a hanging bridge in the nearby valley. The path to the hanging bridge down the mountain was thrilling. We went down to feel the beauty as well as to experience the thrill of crossing the hanging bridge. We also visited the beautiful Sirki waterfall and found many people enjoying a picnic in that area.A feworange orchards in the mountains were at their peak season with bright oranges dotting the landscape.We took photographs galore.

Roaming in this beautiful land we gathered many memories. Returning back, we bought oranges packed in bamboo bags for our family and friends.

Of course the bamboo bags are still adorning the greenhouse in my garden.

Mousumi Deka