Mahindra Adventures Authentic Northeast Drive: A Road Trip To Remember – Part II

A convoy of over 15 SUVs have reached the cosy Hotel Tashi Ga-Tsel after two days of driving up from the plains of Guwahati, Assam to the mountains of Tawang, Arunachal Pradesh – a total of just over 500km. Check out the first part of our experience at the 2016 Authentic North East experience organised by Mahindra here.

Everyone was given a choice of what to do on the third day - they could explore the town and surroundings themselves or follow the organisers to Sangetsar Lake. It is also popularly called the 'Madhuri' lake: Madhuri Dixit, wearing a denim top and orange skirt, danced to a song in near-freezing temperatures in the movie Koyla. How she managed the feat is beyond me, even the most cold-resistant members of the group would not dare take off their coats. There is a rather good walkway that goes all around the lake, I recommend you take it if you ever go there - the views and the sounds are therapeutic. The army was conducting mortar shelling practise nearby at one of the world's highest firing range.

The monastery at Tawang is the largest in India, and we reached the spot just as the afternoon prayers were being wrapped up. As soon the prayers ended, a stream of very young monks-in-training ran out of the main hall - most of them seemed to be heading to the kitchens to sample the sweets being prepared; the 14th Dalai Lama was to visit the monastery later that week. The group split up again, I joined the hungry group headed to the Orange Bar & Restaurant, the only establishment in the Old Market in Tawang which remains open till 9:30PM.

Around 60km away from Tawang, the Jaswant Garh War Memorial serves as a reminder of the price that is paid to give us our freedom. Rifleman Jaswant Singh Rawat was instrumental in holding back the advancing Chinese army during the 1962 Sino-Indian War. Stories of his bravery have also fuelled many legends, it is hard to imagine what the soldiers faced here in October-November of 1962.

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The clouds have encircled the mountains today, it is colder than the first time we came through these roads two days ago. As we get closer to Se La, everyone is excited to see the signs of fresh snow. While the plan was to continue through Se La and reach the 'surprise' lunch spot early - all convoy members wanted to enjoy the snow at the pass. The moment the convoy stopped, the cameras were out - this was a view to brag about. The kids immediately started a snowball fight, the adults couldn't help but join in. A guy in a Kawasaki Ninja 250 crossed the convoy, everyone waved at him in awe.

The clouds dispersed and the sun came out again by the time we reached our open-air lunch spot in the Sangti Valley, around 7km away from Dirang. Piping hot rice with local dishes welcomed us, along with some local spirits. Some were tempted to cross onto the sandbank in the middle of the Sangti river flowing close by, but they were soon back to enjoy the warmth of the bonfires. Sunset was accompanied by beautiful singing voices, and warm beds awaited us at Norphel Retreat.

Kanishk, in the advance car, was surprised the next day when the convoy reached the lunch point early; it was working like a well-oiled machine. The higher average speeds were also helped by the fact that we were back on the plains and on roads with continuous tarmac. The first signs that we were close to the Kaziranga National Park was the continuous radio chatter of Rhino spottings from the cars ahead of us. There were quite a few of them, and they seemed to be at ease even though cars/bikes/trucks were whizzing past not too far away.

Photo Courtesy: Jigar Satra

Elephant Safaris and Gypsy Safaris were available for the next day. The Elephant Safaris get you closer to the animals in the park, but the guilt of promoting animal cruelty is associated with it. The Gypsy Safaris offer more views and a longer period inside the park. The highlight of the day for me was when our group saw two Great Indian hornbills, the parent feeding the young.

The trip to Shillong and the destinations around it were not too great for me. Shillong is a crowded city, a type of place I was not missing the earlier part of the trip. The people here maintain their vehicles very well, though; there are very few cars which do not have alloy wheels and other accessories on them, a lot of motorcycles have been transformed into bobbers, the older buses based on truck chassis seem to be freshly painted and fitted with very nice music systems. 

Our day trip to Dawki, a town on the India-Bangladesh border, and Mawlynnong, which is said to be the cleanest village in Asia - were not so awe inspiring as the destinations before. If Dawki was not as crowded as it is now, you would appreciate the clear waters of the Dawki river. The living root bridge near Mawlynnong village was the only thing that was interesting - it is a wonderful process by which rubber tree roots are forced to form bridges across rivers.

The drive back to Guwahati was partly filled with convoy members pleading for an extension of the trip, constant banter and the growing sense that most of us had to go back to 'the grind'. As I write this, the WhatsApp group created during the trip is very active - some people are reporting that they have been driving around with the headlights on, keeping in line behind the car in front of them and that their left hand is searching for the radio mic. The photos and videos from the trip are still being shared -