Guwahati to Tawang, Day 1 of Tawang Itinerary

We reached the taxi stand at Paltan Bazar early morning itself, and our Tata Sumo was waiting there. It was a rainy day in Guwahati. Our driver covered all our bags in tarpaulin and tied to the carrier on the top. I was excited, and had a feeling that it was the beginning of a great journey. Soon all the passengers came, the sumo started and we were on the way from Guwahati to Tawang. This is my second journey to North-east India, the first was Sikkim, but long before I began writing about my travels.

The places to visit in North-east India is a quite long list for me. Those who comes here, usually, plan a sprint between all the major touristy spots. The travel between two places is long and exhausting. Also, the internet has spoiled the thrill of the root bridges and waterfalls, so those were not an option for me. I didn’t want to rush, have to go somewhere far, somewhere that still has the charm and people I wanted to experience. My friends Sankar and Ajay were also with me.

There is a movie in Malayalam, where the hero goes all the way from Kerala to Tawang to meet his girlfriend. That was the first time I heard about this place located in one corner of Arunachal Pradesh. People we met on the way were curious to know how we came to know about Tawang. The difficult part was to explain the story of the movie in my broken Hindi. 

Whomever we met in Tawang, they were so friendly and made sure we never had a bad experience. They were so happy to see us coming from down south of the country.

Day 1: Guwahati To Tawang

We arrived in Guwahati on a Saturday evening. The first thing to visit Tawang was to get the Inner Line Permit (ILP). I knew there was a tourism department office at the airport and we could obtain the ILP from there. But by the time we arrived, the office was closed. 

The next day is Sunday and the offices will open only on Monday. Someone told us to reach Paltan Bazar and enquire there. From there, we were told to check the Assam Tourism office near Nepali Mandir. Finally, we found a place to get the permit but we could only get it by Monday. In that case, we could start our journey on Tuesday, that is late. That news was a little disappointing but things took another turn quickly.

Later, we were just roaming on the streets and found this taxi stand, there was a counter and they said it is possible to get the permit by morning the next day. Though it is a little expensive, we agreed. We booked three seats for the Tata Sumo leaving for Tawang next morning. These guys will arrange the permit and send it to us by the next day before we cross the Arunachal Pradesh border, that was the deal. 

That was a small flashback. Now it’s day one of our journey.

Once our taxi was out of the city limits, the villages of Assam started to appear. We only got the last row seats. It was obviously uncomfortable.

These Tata Sumos are worth mentioning. The roads in the Northeast are terrible. One reason is because of the landscape. They are not good for buses. I heard that the bus from Guwahati to Tawang takes two days to reach. So these Tata Sumos are the most common and quick means of transport. The real seats are replaced by three bench seats.

The front row is the most luxurious with some legroom. Those who book first always prefer the first-row seat. Three people sit there apart from the driver. The person next to the driver has to put legs over the gear lever. Four people have to sit in the second and third rows. So there will be 11 passengers. The kids go to the lap of the responsible person. You may feel a little uncomfortable initially, but that too shall pass. 

Our taxi was not full that day, we got enough space to sit. Apart from the three of us, none traveling in the taxi was interested in what’s happening outside. Soon, one by one, they dozed off. It was like we three, the driver and those Hindi songs from the music player going to Tawang. Funny thing is during the entire journey, I heard the same songs multiple times, even though the playlist was long, and came to a point where I can guess which song will play after the other. 

I’m not gonna talk about the scenes on the way or how beautiful the green lush of Assamese villages and all. That’s for you to experience see when you come here.

The roads were bumpy, the rest of our mates were less bothered, they were at peace with the chaos on the road, they slept over and over. Once in a while, the taxi stops for a break, everyone will get down, go to the toilet, have some food, come back to the taxi and sleep again. This continued almost for the major part of the journey. 

The sumo was moving at a steady pace, we reached the check post. Our permit was there already in our inbox. Little later, we started ascending the mountains of Arunachal Pradesh.

This part of the country has a huge military presence, India shares border with China here and China still claims Arunachal Pradesh as their land. We can see large military convoys all the time on the road.

On the way, we stopped at Bomdila and Dirang for break. These are the two major cities en route to Tawang. If the straight stretch to Tawang is too much for you, stop by any of these places and continue the journey next day.

After Dirang, it is the snow-laden Sela pass. In one word it is beautiful but realized only on the way back. It was already night when we crossed Sela pass, all we could see was whatever appeared two meters in front of our vehicle. It was dark and foggy.

There was a Buddhist monk in our taxi, once his sleep limit was over, he started talking to us. When he knew that we didn’t book any stay in Tawang, immediately called his friend in Tawang and arranged his homestay.

It was a really long journey, took almost 15 hours, and finally, we reached Tawang. The taxi dropped us at the homestay. The monk lives in Tawang monastery, it was closed by the time we reached there, he couldn’t go inside, he also came with us to the homestay.

Our host Tashi Bhai was waiting for us and served a wonderful dinner. The food and the home; It didn’t take us much time to decide where to stay for rest of the days in Tawang. 

Few things to know for Day 1 to Tawang

How to get Inner Line Permit (ILP) to Tawang?

Getting an ILP to Arunachal is not a big task for Indians. All you need is a photo and ID proof. Also, you need to be sure where to go in Arunachal. ILP is generally issued to a particular destination and the places on the way.

You have to show ILP to get an additional permit to visit the India-China border and other military secured areas. Otherwise, nobody is going to check the permit other than the Assam-Arunachal check post.

You can obtain ILP online and offline. 

There is an Arunachal Pradesh tourism office in the Guwahati airport, you get ILP from there before 4 in the evening. There is one counter in the Guwahati railway station also. Else go to the Assam tourism office near Nepali mandir near Guwahati railway station.

If all these options didn’t work, go to the taxi stand and ask the people there. Surely, they are ready to help but will be expensive. We paid INR 300 for each permit.

Below is the link to the Arunachal Pradesh Toursim department website where you can apply for ILP and travel from Guwahati to Tawang without any worries. This webpage has link for both Indian and Foreign travellers.

Arunachal Pradesh toursim website for ILP

Shared taxi from Guwahati to Tawang

Buses are available, but only if you have plenty of days and don’t want to reach Tawang that quickly. 

The best option to travel from Guwahati to Tawang are the shared Tata Sumos. Even the people of Tawang rely on them. Book it in advance, at least one day before. Most of them start from the taxi stand in Paltan Bazar. We paid INR 1300 per person.

All the taxis start early in the morning, at about 6.30 AM.