Arunachal Pradesh: An unexplored destination worth to visit for

As far as traveling is concerned, there are many instances in life, when we tend to overlook wonderful things that are within our grasp. Ironically, we crave for the same things, when we watch an uploaded video in YouTube or view an update from one of our acquaintances in Facebook. We do have our own favourite destinations though in India, where we tend to visit once in a while with family and friends but usually (if not always) forget to take into account states like Arunachal Pradesh. Yet there are several tourist places in Arunachal Pradesh that can surpass the most popular and famous destinations of the country with its natural beauty or historical importance and yes, there are multiple things to do in Arunachal Pradesh that can make your visit to this north-eastern most state of India a memorable one.

Actually, there are 12 tourist circuits in Arunachal Pradesh and each of these tourist circuits is different in spirit, whether you consider ethnicity, topography or vegetation to evaluate them. Among these tourist circuits, I had the opportunity to explore the Tezpur-Bhalukpong-Bomdila-Tawang circuit, which envelops an area of approximately 350 kilometers starting from Tezpur in Assam to the second largest Buddhist Monastery in the World, the 17^th century Tawang Monastery located at an altitude of 10,000 ft.  Within this span there are multiple tourist places in Arunachal Pradesh that can capture your imagination. Such as Bhalukpong, a small town situated on the bank of beautiful Kameng River is a favourite destination for tourists as Pakhui Game Sanctuary and Tipi Orchidariurm, which I learned while visiting have over 2000 cultivated orchids from approximately 80 different species, are just an hour away. Besides, Bhalukpong is considered the gateway to other popular tourist places in Arunachal Pradesh like Bomdila, Dirang and Tawang. Among them Bomdila along with its craft centers, monasteries and stunning views of snow-capped mountains offers the quintessence of nature in its diverse forms. Apple orchards, Sheep Breeding Farm and Sangti Valley in Dirang and glacial lakes near Tawang with clear blue water like Sela lake, P.T.Tso lake, Sangetser lake are some of the must see places in Arunachal Pradesh. These lakes in or around Tawang remain ice-covered in winter while in summer they become sanctuary for migratory birds.

Apart from just viewing nature through hired cars or vehicles there are numerous other things to do in Arunachal Pradesh. In fact, foreign travelers come here to survey the various trekking routes situated in the mountains. For trekkers, the Bomdila-Tawang area provides huge opportunity. I was informed by one of the locals that May and October are the ideal months for trekking in Arunachal Pradesh. In fact, adventure tourism is very popular in Arunachal Pradesh and hence activities such as rafting on the river are quite a common phenomenon here. Seppa to Bhalukpong is one of the major rafting routes of the state. Besides trekking and rafting angling is another activity that adventure seekers can undertake in this state.  This let the tourist to go into an unchartered area, where strips of untouched backwoods extend for hundreds of kilometers and human occurrence is limited. Here, tourists can organize their own program. Other than fishing, tourists can take back memories from here that last a generation. Moreover, Arunachal Pradesh has numerous remarkable spots that bear proof to its rich tradition. One such attraction is the wonderful Tawang Monastery which is 113 feet long and 80 feet wide. Constructed in 17th century, this monastery is colonized by Buddhist monks belonging to the Mahayana School of Buddhism. Many significant remains as well as handwritten and printed books and documents on Buddhism can be found here.

 The state is well-connected with all the important cities of India by all modes of communication i.e. by Air, by train and by road. Besides, adequate number of inter bus services are obtainable from all key towns of Arunachal Pradesh to other north-eastern states of India. In order to tour in Arunachal Pradesh one requires to have an Inner Line Permit which is issued from Kolkata, Guwahati or Tezpur.

The ideal time to visit the state of Arunachal Pradesh varies from one place to another. Such as best time to visit Tawang and Bomdila is between March and October whereas to visit Bhalukpong one should choose a time between October and March.