Monday 10 December 2012

Crossing the mighty Brahmaputra (Dibrugarh-Pasighat)


http://www.theaustralian.com.au


Hotel Luit Regency (RKB path, near railway station, 9401999448, dbl Rs.650), is a central option with newly tiled clean rooms with bucket hot shower, though the narrow entrance is hard to find. From the bustling city, there are multiple ferries to cross the mighty Brahmaputra. The shortest is to cross to Silapathar and travel to Aalo, if you are ready to skip Pasighat. We spent a day at Dibrugarh working through the Inner Line Permit headache. Arunachal House is on the road to airport at Mohanbari, 40min, Rs 20 for a ride by shared taxi. While coaxing the officials for the permit to Pasighat-Along-Mechuka-Ziro, I met Nirmal Kumar, an avid trekker hailing from a tiny village Khellani near PulDoda in Kashmir. As we had been to that region with HV Kumar in Jul 2012, he was excited to talk about trekking options near his village.  Contact him at 9435716668 to enjoy nature at the virgin pastures of Kashmir.



We booked our jeep (1hr) -ferry (1hr) - winger (4hrs) tickets at Hotel Kusum (0373 2320143, Talkiehouse Rd, Rs.300). The jeep starts at 5.30 in the morning passing through Jhoonktolee tea estates, who owns tea estates at Samse, Karnataka.  The ferry from Bogibeel starts at 7am and crosses Brahmaputra while we were gazing at the rail-road bridge under construction for last ten years. Passing through Jonai we reached Pasighat, a small town of Adi tribe, headquarter of East Siang district. Stroll up to the sand banks of river Siang, which origins from Tibet and joins Brahmaputra, to gawp the snow glad peaks, rocky mountains and thick forest. Chopstick Restaurant run by a friendly Bomdila resident offers excellent Tibetan food.  Hotel Siang (near the sumo counter, behind the filthy meat market) dbl Rs.550, offers prison like rooms with squat toilet and bucket hot water showers. We spent 30min to wake up the staff next morning, to open the gates at 5.30am


 

3 comments:

  1. 1. Is it difficult to get the ILP at Mohanbari? And they work to Govt office timings, days of work & at that same pace?

    2. Which ferry points did you cross the River?

    3. You have to book in advance? Can't you take a jeep taxi to the ferry point, then another at the other end?

    4. Do they run this Ferry through the year or does it get closed down during the monsoons?

    5. What times does the Ferry run, how long does it take to cross?

    6. The road bridge - any work going on?

    7. What does one actually do in Pasighat? I a unable to figure out why the tourism brochures rave about Pasighat (other than it being the stepping stone to the northern regions of Along, etc?)?

    ReplyDelete
  2. 1. Yes, small bribe accelerate the process.
    2. We crossed at Bogibeel - this is where the bridge is under construction.
    3. We booked one day in advance, we didn't find taxis on the fly.
    4. Ferry points change as per the monsoon and the tide.
    5. First ferry was at 7am and takes one hour. I assume last would be before sunset.
    6. http://www.financialexpress.com/news/a-long-wait-for-longest-bridge-in-country/945859
    7. The river Siang is interesting at Pasighat unless you are not keen on driving from Pasighat to Along, a very scenic route, there is no need to go to Pasighat. Silapathar is the shortest and easier route to go to Along.

    ReplyDelete
  3. hi
    planning a trip to assam in november. difficult to gauge travel time from the distances available on the internet. any idea abt travel time between majuli and ziro?

    ReplyDelete