TOUR DETAILS
08 days trek Chander to Se la via Chang la- -T sela- and Luguthang with sightseeing at Tawang and Bomdila
Max Elevation: 4950 m
Grade: Moderate to strenuous
Period: April and Oct
Trekking days: 08
Minimum of 02 persons
Included sightseeing Tawang monastery & Monpa tribal villages
Partially aligned along the ancient trade route, The trek links together a series of interlocking valleys, connected through six passes reaching up to 4550 m. The trail passes through mixed sub tropical forests, coniferous forests, High grasslands, Juniper, Rhododendrons, and desolate high Himalayan pastures. There are lovely Alpine lakes and breathtaking views of the great peaks on the Tibet frontier.
You also get to see quaint Monpa villages, the Tawang Monastery, and spend time exploring other sights around Tawang and interacting with the people.
The tour starts from the Guwahati Airport in Assam. The modern highway which connects the Brahmaputra Valley to Tawang , encounters three ridges, all of them running roughly West to East.
Of these the most formidable is the Sela Ridge rising up to 4900 Meters, which is crossed by the highway via the Sela pass at 4267 Meters, to reach Tawang, 3048 m. Toward the North and the East, beyond Tawang; the mountains ridges rise up to the Himalayan watershed enclosing Tawang in a horseshoe, marked by the peaks of Gori Chen at 6500 meters and Kangdo, which rears its head at a proud 7090 Meters.
In ancient days crossing over the Himalayan watershed from Tibet over the Tukung-la pass the traders traveled along a different route. Descending down the head waters of the Tawang Chhu river, they crossed the Sela ridge along a yak trail, with their caravans of wool, skins, precious stones and yak butter to reach the barter markets in Assam.
Here they exchanged their loads for salt, tea, cloth, and other commodities. This route was first explored by British surveyors lead by F.M. Bailey in 1913 – and came to be called ‘The Bailey Trail’. In 1962 the Chinese army used this route to strike deep into Arunachal Pradesh.
Our 8 day trek starts from the Dirang River Valley at Chander at an elevation of 2530 m. Over five days it follows the “Bailey trail” to cross the the 4550 high Tse la Pass, and then diverts along the general alignment of the massive Sela Ridge, making its way through a series of interlocking valleys connected through several high passes to reach the highway at the Sela pass.
The route traverses through river valleys, quaint Monpa villages, and desolate high Himalayan pastures, passing through a fascinating mix of terrain – mixed sub tropical forests, coniferous forests of Pine, fir, Oak, and Chesnut, grasslands, Juniper, and Rhododendrons. There are lovely Alpine lakes and breathtaking views of the Gori Chen and Kangdo peaks.
From the Se la pass we drive to Tawang for a 02 nights visit taking in the Tawang Monastery and exploring other sights around Tawang. Thereafter we will drive back over the Sela pass through the lovely Dirang Valley to stay stay overnight at Bomdila. Finally we take two days to return to Guwahati with an overnight halt at Tezpur.
This trek was reconnoitred in the year 2002 by the Gurudongma team, along with a team of British naturalists on a 13 day trek – arguably the first ever organized group in recent times. The first commercial trek was operated by Gurudongma for Di Anne, Barbara, Jane and Sherry from the USA in Oct 2004.
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