A Tawang Winter Itinerary | Do it Yourself

Tawang is located in the North-West region of Arunachal Pradesh and is one of the state’s most well-known destinations. It is home to Asia’s second-largest monastery, the largest in India, and, nestled in the Himalayas, it offers jaw-dropping picturesque vistas. Tourists flock to it at all times during the year, but because it is at an elevation of 10,000 feet, it can get really really cold in the winter months (Dec-Jan). So, the big question is, which we too played with, should one travel there in winter at all? Yes! And it can be fun too! Only, be prepared for the extreme cold, and some unexpected twists and turns (of both the roads and in your itinerary).

Read on for the Tawang Winter Plan.

About Tawang

Tawang is located at an elevation of 3,048 metres (10,000 ft), in the Himalayan mountain ranges. The town is known for its impressive, expansive monastery and as the birthplace of the 6th Dalai Lama. Tawang is close to Bhutan and China (Tibet). It used to be under the control of Tibet until the 1914 Simla Conference gave the area to India via the McMahon Line. However, this was never recognized by China and the dispute continues. Tawang is, in fact, 16 km south of the Line of Actual Control with China, and thus at the forefront of border conflicts. It was an important frontier during the 1962 Indo-China war and there are several war memorials dotted throughout the region commemorating heroics during the war. The town is inhabited by Arunachal’s Monpa tribe. It has a population of around 12,000. And many dogs.

Things to Do

In Town

Tawang Monastery: is located 2 km from the town centre. It is the largest in India, and the second largest in Asia, is three stories high, flanked by 925 feet compound wall, and houses 65 residential buildings. Wow! It is quite a sight to behold. For a fee of INR 20, you can also see an exhibition of antiques inside. More on the monastery.

Urgelling Gompa: is located 4 km from the town centre, close to the Tawang Helipad. This Gompa commemorates the birthplace of the 6th Dalai Lama. It is an ancient, peaceful, and quaint monastery.

Dorjee Khandu Memorial and Museum: Dorjee Khandu was a much-loved chief minister of Arunachal Pradesh who died tragically in a helicopter crash on a trip from Tawang to Itanagar. He was born in Tawang.  The museum that houses his things and chronicles his life is stunning and well worth a visit. Entry is free of cost. At the time of writing this, Dorjee Khandu’s son (Pema Khandu) was the chief minister of the state.

Buddha Park is located near Circuit House in Tawang and has a huge statue of Buddha on a hill. One can get stunning views of the town from the spot along with a clear view of the Tawang monastery.

War Memorial: is located 1 km from the town centre. The memorial is dedicated to the martyrs of the 1962 India-China war. There are also light and sound shows in the evening (different timings for Hindi and English language shows) which, although jingoistic, is an illuminating documentary on the Indian army and the Indo-China war. The documentary also touches upon important landmarks of the region. Must attend.

Visit the coffee shops for some delectable cakes and coffee. Dharma coffee (close to the monastery. Great coffee, cosy seating, and plenty of books to while away time on a snowy day) was my favourite, followed by Soinam House of Cakes, and Phuns Café. The latter two are in the old market.

Day Trips

Bum La, Madhuri Lake, Penga Teng Tso Lake: A day trip to see all these costs INR 5500. Bumla Pass is 38 km from Tawang and was famously used by the 14th Dalai Lama to escape from China-occupied Tibet into India. Located at 4630 m/15,000 ft, it is a must-visit spot. In winter, temperatures go as low as -25 degrees, and if the snow is too much, the army may not issue permits to visit. A permit costs INR 50. Madhuri Lake was formed after an earthquake in 1950 and was named so after the shooting of the Hindi movie Koyla here, starring Madhuri Dixit. The Pangang Teng Tso Lake or PT Tso Lake is located at around 12,000 feet and is frozen during winter. This route can also include a visit to Gyangon Ani Gompa (15 km) and Brahmdungchung Gompa (12 km).

Zemithang, Lumla, and Gorsam Chorten: The Zemithang village is right by the Bhutan border. The Gorsam Chorten is 5 km away. Reaching a height of 100 ft, the Gorsam Chorten is the largest in the region and dates back to the 12^th century. The inner sanctum of the Chorten is opened to the general public only once in 12 years. This event is accompanied by a lot of fanfare. The last it opened was in Mar 2017. It cost us INR 7500 for a round-trip visit in a hired car, but that may have been because we made a last-minute mid-morning booking. The roads have no snow even in winter and it feels like driving through normal valley roads. The Gorsam monastery was really nice and peaceful. On 31^st Dec, they were celebrating the birthday of a Buddhist leader. There was cake and beer (afterwards, and on the side). This route also includes BTK waterfall (80 km, and unimpressive) and Dolma Lhangang (47 km from Tawang, in Lumla Village). If you have the time, you can take a slight detour to Chaksam Bridge (25 km from Tawang).

Jang Waterfall, Jaswant Garh Memorial, and Sela Pass: All three make for a gorgeous visit, especially in winter. They have an interesting (heroic and tragic) backstory to boot. Jaswant Garh and Sela Pass are named after two heroic figures of the 1962 Indo-China war. On 17 Nov 1962, Rifleman Jaswant Singh, two of his comrades, his girlfriend Sela, and her sister Nura held out against the advancing Chinese army and kept them at bay for the next 72 hours. As per legend, Jaswant single-handedly killed around 300 Chinese soldiers. He was awarded the Param Vir Chakra posthumously for his bravery. The memorial built for him, called Jaswant Garh War Memorial, is 25 km from Tawang and on the route between Tawang and Bomdila/ Tezpur. Monpa sisters Sela (also Jaswant’s girlfriend) and Sela’s sister Nura helped Jaswant by supplying ammunition and food. Sela Pass and Sela Lake are named in Sela’s memory. The lake is frozen in winter and is a sight to behold. Nuranang (waterfalls) is named after Sela’s sister. Nura was captured and tortured by the Chinese army for information. The legend of Jaswant Singh is oft-quoted around the place and he is revered by the jawans posted there. More on the story here.

Read on for more on the Tawang Winter Plan.

How to Go

Nov 2022 update: Itanagar now has a commercial airport (Donyi Polo) which is served by carriers such as Indigo.

Reaching and leaving Tawang turned out to be quite an adventure for us. If you have your car and driver, then you’re set. Most travellers opt for this. Daily rates tend to be around INR 5000 (fuel and driver charges extra). I recommend you get a driver from Tawang and not from Guwahati; the latter promise a lot but are mostly unable to drive on treacherous mountain roads, particularly when there’s snow. However, drivers from Arunachal Pradesh / Tawang also usually charge more.

We didn’t want to be enslaved to a car and a timetable, so we decided to wing it, which was a bittersweet experience, once the unexpected snow came in. While we didn’t have to pay for the car and the driver when we were holed up in Tawang as it snowed nonstop for two days, we also found it very difficult to get out of town.

Here’s what happened.

Helicopter to Tawang

As soon as we realized it was possible, we were so excited to fly to Tawang in a helicopter! We realized soon enough though, that it is a pain! There is little or no predictability – on whether your booking is confirmed, or whether you’re going to be flying at all that day. For tourists, restricted on time, this may not be very useful, but if you can try flying at least one way in a chopper. It’s quite an experience.

The process goes thus:

• Call the booking number on the website
• They will take down your names
• They may (or may not, you can bite your nails to shreds waiting) confirm one day before if you can fly on the requested date
• You arrive on the scheduled day 45 min – 1 hour before to make payment in cash. You are handed a boarding pass and luggage tags
• Security check-in happens as in airports but is not as strict (no restrictions on liquids in baggage for instance. Baggage limit is 10 kg per person but I’ve seen more get on). There are functional waiting-lounges and toilets with no water
• Sunday is a holiday, but there can be unscheduled no-fly days

The website to check helicopter timings and contacts is this. However, not all helicopters ply as scheduled, and seats are also sometimes reserved for dignitaries. At the time of writing this, there was no way you could book online or pay in advance to confirm your spot.

We managed to fly from Naharlagun (Itanagar) to Guwahati to Tawang without incident. The Naharlagun booking official at least picked up the phone the times we called. We had a disappointing experience on our way back from Tawang to Guwahati while trying to get on the chopper. The Tawang helicopter official almost never picked up his phone, finally confirmed face-to-face we were flying on the 1^st of Jan (after having tried on the 30th and 31st which were cancelled due to inclement weather and overbooking, respectively), and even wrote down our names in his little pocketbook, but when we arrived at the helipad, it was locked. Apparently, the helicopter was not flying that day. We had even sent a follow-up message with our names, but we were not informed of the non-flight status. Only when I called up the Naharlagun chopper officer was I informed so. It threw all our plans into a tizzy.

But we did next, the below.

Sumo to Tawang

Shared sumo cars ply from Tawang to Tezpur and Guwahati in Assam. Each sumo ferries 10 passengers (2 in the front with the driver, 4 in the middle, and 4 in the back – so yes, quite cramped). It costs INR 1500 to travel to Tezpur per person and takes 10-12 hours (320 km). It takes INR 1800 per person to travel to Guwahati (555 km) and takes 14 hours. 4, 5, and 6 (side middle) are the best seats in the sumo, followed by 1 and 2 (next to the driver in the front).

Since it was New Year and the snow had been heavy, we found it very difficult to book a place. We wanted to avoid the bumpy ride that would come seated at the back. So, ultimately, we ended up hiring the entire sumo between Tawang and Tezpur. It cost us INR 13,000. But the good part, it was all ours, we spent some leisure time off at Jang Falls, Jaswant Garh and Sela Pass, which wouldn’t have been possible if we’d been travelling in shared sumo. The Sumo also dropped us off at Tezpur at a hotel of our choice. This was followed by a visit to Kaziranga. That itinerary is here.

Read on for more on the Tawang Winter Plan.

Alternate route to Tawang

Many people travel the route from Guwahati or Tezpur > Bhalukpong > Bomdila> Dirang, staying overnight at one or more places along the way. Dirang seemed like a quaint town by the riverside, and I wouldn’t have minded staying a night there. Lost With Purpose has information on how to do this route yourself which was very helpful in our planning albeit some of the information was outdated (as is to be expected).

Where to Stay

We stayed at a budget place and a mid-range hotel. Both were excellent in their own ways, given the money we paid.

Mon-Valley: is a budget accommodation that has a homestay feel. It is located in the Nehru market, and so at a very convenient location. The landlady is kind and helpful. The rooms though are very basic. Charges are 1200/ night. The best part about the motel is the restaurant downstairs which serves delectable food at very attractive prices. Link to information on the hotel.

Tawang Heights: is upscale and close to the sumo stand/ market, with great rooms (heater, kettle, warm water, large bathrooms, clean and plentiful towels) and even better, an awesome view. Rates are INR 3000/ night. Link to information on the hotel.

Other options are homestays such as Dondrub. It has three cottages and is highly rated.

The Circuit House series of lodges belong to the Arunachal Pradesh government and offer basic economic accommodation. Booking them is not straightforward though. You could probably call them.

What to Buy

Peach and Kiwi wine — made in the Ziro Valley, or from Bhutan — are delicious and make for good take-home presents. Arunachal Pradesh also makes some delicious beer too. I purchased their uniquely imprinted teacups (INR 100 apiece). Their warm water flasks are also quite incredible: keeping water warm for over twelve hours in the cold. These are available everywhere. I didn’t see much point in buying winter clothing; many of the locals wear clothes purchased from Decathlon which are easily available.

Good to know

The mobile network works fine in the town (even during snowfall) but there are fluctuations. On the road, there are patches of non-connectivity.

Electricity goes out often and there are inverters and generators. In December/ January and during snow, there are more disruptions than usual. The generators don’t work, and in cheaper places (as we faced in Mon Valley) the going can get tough.