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Guide to Arunachal Pradesh Solo Trip

Planning for a solo Arunachal trip? I recently completed it and am sharing my experience in this post. Hope it will help you in your solo trip, keep reading…

Arunachal is a beautiful state in North East of India that offers snow as well as greenery. Its a mix of mountains, valleys, rivers and a lot of buddhist monstery.

Arunachal is a big state, spread in length hence planning for Arunachal could be a challenge in itself. You need to either keep 7-10 days for the trip or cover one part at a time.

I have shared my itinary in this post, hope it will be helpful. Keep reading…

How to reach Arunachal Pradesh?

You can plan to reach Arunachal either by Air, Train or bus. Do remember that last connectivity is via road only given the terrain of Arunachal.

Arunachal Pradesh Solo Trip

Arunachal by Flight

The best way to reach Arunachal by air is to take a flight to Guwahati and from there reach Arunachal by road. The domestic airport at DoniPolo have very less flights.

Arunachal by Train

At the time of writing this post, Arunchal Pradesh did not have good railway connectivity within the state. You can get a train to Naharlagun that is around 10km from Itanagar (capital of Arunachal) but if you plan to visit Bomdila-Dirang-Tawang then road is the only option.

Anyway, you need to arrive at Guwahati railway station and from there either reach Naharlagun or take a bus towards Bomdila.

Arunachla by Road

Most of the travel in Arunachal will be by road only. The state bus are very limited so you will be dependent on cab/sumo service.

You can reach Guwahati or Tezpur in Assam and get sharing sumo or private cab from there.

Now Network and Zainab bus services are providing direct bus from Guwahati to Tawang that takes around 20hrs. You can book these bus either on any popular bus booking platform or visit any outlet with Network/Zainab board and book your seats.

In case you are not good with 20+ hrs bus ride, you can opt for ride to Bomdial/Dirang, stay there and explore and them move towards Tawang.

Recommended:I will suggest you visit either Bomdila or Dirang from Tezpur/Guwahati them proceed to Tawang. While returning you can visit the unvisited place between Bomdila/Dirang.

This way the break journey will save you from 20hr journey and you get to see a new place!

Local sightseeing in Arunachal Pradesh

You will be completely dependent on cab for sightseein in Arunachal. The problem is, getting sharing cab is not easy. In case you are 3-4 guys traveling together, you may end up paying for full cab.

Tourist attractions in Dirang

Do not miss Mandala Top in Dirang. Its perched on top of the mountain that extends beyond the clouds.

The cab will take Rs.1500/- only for this sight. There is a tourist lodge as well that will cost you Rs.2000 per night.

Following two points you can cover on foot as well if you don’t mind walking else you can club it with Mandala top trip by paying few hundred rupees extra. For me the cab too Rs.2200/- to cover all these three points.

Then there is a buddhist Monastry, its very beautiful. There are rooms also available for tourists costing around Rs.2000/-

The third point you can visit is the hot water spring. Here there is a small pond where hot water is coming from the ground. This point is just beside river which had very cold water!

Tourist attractions in Bomdilla

In Bomdilla, apart from local beauty, there are two monestory- Lower and Upper Monestory. There is a New Bomdilla but I did not visit it.

I covered this site on foot itself. For Upper Gompa (monestory), there are stairs made on mountains that reduce the distance a lot, so do ask for guidance from locals.

Tourist attractions in Tawang

Once you reach Tawang, immediately check of Bumla Pass tour. It needs special ILP that the tour operatoer will get for you. The only issue is you may not get sharing cab.. you will have to arrange on your own to fill the car else shell out Rs.5500/- for each car.

Lucky for me, I saw a group of 5 and spoke with them. They agreed to accomodate me & my friend in their car and share the cost.

The tour will cover (Don’t miss this tour, its really worth it) :

  1. Madhuri Lake: This became famous after the Koyla movie song featuring Madhuri Dixit
  2. Bumla Pass: Indo China border
  3. Many photogenic locations on the way

Other places to visit in Tawang is:

  • War Memorial, You can visit this on foot (lots of walking),
  • Gompa (This is among the biggest monestory).
  • Enjoy the cool weather of Tawang

Tawang to Guwahati

We took Network bus from Tawang (make sure to book it one day in advance), it took around 20hrs and Rs.1400 per person.

We pre-booked it, and got the seat for Rs.1250/-. In case you are a big group, you can bargain and get it for Rs.1000/- also.

FAQ:

Is there a direct bus from Guwahati to Tawang?

Yes, Network and Zainab operate bus (once a day) and cost is Rs.1400 for Network and Rs.1500 for Zainab for around 20hrs journey.

Conclusion:

Arunachal Pradesh is a beauty!! Local sightseeing may not be possible using sharing cab, but apart from that traveling from one city to other is pretty sorted and you will get bus or sharing sumo.

Do read more solo travel related posts on JholaUthaKChale