EP - 3 Roing to Anini | Dibang Valley | Arunachal Pradesh, Journey of 230 km though the forest.
You know that we've travelled in number of states in India. But if I talk particularly about North-East,... ....I have never visited Mizoram, Tripura and Manipur. When I was planning my next trip...
...it just occurred to me that let's visit Arunachal Pradesh. But I had yet to decide where in Arunachal Pradesh. I wanted to visit Mechuka, but i learnt Mechuka road is in bad condition. We could visit it only after some time. Then I thought of Plan B. That's when I came to know of Anini. My excitement for Anini kept growing as I started learning more about the place.
That's how Anini was finalized. Then I started thinking of clubbing Anini with another place. One option was to club it with the Dong Valley. The second option was to go with Zero, and I chose Zeero.
Then it came to my mind that while we are visiting Dibrugarh, why don't we also go to Nagaland? There, we could learn more about the lives of the members of the Konyak tribe. This is how I planned a combined journey of Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh. You have already seen us travelling in the Mon district of Nagaland, in our previous episode. In this video, you'll see us travelling from Roing to Anini. I am hoping that you are enjoying this series.
Namaskar friends! Welcome to Visa2explore! This is your host, Harish Bali. Right now, we are travelling in the Lower Dibang district of Arunachal Pradesh. Today, we will travel from Roing to Anini. Anini is located in the Upper Dibang district while we are in Lower Dibang right now. Now, let me also tell you where I am standing right now.
From these open shops, you'll understand that this is a market area. It is 7.30 AM right now and these shops opened at least 45 minutes ago. I mean the market opens around 6.15 or 6.30 AM. Do you see that Sumo car? I am showing you this so that if you want to travel to Anini in a shared taxi... ....you can take a cab from here. Its charge is Rs 1000 per person. This cab accommodates 9-10 persons on a trip, which costs Rs 9,000 to 10,000.
If the cab driver manages to bring together 10 passengers. They just told me that if one wants to hire the whole cab for themselves to go to Anini... ...one has to pay Rs 10,000 charges. There is no fixed number of cabs leaving in a day. It depends on the availability of the passengers, for example, the first Sumo left at 7 AM today.
Now, two cabs planned to leave for Anini. The next one will leave at 7.30 AM. The return journey from Anini can be started at 5 AM, but again, depending upon the numbers.
Let's go now. Let me share with you some general information about North-East. If you are visiting N-East for the first time.... ...your target should be the states of Meghalaya and Sikkim. I know of a lot of people who enjoyed clubbing with their Shillong tour with Kaziranga and Guwahati. You can also plan a separate tour of Assam. It is a very interesting state from the point of view of tourism.
You can explore Arunachal Pradesh on your second trip to the North-East. Just be careful that if you don't want to go offbeat on your first trip to Arunachal... ...and want to visit the popular destinations, you can explore the Tawang circuit. However, to visit Tawang, you'll have to begin your journey from Tezpur. It means you'll first travel from Guwahati to Tezpur.
From there, you will travel to Tawang via Bhalukpong and Bomdilla. This circuit can be properly visited in about 7 days' time. I enjoyed my trip to this circuit about 4 and a half years ago. Lot of people saw my videos, planned a similar trip, and shared their positive feedback about it.
I am telling you all this so that you can build a perspective about the North-East. Rest, I cannot speak of the places that I haven't visited so far. Overall, we are enjoying this particular tour as well. It's a different matter that this tour is completely offbeat.
In the coming episodes, you'll see that... ...very few tourists visit the places we are going to visit during this journey. We have travelled for 9-10 KM after leaving Roing. Look at this awesome road! We are comfortably driving at a speed of 40-50 KM per hour because... ...there are several curves on this road. There is a lot of greenery on the left and right hand sides. We've started seeing the mountains too.
All these mountains are completely covered with trees. This much greenery in the hills is always good to look at. Overall, we came here at a time when the monsoon is about to end. That is why we can so much greenery around us. Our driver tells us that the road till Mayudia Pass is just like this. After that, it will turn into a single road, so...
...there would also be potholes on the road. From Roing, we've travelled for about 38 KM. And I am now showing you an amazing view! In the last 10 KM, we've felt the weather getting cooler. And we could also see this huge expanse of the valley area below. We felt we had to stop and enjoy this view because doing so in a moving car won't do justice. I can see a river flowing in the distance whose name I don't know and beyond it...
...there is a very large plain area. This is a huge valley area. The best thing that I am experiencing standing here is the freshness in the air. There is so little traffic on this route that in 4-5 minutes, you'll see just one vehicle passing by. We stopped here 10 minutes ago. And I've seen only two cars passing by us.
Look at the clouds in the sky. Those are looking so good! In a place like this, anyone would want to ditch the car.... ...and walk the next 5-7 KM, especially if you are part of a large group. You can walk here, chat among yourselves, and enjoy nature while doing this journey! Our next halt is at an altitude of 8700 feet. We are at the Mayodia Pass. During the winter months of December-January, when it snows, this place... ...attracts tourists who come here to enjoy the snowfall. If you look up Mayodia Pass on YouTube, most of the videos would be of snowfall.
This place receives snow up to 1 or 1.5 feet high. Though this is a nice place, in winter season, its whole appearance changes drastically. Now, you can see how this place looks during the summer season, particularly the September month.
That is what I can show you. In front of me, I can see tall mountains. There is a road passing through the mountains. Do you see the road? It must be at least 7-8 KM from here.
Imagine the amount of pure oxygen you'll inhale if you do deep breathing for 10 minutes here!! You know the sound of nature, especially an insect that makes a particular sound.... ...it is wonderful to hear such a sound wherever you'll find pure nature. You usually hear such a sound in a jungle. Amazing! We will stay here for another 10-15 minutes. Then we will proceed to visit another point on our way, called '65.' Once we reach there, we'll have covered 65 KM of distance on this journey. Tourists usually stop there for breakfast.
Breathe in! Hold the breath! Breathe out! (grunts) (grunts) Very good! Let's go now. The owner of my homestay told me to eat something at '65'. Now imagine, this place is known as 65! I can see that here, all the eateries have 'Hotel 65' written in front of their names. Every eatery has the number 65 in its name because that is what this place is known as.
We've already ordered maggi at a dhaba. The time is 11 PM. The driver had to fill diesel in the car this morning. After that, we left Roing at 8 AM. So, it took 2 hours and 45 minutes to reach here. The distance isn't much but we took some breaks on the way, otherwise,...
...the road till here was also in perfect condition. This is how good the road has been. I have ordered maggi with egg in it. Looks good! Very nice! I've seen that whenever I eat maggi in a video, I say that... ...I enjoy eating maggi the most when I am in the hills. They have added chopped green chili to it. It has added to the taste of maggi.
It is delicious! Do you have some chutney too? We have 'Jhaal' chutney. Jhaal chutney is a bit spicier. Give me some.
It is good! Jhaal! Does it have tomatoes? It has tomatoes, red chilies and green chilies. Tomatoes, green chilies and red chilies. Yes! What do you serve for lunch in the afternoon? For lunch? Yes! You'll get roti (flatbread) and chawal (rice).
Roti, chawal, sabzi (gravy)? Till what time do you serve food here? Till 9.30 to 10.00 PM. Till that late! It means people come here even at 9 or 10 PM? That is why you are here. Really! So, these are travellers travelling from Anini? Yes, this is the only route. To go to Roing.
How is the road ahead? The road ahead is okay! Alright! Very spicy chutney! Uff! It is called 'Jhaal' and it is good that I didn't add it to the whole bowl. I added only a bit of it to the side. Otherwise whole of my maggi would have turned spicy. By the way, maggi was delicious in itself and I didn't need any chutney with it. I took this chutney just to taste the local flavour! I can't get the Jio network here at all.
The Airtel network, though, is good. I quickly shot an Instagram reel here. And I was able to upload it in just 5 minutes using the Airtel network. However, there was no mobile network on the way. Going forward, we know that we will network off and on. However, the BSNL service here is good enough! This morning, I told you about the Sumo cab service from Roing to Anini.
The passengers travel in it on sharing basis. You can see one such cab parked on the roadside. This is how they load luggage and travel. Anyways, let's continue our journey further. While travelling, I am always looking for a chance to view a river, especially from a height.
I can't help but stop the car at such viewpoints. To enjoy the view, of course! The green water of this river is looking so good from this distance. Absolutely clear water! Beautiful! The river is flowing at a sufficiently fast speed! As for the surroundings, I will say it again, there is a dense forest all around us.
Right now, it is daytime, so there is nothing to fear right now. But if you have to be here during night time, at 8 or 9 PM,... ...you wouldn't feel so comfortable in the midst of the dense jungle. By now, we have covered 50% of our journey. For example, you are on this way, and you don't get mobile network in your phone,... ...it would be fairly easy to be confused here, at this point,about which road to take for Anini. There is no one around to tell you which road to take. Whether you look at your left or right, there is no one to help you.
You can either wait for 10-15 minutes, till another car comes along and ask the driver. But the good thing is that they have put up a signboard here, showing the way to Anini. This means that to travel on this route... ...it is extremely important to either hire a local driver or... ...keep an eye on the turns because... ...if you take a wrong turn, you could get in trouble. I have sent the car ahead as I wanted to walk on foot for some distance.
After a short distance, our car will cross that bridge. Do you see that iron bridge? We will check the view from there as well. I just opened Google Maps to check... ...the route to Anini. So, the road it is showing is as usual zig-zag. But it is showing an error a little ahead on the road.
This means that the road to Anini is in the opposite direction. Our car is parked at a distance. But Anini is shown here. We have the car driver with us who is a local. He is well-aware.
But a non-local tourist could easily be confused. It is very difficult to figure whether we are on the right path or not. Especially keeping in mind that there will be no one around to help. You are on your own! I have the Airtel mobile network, which is working fine here! Though it is working off and on.
But, at least, the Airtel has better coverage in this area. Phukan Bhai! Hello! I was looking at Google Maps when I was 200 m behind on this road. The distance it showed then was 114 KM. It was by chance that I could log on to Google Maps. But when I see here, the distance has become 152 KM.
Is it possible that we were supposed to take the other route? No! That is not the case. You are familiar with this route, right? This is the right route. I just said it in a lighter vein. Otherwise, I trust you.
I have complete trust in you that you won't take us on a wrong route. So, to cut a long story short, this is the route we are taking. Yes, this is the route! Let's move on. It is no use if we get later further. Well, we got to see the first waterfall here.
Though small but this waterfall is beautiful indeed! This is the first waterfall of our today's journey. Ir is nice! Look at the road passing through these two mountains in front of me! Isn't it looking good! This could be a good photography point too. Come, let's move on! By God! What an amazing viewpoint! Do you remember we saw a river from a distance sometime ago? The same river has reached this point and here, it is flowing at a higher speed.
Look at how fast this water is flowing after crashing against the rocks! Absolutely beautiful! Look at the colour of this water, which is the highlight of this view! The water appears dark green under the shadow of those trees. Under direct sunlight, the water appears just green! Amazing! I mean I am so impressed with this beautiful view that... ...if I go down to the river and sit on one of those rocks... ...I would be reminded of my Spiti tour in Himachal Pradesh. I saw a similar view there as well. Once I go down there, I will be able to enjoy a similar view. Amazing! Really beautiful! Now, let me show you the road on which we are travelling. We came from behind that mountain and I had told you about some rough patches on this road.
Like this patch in front of us! Let me go closer to show you more clearly. Now, this rough patch is about 200-300 meter long. Alright! There is no road as such on this patch.
Just a semblance of it. The first 115-KM of the road from Roing onward was in good condition. But after that, you encounter road like this, which slows you down.
I enjoyed this stop on the way. In the past few days, I tried to understand from the locals what this journey to Anini entails. Most of them told me that I would enjoy the waterfalls the most on this route! Well, we saw only one waterfall! The one I showed you a while ago. I believe the waterfalls here are seasonal and most of them dry up with the end of monsoon. Now, let's talk about the key highlights of today's journey that I am enjoying the most.
No. 1 is that I am able to enjoy nature in its purest form because of very less tourists. I mean to say that the air here is as fresh as it could get. Wherever you choose to sit, you won't see a car coming along for 10 minutes straight. That is an enjoyable fact in itself. Like this is the empty road right now.
Absolutely clear! Peaceful! Despite the fact that the time, right now, is 4 PM, and not 8 PM at night! This road is quiet even at 4 PM in the afternoon and we've been sitting like this for the past 7-8 minutes. The 2nd highlight is that we see different rivers or flowing streams regularly. For instance, this huge stream of water right now.
On that side, a huge nullah is flowing down to join this stream here. The water continues to flow ahead at great speed! Then, take a look at these mountains. Tall mountains and, as I've been showing you since morning, covered in dense forests. The trees are so dense, it looks like they are joined together.
The time, right now, is 4.15 PM. It will be dark by 5.05 or 5.10 PM. So, we are left with just 50 minutes of daylight. We can use this time to complete our journey and reach our destination. We still have to cover about 70 KM of our journey, which will take us an hour and 15 minutes.
As for the 2nd choice, we could choose to spend another 20-25 minutes here. Enjoy this place to the fullest and then leave here. When you are travelling in a car... ....you tend to enjoy your journey more, especially if you are travelling in the hills. But you miss out on the feeling! This is a fact I am telling you.
Many people ask me whether I am able to feel the journey while shooting videos. What they mean is that my mind is occupied elsewhere. This is why I take regular halts on my journey because I feel good while doing so. I like to sit like this and enjoy the crisp, mountain air. And this is what becomes a core memory for life.
Though we may forget the whole journey later, the main thing to remember is how we enjoyed it. Well, this was me sharing my thoughts with you! Anini is known as a 'hidden paradise' in Arunachal Pradesh. In fact, majority of people told me that Anini is one of the four most beautiful places in the state. Once we are there, we can see for ourselves the place we are hearing so much about.
We will be there for three nights at least. Today, tomorrow, and the day after. Let's go. We are done here. I began this tour of North-East with Nagaland.
Then I went to Assam and now I am in Arunachal Pradesh. Several times in a day I keep looking up to enjoy the colour of the sky and the clouds. Now, here, from this side, I can see white clouds in the sky.
Next to these is the sky. Right next to it is a bunch of dark-coloured clouds. Then, there is a large area showing just the blue sky. As the day ends and darkness sets in, the sky will turn a deeper shade of blue.
Now, we are going to continue our journey. There is only a few minutes left till it becomes dark. We still have to cover 55 KM of distance. That will take us an hour to complete.
The road is exactly like I've already shown you. If you look at this road, you'll see how good it is. As I already mentioned, I wanted to begin my day at 6 AM in Roing but... But we got late. If we had left by 6 AM, we could've reached Anini earlier. Thereafter, we could've spent an hour or so sightseeing in Anini.
But no worries, we will have whole day tomorrow to see Anini. For now, we are headed to the place where our stay is booked. We will join you again once we reach there.
Okay then, we'll now see you after an hour!! The time is 7.30 PM. I should say it is 7.30 at night because... ...it has been dark here for a long time. Anyways! Right now, we are in the Mishmi hill resort. We reached here about 20-25 minutes ago. The first thing we did when we reached here is visit the restaurant and place our order.
Because they told us that the North Indian food would take an hour to cook. So, we said okay. As always, we've booked a double occupancy room here. Let me tell you one more interesting thing. I booked this room today itself. In fact, I had finalized the room last night and conveyed it to the manager as well.
But I hadn't paid the token money in advance. I often think I should book accommodation at least 48 hours in advance. But I also think to go with the flow! Like if we take today's example. Suppose I felt like spending another day in Roing... ...suppose, for some reason,... ...and I have planned ahead as well. So, I would either cancel booking or continue the schedule but I won't be able to do what I want. That is why I hold up the booking till the 11th hour.
In doing so, I often end up missing out on the accommodation of my choice. The hotel owner isn't going to wait for me, right? The double-occupancy charge we are paying is Rs 3000. Today's journey has come to a close now.
Today's dinner will be recorded for the BTS episode. We are going to stay in Anini for tomorrow and day after. For the next two days, we will do proper sightseeing in Anini. And we'll show you the kind of place Anini is.
Obviously, we'll see it ourselves so that we can show it to you too. Now, let me say bye-bye to you all. I also hope that you must be enjoying this mini series. And I am sure you would also enjoy the episodes that are next in line. I have already shared with you that this is a short tour I have planned. Bye-bye! Thanks for your time! I've been travelling continuously for the past 8 years.
But I have never seen a location like this. I have tall grass waving around on my right and left, with a wind blowing through. I cannot believe my eyes as I see the grass moving along at the pace of the wind. Oh Man!
2024-11-05 10:50
