While a road trip to Tawang is more popular and heard of, when it comes to Arunachal Pradesh tours, the eastern part of Arunachal Pradesh is arguably more beautiful and culturally rich than the western. Rawer, if you know what we mean.
This Mechuka Tour – a road trip to Mechuka is, put simply, an experience of a lifetime. One of the best experiences in North East India tailored around local tribal experiences. From gorgeous mountains to breathtaking valleys, from scattered tiny little tribal hamlets to the beautiful town of Mechuka, which seems to be at the end of the world, this one-week Mechuka trip has everything that a mountain lover would dream of, and then, some more.
- Day 1 – Dibrugarh to Along/Aalo
- Day 2 – Along/Aalo to Mechuka
- Day 3 – Mechuka local sightseeing & hike to Mechuka-la
- Day 4 – Mechuka local sightseeing
- Day 5 – Mechuka – Along/Aalo
- Day 6 – Along/Aalo to Dibrugarh
The detailed Mechuka itinerary will be as laid out below:
Day 1: Dibrugarh to Along/Aalo
The nearest airport and railhead for a trip to Mechuka is Dibrugarh, in Assam. We begin our one-week Mechuka tour from here. On landing in the morning, you will be received by North East Explorer’s representative. Keep your Arunachal Pradesh ILP (that we would have already sent you) ready, as we start our journey towards the Assam-Arunachal border, slowly leaving Dibrugarh behind.
Dibrugarh to Along is a beautiful drive so, multiple photo stops along the way are expected. Don’t shy away from requesting your driver-cum guide to stop and let you breathe in the fresh mountain air of Arunachal Pradesh.
After a gorgeous drive, by early evening, you will check in to your gorgeous homestay in Along. This tastefully done homestay can be considered a small destination in itself. After a quick check-in, head out on foot to check out the surroundings. Tomorrow is going to be an exciting day 🙂 .
Day 2: Along/Alo to Mechuka
If yesterday made you feel you have come to a very remote part of North East India, wait to see what happens today! Today is the day when you finally set foot in Mechuka, the real off-beat North East India. Not long after you leave Along, you will lose any phone connectivity that you might have, for the next few days. Suddenly, the surroundings start feeling denser and you will come across fellow humans, less and less.
You will notice traditional stilted homes dotting your way as you move ahead. The architecture in these parts of Arunachal Pradesh is quite different that what you get to see when you are on an Arunachal Pradesh tour, in the Eastern part of the state.
As you snake ahead on the mostly bumpy roads, lost in the grandeur of the surrounding, the Siyom River will keep you company for a good part of the day. And while this off-beat part of Arunachal Pradesh does not boast many waterfalls, it has a pretty gorgeous one. The Siko-Dido waterfall, that falls on the way to Mechuka from Along.
By evening, check in to your simple homestay and warm yourselves up by sitting by the bukhari.
Day 3: Exploring Mechuka
After a good night’s sleep and breakfast by the kitchen fire of your homestay, it is finally now time to explore Mechuka. Things to see in Mechuka, as they say.
We begin our day by visiting the New Gompa. Spend some time walking around and appreciating the simplicity of the surroundings. From there, we will move to one of the best things to do in Mechuka.
A hike to the Mechuka-la!
It’s a relaxed hike with beautiful views on every side. The scenery keeps getting better as you go higher up. Once at the top, the view of Mechuka town is simply beyond words. Sit there and just enjoy the moment.
Being in this remote place, far away from almost everyone you know, and yet feeling very much at peace, the time spent here, doing nothing but being yourself, will stay with you for a long time.
From here, we will then visit the small but beautiful Dorjelling village and meet some of the locals to get to know about their life here. From Dorjelling, we then go for a quick visit to the Tsokorphu village.
After which, we head back to your homestay for some rest.
As a last thing and one of the best things to do when in Mechuka, we will head to the Yargapchu River to spend some time in these beautiful surroundings.
Day 4: Things to See in Mechuka
After spending the last day exploring things to see in Mechuka, we will focus on the best places to visit around Mechuka. After breakfast at our homestay, we start our day by first driving up to the Old Gompa in Mechuka.
We spend time at this 400-year-old monastery, talking to the caretaker of the Gompa and appreciating the history that the place has been a guardian to.
Not to mention, the trail leading up to this historic place is sure to mesmerize you every second of the time you are there.
From there, we will then drive to the Lhalung village to see the Old Tibet road. This road has a lot of history attached to it. From there, we head to the Mechuka gurudwara, which is one of the most revered places in Mechuka. It is said that Sikh guru, Guru Nanak Dev Ji, on his way back from Tibet, had spent some time here in Mechuka and had meditated at this very place.
The Gurunanak Tapasthan in Mechuka is maintained by the Indian army.
Once back in town, we will head to the market for some local lunch and then explore it. The evening is mostly free to roam around.
Day 5: Mechuka to Alo/Along
After spending 3 nights in Mechuka while on this off-beat Arunachal Pradesh tour, we start our return journey, in the morning.
The bright side of leaving early is the fact that we will get time to explore the tribal village(s) in and around Aalo. Walking through a tribal village, according to us, is one of the best ways to get a feel of the place and to meet and interact with the locals.
By evening, check in to your homestay and spend time relaxing and reminiscing about the past few days. Also, you will finally have decent mobile phone connectivity, if all is well 🙂
Day 6: Alo/Along To Dibrugarh
We start on the final leg of our journey after breakfast today. Retracing the same path we took less than a week back, on our way to Mechuka, we make our way to the plains of Assam.
Our hearts filled with countless memories from the past few days and dreams to be back again, sometime soon.
With the drop in Dibrugarh, finally, a wonderful trip comes to an end. But it’s just the trip that has come to an end, your relationships with the lovely people you have met in the course of the past few days, have only begun 🙂 .
You can very easily club this Mechuka trip with a Kaziranga tour, a Majuli tour, or even a Tawang tour if you have more days to spare.
Inclusions
- All permits for Indian Nationals as required.
- All Toll Charges.
- A dedicated vehicle with a driver cum guide for the entire trip.
- Accommodation for 5 Nights on a twin-sharing basis.
- Breakfast on all mornings from Day 2 till the last day’s check-out.
Exclusions
- Any personal/sanitary/medical expenses.
- Any unplanned extension in the number of days staying.
- Food and snacks.
- PAP Fee for non-Indian Passport Holders
- Parking Fee
- Anything that is not mentioned in the inclusions section above.
- 5% GST.
Cancellation & Refund
- 50% cancellation charge until 45 days before the start of the trip.
- In case we cancel the trip for any unavoidable reason, we will refund 100% of the payment made to us. We will not be liable to pay any expenses the guest might have incurred (train tickets, flight tickets, etc.) to reach the starting point of the trip, Guwahati airport in this case.
- Prices are subject to change without prior notice, based upon the cost of variables of the trip logistics.
- Any govt. fee or Tax paid to us is non-refundable
BOOK THIS TOUR
** Mechuka being a very remote destination, has very limited connectivity, almost all the way. Other than BSNL, nothing really works once you leave Along. So, it is better to let your folks back home know that, in all probability, you will have no connectivity for the better part of the next week.
** Due to the large-scale road construction going on in this part of Arunachal Pradesh, Mechuka is accessible only for a limited time in a year. That is, only during the dry winter season.
** Please note that we will be crossing through / staying at some of the most remote parts of the region. Hence, while we will try our best to make your trip as comfortable as possible, please keep in mind that the logistics and facilities will be limited due to obvious reasons.
**Photo credits – Saikat Ganguly
