Arunachal Pradesh Tourist Places

Arunachal, the ‘Land of the Dawn-lit-Mountains’ is the first place to greet the golden sun rays into our country.  This ‘nature’s treasure trove’ has over 60 per cent of its area covered with evergreen forests interspersed with rivers, streams, gorges and snowy peaks.  Arunachal Pradesh, a ‘naturalist’s dream’ has an amazing assortment of exotic flora and fauna.  A visit to this once ‘Hidden Land’ is an out-of-the world experience, as one comes across breathtakingly spectacular nature in all her pristine glory.

Itanagar (Naharlagun)

Itanagar, the charming capital of Arunachal Pradesh is said to be named after the historic Ita fort, dating back to the 14 – 15 century and identified with Mayapur.  It is actually a twin toen – Naharlagun, the older and Itanagar, the new official capital town the elegant Raj Bhavan, the official residence of the Governor, along with the wood frame buildings rising up the slopes of a lush hill presents a picture post card settings.

Buddhist Temple

The beautiful yellow-roofed shrine on a hill affords a fine view of the town,.  The Tibetan influence on the architecture of the shrine is clearly visible.

 

Jawaharlal Nehru Museum

It exhibits archaeological relics from the Ita Fort.  There is also a fine collection of arts and crafts, jewellery, textiles, and tribal headgears of Arunachal Pradesh.
Other places of interest are Ganga (Gyakat Sinki) Lake, Polo Park, Handicrafts Centre, Zoo etc.

Tawang

Tawang, an ‘East Himalayan Paradise’ is perched majestically at a height of about 11,000 feets, amidst towering snow capped peaks.  It was founded in 17th century by Mera Lama, a contemporary of the fifth Dalai Lama and the region came under Buddhist influence with the arrival of Padmasambham in the mid – 8th century.  The town is now studded with all modern amenities and is fastly emerging as a dream destination for nature lovers and sightseers. It has always been a Buddhist pilgrim site and is a life time destination for the Buddhist living in India.  The fortified complex of Tawang Monastery of the ‘Gelugpa’ (Yellow hat) sect was founded by Mera Lama and is the major attraction of Tawang.  It stands on a spur overlooking the Twang valley and in size is second only to the Potala Palace in Lhasa.  The main hall of the monastery is the prayer room and venue for various religious functions and traditional folk dances are performed here by the monks as a part of religious rituals.  The ‘Parkhang’ hall houses the library which contains rare hand written and block printed Buddhist artefacts, paintings and sculptures.  The gold plated, eight metre high bronze statue of Lord Buddha seated on a platform is one of the finest sculptures in the shrine.
The Urgelling Monastery here is said to be the birth place of the 6th Dalai Lama.  It enshrines his footprints and fingerprints.  Beautiful masks, hand-woven carpets, thangkas and silver jewellery etc. can be purchased at the craft centre in Tawang.

Namdapha National Park

This unique park on the Myanmar border, extends form snow-clad peaks to the valley floors on the sea level. The vast bio-diversity sustains a large variety of endangered flora and fauna and is the only natural habitat where tiger, leopard, clouded leopard and the snow leopard can be seen.  Other key fauna includes endangered takin, hoolock gibbon, red panda and capped langur etc.  The bird life includes the great  Indian Hornbill, the state bird of Arunachal.  It also has over 150 species of trees and has a rich wealth of medicinal and ornamental plants. Nearest airport is Dibrugarh (112km), via Miao, its entry point.  Best Season October - April.

Mouling National Palk

It sprawls over an area of 483 sq km in the Upper Siang District.  The park is home to rich variety of animal and bird life.  Key fauna clouded bear and deer.  It also has white feathered wild duck breeding centre.  The park can be reached by jeep from Yingkiong (30km) / Pasighat.  Yingkiong and Jengging are the nearest bus stands.  The nearest railhead is Murkongselek.  Best season October – April.