Arunachal is calling - Magical Mayodia

Mousumi Deka

Arunachal is calling again. This time the snow-clad mountain was calling us to see and feel its snowy outfit and we planned our weekend escape to visit Mayodia and were enthralled by its magical landscape.

The mist, the snow of Mayodia has become popular among the tourists in recent years and travellers have started visiting this popular destination to admire the snow-clad mountains.

It was at the end of January and winter was at its peak. We were fully geared to see and feel the snow and our suitcases packed with all our winter clothing. It was a gloomy weather when we started our journey to Mayodia.

Starting from our place, we passed by a few towns of Upper Assam -- Tinsukia, Makum, Doomdooma and reached Bhupen Hazarika Setu, the longest river bridge in India. The vastness of the river Brahmaputra becomes evident in this region and anyone can understand why Brahmputra is referred to as “Mahabahu”. The scenic beauty along this 9 kilometre long bridge is awesome.

Crossing the bridge we reached Sadiya, the birthplace of Sudhakantha Bhupen Hazarika and after covering a few more kilometers we reached Shantigate and underwent the formalities to get our inner line permit to enter Arunachal Pradesh.

Entering Arunachal, we suddenly found the entire landscape had changed and we started going through forested areas. We found the population in this region to be very thin, and we were mostly surrounded by dense forests. After driving for a distance of around 20 km we reached Roing, a beautiful town, the district headquarters of Lower Dibang Valley. Roing is situated on the bank of river Dibang. It is the gateway to the Himalayan ranges through the Mishmi Hills. From Roing we could see the majestic blue mountain and Mayodia, which is located here, only 57 kms from Roing.

We planned to enjoy the Dibang river from close up and booked rooms in a resort situated in a small village named Bomjir, that night. Accordingly, we took a road towards the left from Roing and came across a beautiful bridge over river Dibang. The scenic beauty from the bridge is beyond description. White pebbles strewn across the vast river increases the beauty of the river manifold. Crossing the bridge over the river Dibang, we entered the village Bomjir. We followed a right turn and after few metres we reached our destination, Bomjir Resort.

Bomjir Resort is situated in a very beautiful place on the bank of the river Dibang. I found the “Chang ghar” (a house built atop stilts), the traditional cottage with verandah made in Arunachal architectural style, charming and I enjoyed my stay in that attractive “chang ghar”.

It was cold outside. After having a cup of hot tea and hot snacks in the cosy “Chang ghar” verandah, we went to the riverbank. It was a mesmerizing sight and we could feel the vastness of the river from up close. White round pebbles dotted the area and in between them small streams were gently flowing with a soothing music. Where the stream went through a deep gorge we heard a louder sound of music.

Just on the other side of the river we could see the majestic snowcapped mountain range spreading its shadow over the river. The scenic beauty of the sight with its vast riverbed filled with white pebbles guarded by snow clad mountain was really a sight to behold.

Yes, Mayodia is situated in that snowcapped mountain range.

Before dinner, we enjoyed the chilly evening in the riverbank with the warmth of a bonfire. The music of waves from the river was very soothing and it is still reverberating in my ears.

In the morning, it was raining heavily. Still, I went for a morning walk. I found the place, Bomjir, to be a quaint little place on the bank ofthe river Dibang. Most of the houses are “Chang ghars” in which some people stored wood in the lower portion of the house and some people kept their cattle. Some government houses existed nearby. I reached a market area and found all the shops closed, may be because of rain or the early morning time. I really loved the serenity of the place.

After a heavy breakfast we headed for Mayodia. People in the resort were saying that we would find snow fall in Mayodia as it was raining in Roing. We crossed the bridge over the river Dibang, following the same route by which we had passed yesterday and reached Roing. After crossing Bogapani bridge we found the road was going up the hill. Rain stopped, but the magical mist engrossed us. We could not see the road or the surrounding area after a few feet! It was so difficult to drive. However, in between we found the mist suddenly clearing and could enjoy the beauty of the surrounding place.

Our car went through the zig zag mountain road for about 50 kms and suddenly we saw patches of white snow on the mountain and by the side of the road. It was a “wow” sight for all of us. Not so far from our place and here was the snow !!

The road was going up and we could feel the dense snow enveloping the area. And suddenly our car got stuck in a long queue. Oh my God, so many cars! Like us so many people had come to see the snow! We saw cars were parked by the side of the road and following their example, we also parked our car and got down. Everywhere there was snow - on the road, on the trees, on the mountain, everywhere we could see only white colour. We all turned into little children - plucked the snow, threw snowballs and what not….of course we took lot of photographs and selfies.

We had still not reached Mayodia, another 7 kms were left to go. But because of the traffic we could not move further.

Yes, we could see and feel the snow in the periphery of Mayodia and didn’t try to go further to reach the place because of heavy traffic and instead, we returned. It was really difficult to make the car move back and forth to align in the return path in that narrow mountain road. Kudos to the driving skill of our friend who made smooth alignment of the car and we could come back safely. This time because of the blessing of the Weather God, we got clear weather and could see the surroundings clearly. We could see the whole Dibang valley from the top. With its white pebbles in the riverbed, the reflection of sunshine on them gave a feeling of a beautiful silver lining everywhere. We stopped in few places to watch and enjoy the lovely scenic beauty of the place.

Mayodia is really a place to remember. The snow, the mist, the rain…it’s an overwhelming experience …could understand why it was attracting so many people ..making the small little place jam packed with so many cars.

Obviously, it is high time to take care of tourism in this area by laying emphasis on facilities for the tourists so that people can enjoy the God gifted beautiful place to the fullest.

Reaching Roing, we all were feeling hungry and headed straight to our favourite restaurant AR-16 to enjoy its mouthwatering food.