A Decade of Travel - 3

Just to remind, I am looking back on my journeys of this decade (2011-20). Each post highlights a single day’s experience from one of the 10 years. For 2013, I had to make a choice between 2 stories and it was difficult. Coincidentally, both have a Chinese connection – Tawang and Macau. Finally, I have settled on Tawang. Macau will have to wait for another day in the future.

2013 – Tenga to Tawang and Sangetsar Tso

27^th and 28^th March

We were birding in Eaglenest Wildlife Sanctuary in March 2013. I had planned to travel to Tawang and beyond after finishing the birding expedition. Three more birders joined me.

Our journey began in Tenga Cantonment (6500 ft). 125 km from Tenga is the Sela Pass (13700 ft), the highest point. Tawang (10000 ft) is further 75 km away.

The landscape at Sela Pass was magical, mystical and mesmerising. I would have preferred to stay put there and not continue further.

Between Sela Pass and Tawang is a war memorial dedicated to Jaswant Singh Rawat, a rifleman of Garhwal Rifles for his bravery on 17^th November 1962. It was shrouded in dense fog and we resolved to visit again on the way back.

We reached the town of Tawang after sunset. It had taken us more than 6 hours to cover the 200 km distance.

Tawang monastery looked inviting early morning next day. But we had set our sights on Sangtsar Tso close to the China border. We were warned that the weather would turn bad, but decided to take the risk. Sangetsar Lake is one of the most remote, high altitude (12165 ft) lake in the country. It is only 40 kms from the town, but the road was bad, the visibility worse and to top it all we were stuck behind an army convoy that was towing a gun. It took us nearly three and a half hours to cover the 40 kms, including a coffee break at a military canteen. The entire route is military territory and we didn’t see a single private vehicle.

Sangetsar Lake is popularly known as Madhuri Lake, because it was the setting for a song from one of her films, Koyla. The lake was completely shrouded in fog. As the afternoon progressed, the veil did lift a bit to reveal some of the beauty. But It wasn’t enough to quench our thirst. The lake is filled with hundreds of dead tree trunks standing erect; it was formed as a result of an earthquake.

We completed the return journey in sullen silence; the disappointment hung heavy in the air. But today, when I browse through the dozens of photos. I am filled with a sense of exhilaration at having planned and accomplished that journey. Nature doesn’t always reveal her best face to us. We have to accept her various facets with equanimity. The lake, as her namesake actress, revealed only as much as she wanted us to see.