Arunachal Pradesh – Mountains, Birds, and Clouds
Green mountains playing hide and seek amidst the floating clouds;
Rhododendrons adding charm to the mountains
Birds chirping and jumping from one branch to other
The whole place looked mystical and I stood there mesmerised by the beauty!
Arunachal Pradesh, the very name of this state always sounded mystical to me. When my friend asked me if we can go for a birding trip to Arunachal two years back, I was all into it. Due to unavoidable circumstances, we had to cancel our trip and replan it for April 2017. The birding trip to Arunachal Pradesh is very expensive and we had an option to go to Eaglenest or Mandala. Finally, we decided to go to Mandala. Though it was a birding trip, I had gone prepared to shoot landscapes and if given a chance to shoot the night sky as well.
As soon as we crossed Guwahati and entered Arunachal Pradesh, the surroundings started changing dramatically. Our vehicle was racing on the road that was surrounded by mountains with huge trees. It was like entering a magical land of greenery all over. We enjoyed our drive all through and also stopped to do our birding on the route.
The intent of this blog is to talk about the extraordinary beauty that I witnessed during my trip along with the photographs that stand as a testimony to what I say. Here I am not going to cover the birding trip though I can write a small story behind every photo I have shot. In case you are interested in checking out “Birds of Arunachal Pradesh”, it is here.
The journey towards Mandala was very pleasant. Along with birding, I managed to capture some landscapes as well.
Mandala Birding Lodge
Mandala Birding Lodge where we chose to stay, proved to be like a dreamland to me. The lodge was on a huge hillock surrounded by mountains that were separated by a valley. We reached Mandala Birding Lodge on the third day of our trip and it became our home for the next three days. Mandala is at ~10000 ft and here is a view of the birding lodge where we stayed.
Sunset and Sunrise at Mandala
We witnessed beautiful sunset and sunrise from the place we were staying.
Since Mandala is at a very high altitude only few houses are there and all these houses are built using wood, supported by wooden pillars. Life is really tough here. Transport is not available, and people have to walk long distances even to get some basic supplies or depend on some tourist vehicle to commute. Also, the weather makes it even more challenging for them.
Life at Mandala apart from Birds
Along with the beautiful landscapes and birds we came across yak, wild horses, and a calf. These animals are not used to human beings or vehicles. Whenever they saw us, they used to run away or move to one side of the path. We saw a calf that was lost and was trying to get back to its herd. We could hear it mooing and getting a response back. However, as soon as it saw us, it stood transfixed. We decided to move from that place so that the calf could go back to its herd.
Glimpse of Forest
When we go to such remote places, it is the actual beauty of the forest, its flora and fauna that makes our trips memorable. This time I ensured to capture some of those moments as well so that I can cherish those memories.
Rhododendrons of Arunachal Pradesh
Rhododendrons are very famous in Arunachal Pradesh and they bloom late winter through early summer. We witnessed trees in full bloom and wildflowers. A green mountainside and a single tree blooming with Rhodendrons is a view that one cannot forget.
Land of Clouds
Above all the things I mentioned above, I would say Arunachal Pradesh was a land of clouds. Most often it was like clouds emerging from the mountains and trees and it was fun watching them pass by. One morning at around 4:30 am, I came out of the birding lodge to see the weather and I couldn’t believe my eyes. I felt as if I was above the clouds as the entire valley around us was filled with clouds. I did not have my camera. I went inside and asked my friend to go out and see the view. By the time I took my camera and went out most of the clouds had vanished and it was very disappointing. Wish I could have taken a pano of what I saw :-(. However, that view is there in my memory and I should be happy for seeing something like that :-). Here is a collection of photos of clouds and time-lapses.
I would like to end this blog with what really disturbed me in Arunachal Pradesh. It is the pile of garbage that we saw in most places. I have traveled to many places in India, but the garbage situation in Arunachal Pradesh is really bad. It was our third day in Arunachal and we were to explore Sella Pass which is at 13,700 ft. We were busy shooting Snow Pigeons when our driver pointed us towards something like a mongoose moving in the garbage pile. That is when I observed the mountain slope had a huge dump and a pair of yellow-throated martens were busy sniffing the garbage and making their way. It was really painful to see those wild animals having to feed on waste.
Sella Pass connects Tewang with Dirang and Guwahati. It is not a tourist place, yet we could see so much filth. It was really disturbing as most of the garbage was filled with plastic bottles and packaging material that are non-decomposable. Many of us travel because we love nature, wildlife, mountains, birds and the list is never-ending. If this is true, we should all take the responsibility to keep nature pristine. We should all avoid buying water bottles and instead carry our own water bottles or use the water purifiers that are easily available in the market. If each of us makes this conscious effort, I think our next generation will be able to enjoy nature the way we are! Hope we make the change and change the world for the better.