Had a BMW GS 850 as company for my Royal Enfield during the 5-day trip to Arunachal.
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Introduction
This ride was meant to be undertaken before I finally left this part of the country. Professional commitments kept forcing me to postpone the dates and this was the final window which was available to us before the proper onset of monsoons in the North East. As such, the weather in this part of the country is unpredictable at any time of the year.
Initially, five persons were planning to go for the ride. But, due to various commitments and repeated postponing of dates, finally only two of us set course for the Eastern Edge of the country.
- Self on Bagheera (Himalayan 450)
- Fellow BHPian dagger80 on his BMW GS850
A day prior, dagger80 also reached Tezpur which was our rendezvous for the main ride.
Itinerary
This was the original itinerary:
- Day 1 (13 March): Tezpur to Tezu (461 kms/ 10:00 hours)
- Day 2 (14 March): Tezu – Parshuram Kund – Hayuliang – Walong (198 kms/ 7:00 hours)
- Day 3 (15 March): Walong – Kibithu – Kaho – Kibithu – Walong – Hayuliang (150/ 10:00 hours)
- Day 4 (16 March): Hayuliang – Dinjan (230 kms/ 7:00 hours)
- Day 5 (17 March): Dinjan – Tezpur (340 kms / 8:00 hours)
Day 1
Tezpur – Tezu
We started the day early, hitting the Tezpur Bhalukpong highway at around 6:30 am planning to clear the dense traffic patches before proper daybreak.
We had planned to reach our destination via the North bank of Brahmaputra, i.e. via Balipara, Biswanath Chariali, Gohpur, North Lakhimpur and Dhemaji.
We decided to cover as many routes as possible before sunset since there was very little sightseeing on this route and it was more of mile-munching and negotiating traffic while crossing the major towns. We stopped for brunch at Subansiri, which has restaurants on either side of the highway and seemed to be a popular meal break on this route.
We refuelled at a petrol pump at Dhemaji and also donned the rain gear since light drizzling had started in a few patches. Google Maps showed us a wrong shortcut and sent us on an unexpected off-roading spree through country roads which of course we didn’t mind as a warm-up to the main ride, but we would advise people to stick to the main highway and ignore the shortcut to reach the Bogiveel Bridge.
After crossing over to the South bank, we took the Tinsukia bypass and after crossing Doom Dooma, as advised by local friends, took the Kakopathar route and entered Arunachal through Dirak and followed Namsai, Chowkham, Alubari route to reach Tezu and finally Lohitpur.
Lohitpur is a picturesque hamlet on the foothills at about 12 kms from Tezu town. A friend from the Indian Army arranged our stay at Lohitpur.
Almost 70-75% of roads traversed on this day were good to excellent. We could easily cruise at 80-90 km/h on most parts of the route except traffic-congested areas.
Day 2
Tezu – Hayuliang
The initial plan was to ride from Tezu (Lohitpur) to Walong. However, the rains played the spoilsport. Probably it made up for what it couldn’t achieve the first day. The start was delayed by almost 2 hrs. Finally started at 9:30 am. Refuelled at a fuel pump at Tezu since we received inputs about the non-availability of fuel at the fuel pumps ahead of time.
After a short halt at Demwe, to enjoy the breakfast hosted by a local friend, we rode through drizzle to Brahmakund after which the drizzle changed to mild and thereafter heavy rains and in no time we were wet to the core.
However, despite inclement weather and very challenging road conditions, the urge to reach somewhere ahead and of course some very scenic routes brought us to Khupa and then to Hayuliang when heavy downpours forced us to take an unplanned halt at Hayuliang.
This halt was short of our planned destination by almost 3 hours (in the mountains we judge distances by time and not kms/miles) and so we were hoping like hell that the weather would open up the next morning so that we could start early and make up for the delay since the weather prediction was showing an open window of only next two days (though the reliability of weather prediction in these areas is a big question mark).
Day 3
Hayuliang – Eight – Kibithu – Meshai – Kaho – Eight.
A classic example of fortune favours the brave. Delayed start from Hayuliang due to rains. Started the ride amid mild to heavy drizzle, but 20 kms out of Hayuliang, the weather opened up and by the time we reached Walong, it was completely dry roads.
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