Destination index
Every place on the Tawang road, with its own guide
Every place worth stopping between Guwahati and Bumla: Shergaon, Rupa, Sangti Valley, Mandala Top, Mukto, Lumla, Zemithang, Mago Valley, Thembang and more, each with altitude, best time, driving times and maps.
Route halts
4,170 m
Sela Pass
The 4,170 m gateway that decides whether you reach Tawang today
1,560 m
Dirang
The acclimatisation town that makes or breaks a Tawang trip
2,415 m
Bomdila
West Kameng's district town, monastery terraces and the first big view
1,900 m
Shergaon
Sherdukpen orchard country and one of India's finest low-key birding bases
Landmarks
4,633 m
Bumla Pass
India's border post at 4,633 m, open to civilians with a permit
1,890 m
Nuranang Falls
A hundred metres of white water below Jang, the loudest stop on the road
3,708 m
Sangetsar (Madhuri) Lake
A lake formed by an earthquake, studded with drowned fir trunks
3,048 m
Tawang Monastery
Galden Namgey Lhatse — the largest monastery in India, founded 1680
Wildlife
Hidden gems
3,800 m
Mago Valley
The last Indian village before the Bhutan–Tibet trijunction
3,300 m
Mandala Top
108 stupas on a ridge above the clouds
1,500 m
Sangti Valley
Black-necked cranes, kiwi orchards, and a river the colour of glass
2,300 m
Thembang Village
A fortified Monpa dzong village on the UNESCO tentative list
1,570 m
Rupa
Sherdukpen heartland of orchards and old trade routes
2,700 m
Mukto Village
Terraced fields, quiet gompas and the road less taken from Tawang
1,900 m
Lumla
The soft green shoulder of Tawang district
2,000 m
Zemithang
The valley the 14th Dalai Lama walked into in 1959
1,700 m
Chug Valley
Water mills, walnut groves and almost no visitors
3,100 m
Thingbu
The gateway hamlet on the road to Mago
2,600 m
Nukmadong
A 1962 war memorial most itineraries drive straight past
1,890 m
Jang & Jang Waterfall
The town below Sela and the 100-metre fall that shares its name
3,700 m
Penga Teng Tso (PTSo)
Tawang's closest high lake, frozen solid by January
3,500 m
Taktsang Gompa
Tawang's own Tiger's Nest, on a cliff above the Zemithang road
2,900 m
Urgelling Monastery
Birthplace of the 6th Dalai Lama
2,000 m
Gorsam Chorten
A 12th-century stupa on the Nyamjang Chu
1,600 m
Dirang Dzong
A 500-year-old stone fort village still lived in
1,500–3,000 m
Apple Orchards & Yak Farms
The working countryside of West Kameng
1,500–3,200 m
Traditional Monpa Villages
Weaving, wood, buckwheat and butter tea