the Sela Peak, or whichever mountain peak this is, on the northern appraoch to the Sela Pass
Tawang is end of the road, sort off, from here you can only continue to China, and that is obviously out of the question. So we need to track back to Dirang, again.
On the way back we make a detour to see the Chakzam bridge, an iron suspension bridge built at the end of the 14th Century, across the Tawang River. The bridge itself is frail, and to spare it, a modern suspension bridge has been constructed next to it. Yet the old bridge is a beautiful piece of early engineering. The many prayer flags accompanying it make it also a colourful landmark.
the road away from the main road quickly deteriorating
a little detour to visit an old suspension bridge
the local agricultural scene
a stupa, or a memorial for somebody important, with script on the stones
another stupa, along the road, just a pretty picture
and so is this boy on his bike
the Chakzam suspension bridge, and the newer one next to it (to the left)
the path to the bridge
with more stones that have been written on
and the old bridge, almost invisible because of the prayer flags
and this is the bridge in its full glory
approaching the Sela Pass, plenty of snow-covered peaks
We are lucky. Not only has the Sela Pass been cleared again – thanks to the BRO, I presume -, it is also a gloriously beautiful day, bright and sunny. The views on the way up are spectacular, with as highlight almost unobstructed sight of a high mountain top next to the pass (of which I cannot find back the name, neither the height – our driver calls it the Sela Peak) and fully covered in snow. Just before the pass we also admire the Sela lake, mostly frozen over. A parking is full of vehicles, and lots of tourists, much better prepared than we are, with woollen hats and gloves, dark sunglasses and thick winter jackets, flock down to the lake shore. Why, I have no idea. It is freezing cold, with a stiff wind blowing, and the views are best from the top. But then, we also have less inclination to frolic in the snow, along the road – and take the ubiquitous selfies -, another favourite activity of the Indian tourist crowd.
and the Sela Lake, almost entirely frozen over
only close to the pass is a part of the lake not frozen
we are not the only ones at the pass, on the contrary, it is quite busy
these are the Paleoproterozoic migmatitic gneisses of the higher Himalayan cristallines which have been intruded by Tertiary tourmaline-bearing leucogranite – difficult to see with all the snow
and who knows, are we looking at the same here?
On the way down, on the south side, we pass the point to which we reached the day before. We breeze past, no slush and no ice on the road this time. And we enjoy more of the views, better now than only just two days ago.
next: Dirang
on the south side, great views over the road we took a few days ago
and all the way at the bottom, a bit more colour again
