A Memorable Road Trip to Arunachal and Meghalaya – Part 1
A couple of weeks back, I completed an 8300 kilometers, 25-day road trip to Arunachal and Meghalaya, from Coimbatore, in my Toyota Fortuner 4×4 AT. First my younger daughter and I drove from Coimbatore to Guwahati. My wife and elder daughter flew to Guwahati and joined us. We then toured Arunachal and Meghalaya. Then my wife and both the daughters took a flight from Guwahati, and I drove solo from Guwahati to Coimbatore.
I will split this travelogue into three parts:
- In Part – 1, this article, I will cover the high level details of the drive, the drive from Coimbatore to Guwahati, and the places we visited in this first leg.
- In Part – 2, I will cover the journey in Arunachal
- In Part – 3, I will cover the journey in Meghalaya, my return drive from Guwahati to Coimbatore and the two days I spent in Kolkata.
Use the Table of Contents below to skip to the desired section. Use the “Back to TOC” link at the end of each section to come back to the Table of Contents.
Road trip to Arunachal and Meghalaya – High Level Drive Details
This was a 25-day road trip. My younger daughter and I drove from Coimbatore to Guwahati. We took the following route with night stops: Coimbatore – Vijayawada – Vishakapatnam – Konark – Kalyani – Siliguri – Guwahati. In Vishakapatnam we spent an evening visiting the Navy and Submarine museums. In Konark, we visited the Konark Sun Temple. Other than this, it was just drive the whole day and rest in a hotel in the evening, for the first seven days.
In Guwahati, we picked up my wife and elder daughter who arrived by flight. We then spent the next 11 days driving through Arunachal Pradesh and Meghalaya.
After this, I dropped my wife and both the daughters in Guwahati airport where they took a flight back home, and drove solo back to Coimbatore. I spent a couple of days in Kolkata doing some sight seeing, and then drove back to Coimbatore. The following were the halts I made during this return drive: Guwahati – Siliguri – Kolkata – Chilika lake – Guntur – Vellore – Coimbatore.
The Route Map
Below picture shows the high level map. Ignore the distance and time shown on the map. The total distance was 8300 kilometers as the below map does not cover the local trips or the exact routes taken during the drive.
Places Visited
Following is the list of places visited during this trip.
- Onward drive from Coimbatore to Guwahati
- Navy and Submarine museums in Vishakapatnam
- Konark Sun Temple
- Arunachal Pradesh
- Tippi Orchidarium
- Nuranang waterfalls
- Tawang war memorial
- PT Tso lake
- Teesri Udasi
- T-Gompa
- Madhuri lake
- Meghalaya
- Mawphanlur
- Mawphlang Sacred Forest
- Mawrynkhang trek
- Arwah caves
- Nokalikhai water falls
- Nohwhet living root bridge
- Krang Suri waterfalls
- Kolkata
- Indian National Library
- Victoria memorial
- St. Paul’s Cathedral
- Birla Planetarium
- Kali temple
- Birla Science Museum
Condensed Trip Report
The below table shows the condensed trip report.
Preparation
Following were some of the preparations I did before starting the journey.
- I created a detailed itinerary of daywise halts, estimated distance of travel, places to visit, places to stay etc. I did this with the help of ChatGPT, and also by reading lots of travelogues online. I had to make some changes to the itinerary like moving the Mawrynkhang to another day due to rains etc. But I followed most of the itinerary as planned.
- I then booked all the hotels for the Arunachal and Meghalaya sections of the trip. As this part of travel would be with family, I did not want to take the risk of not finding hotels.
- I usually get an oil service done for my car before leaving on a long road trip. The Fortuner’s odo stood at about 16,800 kilometers. This was too early for the 20,000 kilometers oil service. Instead, I decided to plan a rest day and get the car serviced somewhere in the Northeast, when the odometer hits 20,000. I estimated this to happen around Siliguri or Guwahati. So, I kept a buffer day that I can use either in Siliguri or Guwahati for this service.
- I loaded the following in the car – a hydraulic jack, tire inflator, puncture repair kit, and a 5-liter can of Adblue
- I got the car washed a couple of days before the trip
- For driving in Arunachal Pradesh, we require an ILP (Inner Line Permit). This permit is valid for 2 weeks from the date of entry into Arunachal. I applied for the ILP online at the following website – https://eilp.arunachal.gov.in/. I selected the Tawang and West Kameng districts in the areas of visit, and paid INR 500 per person (2K for my family of 4). I also carried two physical printouts of the ILP. These physical copies proved to be very useful as they asked for the physical copy to be submitted at the Bhalukpong checkpost.
- I also made a checklist of all the day to day things needed – like clothes, warm clothes, electronics like camera, laptop, batteries, chargers etc.
- As there was a chance of seeing rains in Arunachal and Meghalaya, I carried rain gear for all. Thankfully, we did not get caught in rains when we were out sightseeing.
- For the Mawrynkhang trek that we planned to do, I packed up shoes and basic trekking clothes for all
One thing I missed was the permits needed for Bumla pass in Tawang. When I booked the homestay in Tawang, the homestay owner mentioned that he can help get the permits for Bumla. I wrongly assumed that the ILP would cover this, and this proved to be a mistake, and I had to skip Bumla pass. I will write more about this in Part – 2 when I cover the Arunachal part of the trip.
The Car – Toyota Fortuner 4×4 AT
Before I go into the details of the road trip, let me write about the car that took us on this road trip. We made this trip with my Toyota Fortuner 4×4 AT. The car was simply awesome. Be it smooth six-lane highways, or broken roads, or flooded roads, whatever situation was thrown at it, the car took it without breaking a sweat.
I had done a couple of road trips with the BMW 3GT that I owned before the Fortuner. Though I took some very bad roads with the BMW, the main difference with the Fortuner is how stress-free it felt. With the BMW, there was always a small worry in mind: if the car would be able to cross a particular bad stretch, what would happen if it broke down somewhere, etc. With the Fortuner, there was no such stress. I just had to point it and drive it!
Also, I found Toyota service centers in almost every place I drove. As the 20,000 kilometer oil service came up in the middle of the trip when I was in Siliguri, I got the car serviced in the Siliguri service center.
Overall, the car gave me lots of confidence in doing this road trip.
Below are a few pictures of the car in various scenery and landscapes during the road trip. Click on any picture to open in full resolution in a scrollable gallery. The same applies to all pictures in the post.
Day – 1: Coimbatore to Vijayawada
My daughter and I started the drive on the 25th of April, early morning at at 5:00 AM. We took the following route – Coimbatore > Salem > Krishnagiri > Vellore > Tirupati > Ongole > Guntur > Vijayawada.
This was mostly an uneventful drive with most of the drive on 4 lane and 6 lane highways, with a 20-kilometer stretch of 2 lane road after Vellore. With the usual breakfast and lunch breaks, we were able to make good time, and reached Vijayawada by around 7:00 PM, and checked into the Lemon Tree Hotel. We had our dinner and called it a day.
Breakfast stop at A2B, Salem, with tasty ghee dosas. This was the last sight of dosas for the next 25 days!
Day – 2: Vijayawada to Vishakapatnam, and Museum Visits
On Day 2, it was a short drive from Vijayawada to Vishakapatnam. We left Vijayawada around 9:00 AM after breakfast and reached Vishakapatnam at about 3:30 PM. This drive too was on mostly 6 lane highways with minimum or moderate traffic, and we were able to comfortably cruise between 80 and 100.
We had a lunch of tasty chicken biriyani at a place called Andhra’s Largest Restaurant.
I had booked a room in Welcome ITC hotel which was right on the RK beach. The room was comfortable and had a view of the sea.
We dropped the bags in the hotel and immediately went to check out the Navy museums nearby.
There are three museums – The Sea Harrier museum, TU-142 museum and the Submarine museum. All these museums are located close by, and a combined ticket for all three museums is available in the Sea Harrier museum. So, if one wishes to visit all three museums, the Sea Harrier museum should be the first stop.
The Sea Harrier museum has a decommissioned Sea Harrier aircraft on display. The aircraft is hung from the ceiling. The museum showcases scale models of several aircraft used in the Indian Navy/Airforce, and all the components used in these fighter jets, like the engine, radars, missiles, pilot seat with ejection, etc. For Aircraft enthusiasts, this is a very interesting place to visit. At least half a day is required to thoroughly check out all the models. We had to rush through the museums because we had only a couple of hours.
The next museum on RK Beach is the TU 142 Aircraft Museum. This museum features a decommissioned Tupolev Tu-142M aircraft, which served the Indian Navy for 29 years, accumulating over 30,000 hours of accident-free flying. After its retirement in 2017, the aircraft was preserved and transformed into a museum to showcase its legacy and educate visitors about naval aviation. Visitors can get into the aircraft and see various sections of it, like the cockpit, communications areas, places that store warheads, etc.
The third attraction, the INS Kursura submarine museum, is a decommissioned submarine converted into a museum. This submarine served in the Indian Navy from 1969 to 2001 for 32 years. Visitors can explore various internal sections of the submarine, such as the control room, sonar room, torpedo bay, and crew quarters. The whole submarine felt very claustrophobic. I could not take any pictures inside the submarine because I did not have the ticket for the camera.
Below are a few pictures taken in these museums.
Day – 3: Vishakapatnam to Konark
This was a 450 kilometer drive. As the initial plan was to visit Konark Sun Temple in the evening, we had a very early breakfast and left at around 8:00 AM. With the usual city traffic, it took about an hour to cross the city limits. We encountered heavy truck traffic in some 4 lane sections which slowed us down.
In the early afternoon, we came across a beautiful scenery of the Chilika lake as the road descended from a hill. The view of the lake and the sea with a subtle difference between the shades of water was mesmerising. We spent some time enjoying the scenery and clicking some pictures.
About 70 kilometers from Konark, we took an exit from the highway and entered 2 lane roads. The road was through several villages and greenery all around. Also, the roads were lined with trees on either side that was a beautiful sight. The last 20 kilometer stretch on the Puri-Konark beach road was lined with trees with yellow flowers. With the evening sun shining on these trees, the view was mesmerising. Below are a few pictures of the scenery on this 70 kilometer stretch.
We reached the Lotus Eco Resort in the evening. The resort was located right on the beach with well maintained gardens and cozy wooden cottages.
As we were tired, we decided to visit the Sun Temple the next day morning and called it a day.
Day – 4: Konark to Kalyani
Konark Beach and Sunrise
As the resort was right on the beach, I wanted to watch and take pictures of the sunrise. So, I woke up early (sunrise was 5:13 AM) and headed to the beach. But the section of the beach where the resort was located was running east to west, and hence, the sunrise actually happened over land. I still spent some time on the beach watching the waves crashing over the land, some locals picking up shells, and a few stray dogs running on the beach. Below are a few pictures from the beach.
We checked out early at 6:30 AM and drove to the Konark Sun Temple. We hired a guide and explored the Sun Temple for about an hour, after which we started our drive to Kalyani, a locality outside Kolkata.
Konark Sun Temple
The Konark Sun Temple is a 13th-century temple built by King Narasimhadeva I of the Eastern Ganga dynasty. It is designed like a chariot and dedicated to Surya, the Sun God. The temple resembles a chariot with 24 wheels representing 24 hours in a day and seven horses representing the 7 days of the week.
The wheels are about 3 meters in diameter and work as a sundial that can tell time. Some of the horses were broken, either due to natural erosion or vandalism by invading empires.
The temple is huge, and its size reminded me of Brigadheeshwara temple in Tanjore. The guide explained that the structure had a massive main sanctum that was estimated to be 220 feet high, which had collapsed between the 16th and 19th centuries.
Detailed carvings cover the exterior walls, including deities, animals, dancers, and scenes from daily life.
There are also some erotic sculptures, and I was surprised to see them in a temple where worship of God took place. The guide then explained that this is consistent with temple art from that period which depicted aspects of daily life and spiritual symbolism without inhibition.
Most of the sculptures have been eroded mainly due to the salty humid air that blows from the sea. The temple was declared as a heritage site in 1984 and is being maintained by Archeological Survey of India. When we visited, we found several parts of the temple under some maintenance.
Below are a few pictures of the Konark Sun Temple. Click on the pictures to open in full resolution and zoom in to see the detailed carvings.
After this, we started our drive towards Kolkata. The roads were good with low to moderate traffic and we were able to cruise most of the time. As we neared Kolkata, the traffic picked up and there were frequent barricades at junctions. We took the Kalyani Expressway to bypass Kolkata. The initial sections of the expressway are still under construction with diversions. But after a few kilometers, it was smooth sailing. We reached Kalyani at about 7:00 PM. We stayed in a small hotel called NB Sonar Bangla.
Day 5, 6, and 7: Drive from Kalyani to Guwahati
On day #5, we started very early in the morning and started our drive to Siliguri. This was another day of uneventful drive through mostly good roads. In the first part of the day, we came across several towns with barricades and heavy traffic. The frequency of these towns reduced in the later part of the day and we were able to cruise comfortably.
We reached Siliguri in the evening around 6:00 PM. The evening traffic in Siliguri was quite bad, and it took us an hour to cover the last 10 kilometers and reach the hotel. I had booked a room in Hiland Hotel. The rooms were good and the food was very tasty. We called it a day after an early dinner.
I did not click any pictures this day, except a few during our lunch stop in a roadside eatery where we had very tasty Bengali Thali.
Day #6 was a rest day. My daughter got a full day’s rest and recovery, and I took the car to the Toyota dealership and got the 20,000 kilometer oil service done. I had called them the previous day and had booked a slot. Had a very good experience at the dealers. They did a very good job with the oil service, thoroughly washed the car and handed it over. It took 4 hours to complete the service
On day #7, we drove from Siliguri to Guwahati. Google put me through a shorter route which was through very narrow single lane roads, and some 20 kilometers of under construction roads. It took about 2.5 hours to cover 60 kilometers. We reached Guwahati by 5:30 PM. We went to the airport, picked my wife and elder daughter who arrived at 6:30 PM, and reached the hotel, Greenwood Resorts right on the highway.
The next day, we started the 10 day road trip through Arunachal and Meghalaya. I will cover this part of the journey in Part – 2 of this three part series.
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