Where Eagles Dare

We’re leaving our luxury hotel in Assam and heading into the mountains of Arunachal Pradesh.  We’ve been told that the amenities are basic – how basic we’ll shortly find out.

The journey to Tenga is about 130km and takes about 5 hours. We cross a state border that requires a special pass, climb to 5,600 feet amongst the mountains and travel on a narrow road that scare the life out of you.

On the Assam side of the border we stop to take photos of the weekly market at Bhalukpong.  The stall holders are a friendly bunch and happily pose for photos.

Your local family grocers

I feel like chicken tonight.........

........... I clucking don't

A rose in the dried fish alley

Milk and aubergine shop

This is a local store for local people

Spicy

We stop to register with the authorities and complete the border formalities and cross into The Land of the Dawn Lit Mountains, the largest of the seven sisters and bordered in the North by Bhutan, Tibet and China.

Immediately, we begin to leave the flat plains behind and start the steep climb into the mountains.  The narrow road clings to the side of the mountains combining hairpin bends, bridges spanning deep gorges, gushing waterfalls and sheer drops of hundreds of feet to the valleys below.

Wait until you see the roads - then you'll know why

The easy part of the trip

This would be tough going on a well-maintained road – and this road isn’t well maintained.  For most of the way the road is under serious reconstruction with scores of labourers breaking stone by hand for the road surface and building culverts to divert the waterfalls.  There’s dust, mud, landslides, ruts and very little tarmac – we’re usually no more than a couple of feet from the edge of the road and there are no barriers ….. and there are the trucks who make no concession for the conditions although they do stop on the way at a small roadside temple to pray for a safe journey

The road is being built by hand

and it's hard labour for men and women alike

Truck driver stops to pray for a safe journey - if only we'd known we would have joined him

That's the road below

Imagine works like this going ahead on the A38

Waterfalls - another destroyer of roads

We survive the journey and at Tenga stop to catch our breath and watch a Christmas March from the villages going by.

Tenga procession - check out the Madness impersonator in bottom right - one step beyond!

Super cool Santa - not convinced that the beard is real

Good - one truck less to worry about

….and then the fun starts as we leave the main road and climb on a 25km, two-hour journey up a mountain track to almost 8,000 feet and Lama Camp.  This makes the previous part of the journey seem like a doddle.  The track is narrow and consists of piles of rocks haphazardly dumped at regular intervals and mud – at some point it looks like a road will be build but for now we share the muddy track with lorries that deliver the stones.

On the way to Lama Camp - who would of thought that the road could get worse

The 'road' winds on up 

Mr Kamal, our driver is by disposition a calm man of few words.  The piles of stones form natural obstacles that we have to crawl around to prevent them damaging the underneath of the car.  Mr Kamal begins to swear at the lorries who churn up the track into deep ruts

DIY road making kit - just add pot holes and ruts

These photos don't really portray how bad this is

Eventually, we arrive at Lama Camp in the Eagle Nest Sanctuary.  It’s comprises a dining hut, some staff quarters, six tents and some outside toilets.  We are shown to our tent to dump the bags and then we’re off in search of the Bugun, a warbler so rare that it was only identified in the last 20 years and is seldom seen.  We don’t see it – we never see it!

Our tent and en-suite toilet

Lama Camp and the road on to Bompu through the middle

It’s sunny but cold up here and we have our winter gear on.  The views of the Himalayan mountains are stunning and the forests and valleys stretch out before us.

Some view - Mist rolls in over the mountains

Even at this height the jungle is thick

It gets dark quickly hear and we retreat to the dining hut.  It’s now pitch black and in the corner of the hut there’s an ancient wood burner fighting a losing battle to provide any heat.  Through the smoke we can make out the dim figures of some fellow guests shivering around the heater.  They make room for us and share a tot of medicinal rum.  For a couple of hours we even have the luxury of electricity powering a dim bulb.

Day 1 - the old heater throws out a bit of heat

Day 1 - You're smiling now

Analysis of photographers - John is defo Type 1

After dinner, we turn in as we have an early start in the morning.  It’s cold in the tent – actually it is freezing and we rapidly get on our long-johns and thermal vests.  The single beds have sheets, blankets and a duvet-like cotton bag which feels like it is filled with sand. A welcome addition is a hot-water bottle but it provides only temporary relief and we spend a restless night fighting the bed clothes that have a habit of shifting to leave your bits exposed to the cold.

We’re up about 6 am and fortified by a cup of tea we spend the morning birdwatching without any great success.  Surprisingly, as we move along the path we pass signs of elephants and after hearing ‘trumpeting’ we decided to return to the hut.

Olive-breasted Pipit

Yellow-beaked Blue Magpie

The trucks continue to plough up and down the road all day to dump their stones – unfortunately, the noise they make scares the birds away from the road and into the deeper and less accessible undergrowth.

The hut is a large draughty shed which provides some shelter from the elements outside when people remember to close the doors.  As we breakfast the mist begins to roll in and bird watching is curtailed.  

View from the track - that is some drop!

Somewhere in the mist is a fantastic view

We pass the time in the hut playing cards and drinking tea.  We make regular trips to forage (nick) wood to keep our wood burner going.

Day 2 - Not laughing now!

Our guide and driver are equally miserable as it is bitterly cold and there is nothing much to do.  We agree to make an early dash for civilisation tomorrow.  We’ve sorted out the bedclothes now and spend a reasonably comfortable second night in our tent.  Then at 4am there is a cloudburst and the rain pours down which only intensifies our anxiety about the journey back.

Although it has stopped raining when we set off our journey is slow and difficult but we eventually make it safely back.

The road home 

I just close my eyes when we overtake

Traffic jam

Road works ahead - no need for cones or lane closures here

The road workers knock off for the weekend

That truck has just overtaken us

Kids of the road workers

Convoy coming our way - they are on this road for 250km to Tawang - good luck

Mr Kamal's view of the road

Oh goody - a slippy bit!

Somebody told us that the journey was ‘character building’ which we now know meant stomach churning.  And why is it called Lama Camp?  Well apparently the Dali Lama spent a night here – lightweight, we at least lasted two nights.

Steady on Jumbo

We are on the road again leaving the lovely Kazaranga National Park but we will be back this way for Christmas.

The drive is not quite as arduous but still as picturesque. We pass some boys fishing who are using many different methods to catch small fish in very shallow water. It’s amazing they catch any fish at all

Using nets

baskets

and bowls!

We enter the town of Tezpur which is bustling with activity. We visit a small temple where lots of people are getting ready to go and make their offerings

Who are you looking at?

Holy man on the cadge

Everyone wears their finest for the temple

As we move in to the town we come to Agnigarh, the fort of fire.  It has a view point which is reached easily through  a flight of steps but progress is easier said than done as we attain celebrity status. The Indian tourists throng to us asking for selfies and posing with us.  Most of the young people are on a day trip from schools and colleges celebrating finishing their exams. They are all dressed brightly and are very excited as they do not meet Westerners very often.  They don't seem put off by our being old enough to be their parents.

It's not only the kids that want to be snapped with me

John draws a crowd

Getting down with the kids

At the top of the hill we see black kites flying around and a view of the Brahmaputra sand banks - this must look spectacular in the monsoon but to be honest it isn't much of a view on a misty day.

Black kite

The Brahmaputra stretches into the distance

We are staying in a tea planters bungalow in the grounds of a conservation site and the tea bushes go on as far as the eye can see.

Assam Tea Estate

We are shown around and have a pleasant walk taking in the peaceful surroundings.

The Wild Mahseer is a lovely place but the food just keeps coming - they must cater for Hobbits with three meals, elevenses, and between elevenses if you get peckish. If we stayed here too long we would be huge

Our modest bungalow

All set for a  day in Nameri National Park.  Our guide stops to buy oranges while we sit in the car - whir and John is beckoned into the barbers.  Before we know it he is looking like Santa Claus with a big white foam beard.  The barber fits a new blade in the cut throat razor and 15 minutes later John emerges looking spruce and clean shaven and nick free. The only down side is the generous application of a rather strange aftershave which lingers for the day!

Looking a bit nervous

Getting down to business

When we get to the national park where we pick up an armed guide to escort us into the jungle. Whilst waiting we visit the Pygmy Hogs who have been rescued from the jungle.  These are an endangered species and we learn about the breeding programme. They are tiny buy unfortunately these little chaps are a little camera shy

There's only about 500 of the critters left

and they wouldn't make one decent bacon butty!

The trek starts by taking a wooden boat across the fast flowing river to the sand bank on the edge of the jungle

Ready to cast off

Sanders of the River

We set of with our guide Mr Minera passing the domestic elephants who are used to help police the land from poachers and keep the forestry paths clear.  He tells us that last night one of the wild elephants left the park and raided a local shop - they are drawn by salty things and all the crisps have gone!

Keeping an elephant eye on you

A couple of big lads

Once in the forest the birds are abundant John is in his element

A red bird

A yellow necked flameback

A blue bird

The path way is not to hard but does get a bit muddy in places and we use logs to cross the stick bits

It's hardly the Zambesie

Our guide hears the call of a wild elephant and gets us to a viewing platform and safety but the elephant doesn’t materialise and we come back to earth.  We're walking through the tall grass on a gentle path in file behind Mr Minera.  Mr Minera is an expert guide, he has worked here for years and knows the ways of elephants.  He knows Nameri like the back of his hand and can sense danger.  He is armed with a double barrelled shotgun but that is surely just for show.

We walk on - Mr Minera doesn't see the single elephant standing about 25 yards away!  I spot it and point out the large tusker to Mr Minera.  His expert knowledge  comes to the fore - he looks in panic and shouts "Run" - we move a step back and Mr M raises his shotgun to fire a volley over the elephant's head.  There's a deafening roar as the shotgun explodes and the elephant which is surprisingly quick and nimble belts off in the opposite direction into the dense undergrowth.

The elephant is right in the middle of this shot

Jumbo heads off into the long grass

After a release of nervous energy we walk on - John's nervous energy had a very funny smell.  Nearing the Rangers' Centre our nerves calm a little.  We are shown a tree full of different coloured ghekos

One gecko

Two geckos

A flock of cormorants fly past

After lunch we head up river so that we can take a gentle two hour raft ride back to Nameri.

Two hours - sitting on that plank - you work it out!

At first, the wooden planks we sit on don’t seem too bad but they soon start to feel hard and make for a bum-numbing trip.  However, the birds and ducks we see as we travel down the river make up for it

Himalayas in the background

Cormorant

Ruddy ducks

A Pied Kingfisher

A Grey-Headed Fish Eagle

Cormorants and heron negotiate the rapids

Eventually we land on the shore just as dusk is falling.  We're driving back to our bungalow when we come across lots of people screaming and shouting.  We understand that a rogue elephant has come back to raid the little sweet shop again, then legged it off through the village taking down fences and and anything it is path. The rangers on the domestic elephants have been called and all calms down.  I will always have the image of a massive elephant leaving behind a trail of empty crisp packets and sweet wrappers in my mind.

Bigger than a panda car!

On arrival back we are invited to have drinks with the owner of the tea plantation in the big bungalow.  We went past yesterday but the inside is more impressive.  We're served large G&Ts and when our host leaves to go to a meeting he kindly allows us and the other guests to remain in his lovely house and have another drink.  "It's unlucky to offer a guest one drink" he says. A perfect end to a perfect day.

The 'Big' Bungalow

Saying goodbye to our good friends at Wild Mahseer - A most hospitable group who made us feel right at home

We are off to Eagles Nest tomorrow for extreme bird watching.