Same day last year, I was on a flight heading to Leh and fast forward to May 24th 2025, I’m waiting at T2 to board 6E 843 Indigo Flight to Guwahati which in three should land in Guwahati by 11.30 PM. Our ride towards Tawang starts from Monday 26th May and we have a good one day to hover around in Guwahati city and check out some awesome places and try the local cuisine.
Our accommodation in Guwahati is the modest – Zen Garden Hotel situated at Panjabari Road.
We reached Hotel Zen Garden by 1 am. The hotel is a good 30 kilometres from the airport and takes about an hour to reach. Crash landing in bed we took 7 hours of sleep and dived-in straight to the coffee shop for breakfast of sumptuous Luchi Sobji before embarking on a city tour.
Post breakfast, we headed to Kamakhya Temple to seek blessings of the divine deity. Today being a Sunday, we were unable to secure the darshan tickets due to a long queue of devotees and the waiting period of over two hours to secure the. The weather was getting humid hence we opted to head back towards our hotel. On the way back, I spotted a modest looking restaurant and bar named – Slice of Lime, voila, it was the right time for a glass of chilled beer. We hopped-in and settled for a beer and paired it with some toothsome Chilli Pork. This surely set the taste buds tingling. Spending close to about an hour, we decided to go for some authentic Assamese Food and find that right next to our hotel on Panjabari road. Salaam Hotel is a small no-fuss restaurant with a soft decor and serves yummy regional cuisine. We opted for Chicken and Fish Thali respectively which got a high praise from all of us. There serves Duck Thali as well but it wasn’t ready by the time we went to the restaurant. After a stuffy lunch, we took a walk towards our hotel for some nap time before we meet for the evening briefing on our ride tomorrow to Kaziranga.
After a good afternoon nap of three hours, we were recharged for the evening. We went for a long walk on the vibrant Panjabari road and returned to the hotel after a couple of hours. The ride briefing was scheduled at 8 PM. Our ride Captain Aditya briefed us on the route to Kaziranga next day.
It was dinner time and without any hesitation, I told my buddies – let’s head to Salam Hotel agin for a sumptuous dinner. We ordered a piping hot Roast Duck Curry which was a feast to the eyes and the tummy. The curry was extra spicy and I gorged it with a couple of Parathas.
It was our last night at Zen Garden Hotel and hence we wanted to try the best of cuisine that Salam Hotel serves, we enquired with the waiter and he was quick to answer – Chicken Biryani, so here it goes, a plateful of Biryani landed on the table within seconds.
Next morning, we were on our machines, all saddled up to make way for Kaziranga. A first sprint of about 60 kilometres and we halted for a short pit-stop somewhere at Morigaon.
Another sprint of 60 kilometres on slick road and we halted for Lunch at Anurag Dhaba. I had a guilt-free pleasure of devouring an Ilish Mach Thali which was delish and the Mustard gravy screamed happiness.
After a hearty lunch, we started the ride towards Kaziranga and about twelve kilometres after Anurag Dhaba, took a brief halt at Maha Mrutyunjay Temple, Nogaon which is the world’s longest Shiva Temple. What a majestic sight to behold, the whole atmosphere was pious and we instantly were gratified and peaceful.
Now was the time for a final lap of 100 kilometres where we didn’t halt and rode continuously till we reached our destination on Day One – Kaziranga and called it quits at Western Lodge which is situated in the middle of the National Park. Western Lodge is a modest accommodation with basic facilities and rooms are spacious enough for a Triple Occupancy. For meals, you need to head to a nearby restaurant named – Dohikotora. We had a delicious early dinner before 9 PM and headed back to the Lodge to call it a day. We did approximately 200 km from Guwahati to Kaziranga in about 5.5 hours.
Day 2 was challenging as we did a morning safari to wildlife park. The safari costs Rs.4000 for 6 persons in one jeep. A two hour safari ride and some majestic Rhino sightings refreshed us for the remains of the day.
We started the ride towards Bomdila which is 230 kilometres from Kaziranga at 10.30 am. A few pit-stops were coupled with some challenges as one rider had a fall and my bike had a brake failure. Thanks to the technician in the back up van who promptly attended to the same. We halted for lunch at the border checkpoint in Arunachal Pradesh and as usual I settled-in for a juicy Siliguria river fish Thali.
After a delicious and memorable lunch we started our uphill ride towards Bomdila. The route offers breathtaking views one after the other and each twist and turn refreshes your eyesight. Riding a couple of hours later, we reached Sesa Waterfall which was flush with chilled water and offered breathtaking views of the valley on opposite side.
Commencing our uphill ride again, after a few kilometres my bike suffered another brake failure and we had to halt for a few minutes to get the bike back in riding shape again. A nomad biker like me would never mind taking a halt after witnessing such breathtaking views. Thanks to the technician who once again promptly attended to and make it ride worthy again.
We reached Bomdila by evening seven pm riding a distance of approximately 215 kilometres in about 10 hours, thanks to the bike breakdown. Usually it takes about a leisurely 7 to 8 hours to reach Bomdila which includes a few pit-stops at scenic locations. We skipped the traditional halt at Dirang and planned to spend the night at Bomdila. Dirang was our destination on return journey. Our stay at Bomdila was at Hotel Atisha which offers a modest accommodation. After a simple breakfast of Luchi and Subzi we left for Tawang early next morning by 8 am.
Day 3 was absolute pleasure to ride around 180 kilometres of pristine valley lined up with mist and fog via Sela Pass.
We reached Tawang by 5 pm and checked-in at Hotel T K Residency situated close to the new market of Tawang.
Both Bomdila and Tawang have a serious issue with parking hence check whether the hotel has sufficient parking for cars and bikes otherwise one has to park nearby on the road. Luckily our hotel had enough parking for car and bikes.
After a delicious dinner we called it a day. Our second day at Tawang was full of local sightseeing where we explored places such as – Giant Buddha Statue, 6th Dalai Lama Birth Place, Tawang Monastery and War Memorial along with a trip to the local market.
On day 4 we encountered a bit of a rainy afternoon at Tawang but that didn’t hinder us from taking our machines for local sightseeing. The traffic was less than normal because it was a weekday but had quite a big gathering of devotees at Tawang Monastery.
Tawang War Memorial
The entire local sightseeing should not take more than 4 to 5 hours to complete excluding a visit to the local market where we headed after for lunch and shopping, however, the market in Bomdila is much better and has more exclusive stuff than the one at Tawang. I found the Tawang market stocking old and mediocre stuff. It is advisable to shop at Bomdila itself. We had a hearty Tibetan lunch at Hotel Dawa which is economical on pricing and the portion size is huge.
Day 5 was our uphill ride of 30 kilometres to Bumla Pass and the Himalayan Bike passed the test with flying colors. We reached Bumla Pass in about an hour. You need to show your Aadhaar card and register prior with your tour operator a day before visiting Bumla Pass in order to avoid inconvenience later. There is an Army Post which has a rest room equipped with heaters to keep you warm before you visit the border point. One can shop for garments and winter wear and also have snacks and coffee which is managed by the Indian Army.
Be careful while clicking photos and make sure you do that in permitted zones only.
On our return journey, we stopped by at the picturesque Shungetsar Lake which is also known as Madhuri Point where a song sequence for the movie Koyla was shot. This is the highlight of the area and a must visit. This is the only point where you can get lunch at the Army outpost and I settled in for a delicious helping of Rajma Chawal and Vegetable Spring Roll, all catered to by the Indian Army. What a delicious food.
