It all started when a friend forwarded an email that had an itinerary of a trek in one of the least explored parts of Arunachal Pradesh.

I decided not to research much about the trek. In the past, I'd find that a google search about the trek route and stop points brings up amazingly beautiful images and inadvertently fixes an expectation in the mind. This would take away the opportunity to be wowed in person and ruins the surprise element. I'd end up feeling like I already know what to expect, thus ruining the actual experience. And then there is the 'postcard effect'.

So before the trek, I tried to limit myself to understanding only the things and activities essential for my preparation and I'm glad to say that it worked. This strategy has continued to be useful while planning for other Himalayan treks I have done since.

The Trek

The trek was from Tribin to Kamba (West Siang district) crossing jungles and river through the untouched tribal lands. Inhabited primarily by the Galo community, West Siang district is one of the oldest hilly districts of the state that is situated on the South bank of river Yomgo.
We were to visit these villages
Tribin ⟶ Liromoba ⟶ Yomcha ⟶ Darak ⟶ Kamba 🚶
The main idea was to understand the local culture by interacting with locals and staying in their houses to get a close experience of their lives. Exploration of the flora and fauna as we trekked was also part of the allure. Our trek leaders were the natives of the area and had relatives in most of these villages. So our stays were arranged at either the houses of their relatives or their own.

On the first day of the trek we headed towards Liromoba. It was a 4-5 hour trek along the Rimi river, that crossed at least five Galo tribal villages on the river bank. The height of this route is approximately 2,000 feet with an average temperature of 15-20°C in summer. We stopped for lunch on the way and ended the day with a camp by the riverside.

We woke up to the sounds of the gurgling river on day two. After breakfast, we set off for a four hour trek towards Yomcha, passing through thick forests. Lunch on this day was an interesting experience. The meal consisted of plant leaves and we were given some leaves which tasted like 'paan' (a popular post meal Indian palette refresher) post lunch. The evening was again spent interacting with locals and participating in some music and dance before camping by the river side and finishing dinner after a tiring day.

Houses

Staying in traditional houses of the tribals allowed us to get a glimpse of their everyday life. I found the houses quite fascinating. Mostly made of wood, these houses were big. Central (perhaps the most important) part of the house was the dining area where a fire burned almost all the time.

Hunter Stories

We struck up a conversation with a hunter (pictured above) who we met on our trek route. Probably in his 70s he was fitter than most of us. He invited us for tea at his house and the invitation was difficult to resist, despite us having some distance to cover to the next camp.

Over tea, we exchanged stories about each other. He told us that his sons lived in the city and had jobs there. His stories about capturing pythons and other wild creatures were fascinating and he showed off his possessions (mostly animal skins and skulls) with pride. We would have loved to stay on, but it was time for our descent. The climb down was quite challenging but, the weather Gods were merciful and we managed to make it down unhurt in the absence of rain.

Mithun

That night gathered around the camp fire, our trek leaders educated us about their traditions. I learnt a few interesting facts about the 'Gayal' - also called 'Mithun' - which is the state animal.

Mithun plays an important role in the social life there. Considered a sacred animal, purchasing one would set you back by about ₹60,000 ($800). A status symbol, the number of Mithuns a family possesses determines their financial status and standing in society. Unsurprisingly, Mithuns are also offered as wedding gifts by a groom to his bride's family. The number of this offering ranges anywhere between 1 and 50!

Generally roaming free in the jungle, Mithuns do not walk very far. So my next obvious question to them was about how they ensured that their Mithuns were not stolen and how they identified which Mithun belonged to whom?

We were told that stealing a Mithun brought bad luck on a person, so no one dared to claim an animal that wasn't theirs. And to help identify a Mithun, families cut their Mithun's ears in specific shape or pattern ⚆ ⚇☆△♤.

The skies opened up on day three and we got caught in the rain. Passing though riverbeds and bamboo bridges, the trail thankfully didn't have very steep climbs or descents that day. Completely drenched, we finally neared the outskirts of the village we were to camp at for the night. We were cold and tired and just wanted some hot tea and rest. Although, this thought process didn't last very long as we were greeted by the sight of local kids playing cricket. Before we knew it, we ditched our bags and joined them in a friendly match. We lost 🙈, but the experience of playing cricket surrounded by the hills was worth it.

That night our host invited a few friends home and we had interesting conversations over wine. We also participated in a traditional dance 💃.

Our on foot exploration ended at Kamba and we got into cars for the trip back to the starting point. Barring a visit to a tea estate and sitting by the banks of the mighty Bramhaputra river, I hated most of the travel back owing to car sickness. 😣

The trek was organized by the good guys at ChaloHoppo who are experts in offbeat treks. A pilot trek for this route, we were fortunate to be part of it.

After the trek, I had to catch a flight from Guwahati. I spent a couple of days with a friend at IIT Guwahati who kindly offered to host me. I must note here that the rainfall that I witnessed those few days was an experience in itself!

A shout out to Ritesh, whose recent post brought back memories of my time in Arunachal and inspired me to write about my trek. Recollecting such experiences makes me pine for the mountains and awakens a yearning to travel far and further. Until the realisation hits - what's stopping me?

Lastly, thank you Neha for helping me edit this piece. Click here to see some of her artwork and articles.