Nuranang Falls and Tawang monastery

In last post we were at Sela and Jasawantgarh war memorial. After seeing the war memorial we left for Tawang. On the way, we visited Nuranang falls. 

Nuranang falls, also known as Jung falls or Bong Bong falls, are in Tawang District of Arunachal Pradesh. The falls are spectacular. Not many people know about this place so still it hasn't become a crowded spot. It's in a dense forest, the only noise being the noise of falling water. 

Nuranang Falls.

The beautiful white cascade falls from 100 meters altitude making a thunderous noise. If you are lucky, you can witness rainbows as well. There is a small hydroelectric plant near the falls. Most probably the tar road is built for the hydroelectric plant. 

There is a walkway for going near the fall. Though the road is slippery and will try your trekking skills, you can go till the bottom of the falls, where it falls in the Tawang river.

It's about 40 kms from Tawang and though not many people go there, thousands of people have watched the falls in movies! Some scenes from a Madhuri Dixit movie Koyla were shot near the falls. 

Though it's only 40 kms from Tawang, the journey to Tawang may take longer time due to the hilly terrain. Here you will be seeing Northen Himalayan Ranges. 

The sun sets very early in Tawang. The weather is cold. You must give yourself some time to adjust and better to take rest. You should ideally spend at least three days and three nights in Tawang. 

As all of you must be knowing, Tawang is in West Arunachal Pradesh. This district shares borders with China and Bhutan. The snow clad mountains, many lakes having either crystal clear water or ice, sparse population, small villages and friendly people make this district a sought after tourist destination. In Tawang you can experience the glory of nature as well as religion. 

Next day we went to the iconic place due to which Tawang has got it's name. It is about 2 kms from Tawang city and is the largest and oldest monastery in India. It's second largest monastery in world. The largest Buddhist monastery in the world is in Lhasa, Tibet. 

The name Tawang comes from Ta+ Wang, which means Horse+ Chosen. According to a legend a monk Lama was searching a place for monastery. But he couldn't find the place. He meditated for guidance. When he opened his eyes, he couldn't find his horse. He searched for the horse and found the horse in this place. The Lama, Mera Lama Lodre Gyatso thought that god has guided him. So the monastery was built on this site in 1681. 

The monastery is also known as Galden Namgey Lhatse moastery, which means that heavenly paradise in clear night. While coming to Tawang, from the curves and bends of the roads, it keeps on playing hide and seek with you. The yellow roofs of the buildings in monastery shine with the sunrays and the huge structures stand out in the Himalayan mountain ranges. 

Tawang monastery

It's a huge complex with residential buildings for the monks and students, library, school, temple, museum. It's built like a fortress. It was built at a strategic place where routes from West Kameng, Tibet and Bhutan meet together.

In Tawang you can feel the Tibetan influence. The highest order of Tibetan Buddhism is Dalai Lama. The 14 th Dalai Lama was forced to escape in exile from Tibet in 1959 due to Chinese invasion. He currently stays in Dharamshala, India. His visits to Tawang Monastery are always in headlines due to India-China tensions about this Tawang territory. 

Entrance

Library- Centre for Buddhist Cultural Studies

Way to Temple and school 

We could see many lambs and sheep in the monastery. I am not sure, but some naturally fermented products are made from the sheep milk .

Buildings in the campus

School in the monastery

Education and Vitamin D!

Another class

Many young monks were studying in the school. What I could gather from some local people is that, one boy from each Buddhist family joins the monastery. 

Chakra for chanting

You can find these Chakras at many places in the campus.
📷 Pradnya Sathe

The temple in monastery contains a tall statue of Buddha and many more smaller idols, paintings, scriptures, prayer items. The temple is very colorful. 

The 8 m tall Buddha 

Another idol in the temple.

There are some more temples and prayer halls in the campus. Here you can see various prayer articles, offerings. 

Prayer and offerings

We could witness chanting in another hall. It was very interesting process. I am posting a video so that you can also experience it.

There is museum in the campus having very ancient artifacts. Some of the articles in the museum have historical value, some are of great religious importance. There are some weird ancient articles made from animals. There is no guide service in the museum. But the names are written in Roman script.

There is much more to see in Tawang. One Big buddha temple as the local people call it, is worth visiting. Of course a must see place is the War memorial. There is one light and sound show in the evening. One Day must be reserved to visit Bumla pass. Only Indians can go to Bumla pass, that too with special permit. I will surely write about all these places in another post. 

This post I want to conclude with Tawang Festival. We were lucky to witness the annual Tawang Festival. It is a treat with local music. Dances of various tribes are presented with live music. Famous bands from all over the country are invited. The festival is held in a vast ground and is open to all with free seating. You can experience the local life here. 

Tawang Festival

Tawang Festival

The Tawang Festival is visited by tourists as well as local people. Even the staff of our hotel was eager to attend the festival. There are shops of handicrafts as well. You can eat local cuisine in the festival. But I couldn't stand the smell of burning meat. 

Arunachal food items and ingredients are having vast variety in them. I couldn't have daring to eat at local places where ingredients of the food were unknown! Getting vegetarian food prepared in your hotel's restaurant/kitchen was a safe alternative while travelling in Arunachal Pradesh. 

#PlacesToSeeNearTawang #TawangFestival #TawangMuseum #WhatYouShouldKnowBeforeVisitingTawang