INDIA: MONKS, TRIBES & RHINOS VIII

Posted January 6, 2015 by David & Rahul

Definitely the worst hotel of the trip for me. Windowless room with a dingy bathroom, that had a huge hole in the wall providing plenty of entertainment for anyone caring to watch! Daporijo is a must for the trip because of its stunning scenery but there are only two ‘hotels’ in town, both way below acceptable Western standards. During the day we crossed the river and entered the small village of Lida where there is a beautiful Donyi Polo mandir delicately balanced at the top of some rocks in the river. I told Dave this would make a great picnic spot, and that’s when Dave had his eureka moment. Even better, this would be an unbelievable location for camping… it had everything, it was cut off from the noise of the main town, on the bank of the river, a waterfall, stunning mountain scenery and lush green landscapes. We are both keen that our tours should benefit local communities, and we feel that by purchasing supplies from the local village and engaging them from the start, they too should gain from this. Further on we discovered another perfect lunch spot, a short drive uphill overlooking the quaint village of Dumporijo. All in all, a very satisfying day’s work!

– Rahul

We got up early again and drove back along the route towards Raga that we had done in the dark on the way. It was a beautiful sunny day and the scenery was superb. Lush green forests and layer upon layer of mountain backdrops. It was breath-taking. We stopped off in a couple of little villages and wandered around greeted by smiling kids who were filled with giggles seeing their photos on our cameras. We headed back to Dumporijo, and wandered around a bit before being invited in by a Galong man who spoke excellent English and showed us his bear skin and ancient sword, and explained more about the tribes of the region and how the Chinese were encouraging the locals to cross into China with the lure of good jobs. He also told us that the Chinese had reached as far a Dumporijo in the 1962 war. We agreed to come back again for tea at 8am as we had to decline his offer of dinner as ours was already arranged. We headed back up to our scenic hotel for some excellent veggie dinner and a beer to cap off another day on the road.

– Dave

This blog is part of an Off-The-Beaten-Track Travel Diary. Click on the links below to navigate through this journey.