Why this ride
From Tezpur it runs 348 km to Tawang; allow about 5 h 11 of riding. The stops in between: Bomdila, Sela Pass and Jaswant Garh. The highest point is about 4,400 m. It suits an unhurried touring pace.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Tawang Road via Sela Pass
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 348 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 5 h 11
- Journey
- One way; return travel is separate
Distance and timing basis
Ordered leg totals agree within rounding. Stop distances are approximate sums of rounded legs. Stops, delays, approach and any separate return travel add time. Basis: producer-declared routed record.
Reading history stays on this device. My road watch requires a separate selection; opening it does not subscribe this ride.
Distance and riding time are measured on the routed road. Check local closures and conditions before you ride.
Scenic road chapters
Bomdila → Sela Pass
The ride follows Bomdila → Sela Pass for 103 km.
Chapter facts
- Length
- 103 km
Tawang Road via Sela Pass
The ride follows Tawang Road via Sela Pass for 32 km.
Rider note
Check the pass is open before you commit to it.
Chapter facts
- Length
- 32 km
Tawang Road via Sela Pass
For about 56 km this is Tawang Road via Sela Pass, a road with a name of its own and a reason for it — expect company on a summer weekend. Early is better than fast.
Chapter facts
- Length
- 56 km
- Named road
- Tawang Road via Sela Pass
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Tezpur
Tezpur lies on the north bank of the Brahmaputra in Assam, and it is where a ride to Tawang really starts. The town has about fifty-eight thousand people, a river that is wide enough to look like a sea, and a gentle, slightly sleepy air. Its name means city of blood in Sanskrit legend, from the story of a battle between Krishna and the demon king Banasura, who is said to have ruled here. The ruins of old temples sit at Da Parbatia, and the Agnigarh hill park looks over the river.
Read the complete Near Tezpur write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Tezpur is where the day begins. Next is Bomdila.
2. Bomdila
Bomdila is a hill town strung along a ridge in the far west of Arunachal Pradesh, at about 2,400 metres, and it is the traditional overnight stop on the long road to Tawang. The town is home to the Monpa people, who follow Tibetan Buddhism and have lived in these valleys for centuries, and you see it in the prayer flags, the prayer wheels and the monastery that sits above the main bazaar. The hills around are covered in orchards, and apples and kiwis are among the local products, sold at roadside stalls in the right season.
Read the complete Bomdila write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Bomdila comes up about 157 km into the recorded legs. Next is Sela Pass.
3. Sela Pass
Sela Pass is the high point on the road to Tawang, at 4,170 metres, and it is the sort of place where the weather is more important than the map. The pass sits on a ridge in the eastern Himalaya in the Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh, between the West Kameng and Tawang districts, and it is the gateway to a country of high lakes, monasteries and army posts. In winter it is snowed under for weeks and the road can be closed, and even in summer it can be hit by snow, fog and sudden hail.
Read the complete Sela Pass write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 260 km into the recorded legs you reach Sela Pass. Nothing on this route is higher. Next is Jaswant Garh, mostly downhill.
4. Jaswant Garh
Jaswant Garh is a war memorial, but it is also a place with a legend, and the combination makes it one of the most talked-about stops on the road to Tawang. It stands in the high country just beyond the Sela Pass, near the Nuranang river, and commemorates Rifleman Jaswant Singh Rawat of the Garhwal Rifles, who is remembered for his part in the 1962 fighting with Chinese forces in this area. The battle at Nuranang is one of the best-known episodes of that war, and the Indian Army has kept the memory alive here in an unusual way.
Read the complete Jaswant Garh write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Jaswant Garh, late in the day. Next is Tawang.
5. Tawang
Tawang is a town at 3,000 metres in the far west of Arunachal Pradesh, wedged between Bhutan and Tibet, and it is the destination that makes the long journey from Tezpur worthwhile. Above it, on a ridge, stands Tawang Monastery, the largest in India and one of the largest in the world, founded in the seventeenth century by Merak Lama Lodre Gyatso. It belongs to the Gelug school of Tibetan Buddhism, and the sixth Dalai Lama, Tsangyang Gyatso, is said to have been born near here. The Monpa people who live in the district are Buddhist, and the town feels more Tibetan than Indian in its prayer wheels and chanting.
Read the complete Near Tawang write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Finish at Tawang. That is the ride.
Leg by leg
Tezpur to Bomdila
Tezpur → Bomdila is 157 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
Bomdila to Sela Pass
Bomdila → Sela Pass is 103 km. This is the part worth slowing down for - look through the bends and use the pull-offs.
Sela Pass to Jaswant Garh
Sela Pass → Jaswant Garh is 32 km. Brakes and eyes forward; the views are behind the corners, not in them.
Jaswant Garh to Tawang
Jaswant Garh → Tawang is 56 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.