In the first part of the Documentary on Central Arunachal
we discussed the journey between Guwahati & Yingkiong
Yingkiong is the district capital of Upper Siang
Located 200mts above mean sea level
this town has its own geographical & cultural significane
Adi,
Khamba
Mishmi & Memba tribes are of predominance here
Yingkiong is considered one of the
oldest town of North East India
Christain faith is predominantly followed as of present
The "Divine Mercy church" located here
governs most of day to day activities
The annual St Mary Feast is attended
by thousands of people
However if you want to experince
the tribal culture of Yingkiong
then one must visit Yingkiong
during the annual tribal festivals of
Losar, Khamba and Reh
Mouling National park is at close distance to Yingkiong
spread over 500 sqkm, this park
has some rare flora & fauna
The "Nribung" & "Dibung" waterfalls
located here are breathtaking
Gandhi Bridge is located north of Yingkiong town
which connects to "Moying"
located on opposite hill across "Siang river"
The bride foundation was laid by "Smt Indira Gandhiji"
the former Prime Minister of India
The bridge enabled easy access between
Tuting, Gelling located on opposite Hill & Yingkiong
Earlier , locals had to trek down Tuting hill and
again climb upto Yingkiong through harsh conditions
Gandhi Bridge was a foot-over bridge as inception
which is now made motorable
Yingkiong is considered as base or starting point
to access the mystical valley of "Pemako"
Pemako valley is of high significance amongst
followers of Vajrayan buddhism
& the authentic female/Yogini Tantra of India
Pemako finds mention in many authorative works
on Vajrayan & Agamas
Pemako translates as "Sacred Lotus"
It is believed that the geographical structure
of this valley resembles
the sacred geometry or structure of "Vajrayogini"
Vajrayogini in Tibetian Buddhism is known
as the Godess "Dorje Phagmo"
As per geometry , godess head is located at "Kangri Kanpo"
breasts at "Namcha Barwa" & "Gyala Peri"
So the godess upper body above the navel
is located in "Tibet"
The lower portion of yogini body
is located in center of Pemako Valley
at "Yangsang"
This is located in Upper siang district of Arunachal
in India
At the confluence of "Siang" river & Yangsang
is located Devakotta Mountain
This place is understood as meeting point
of "Dakini's" as per Yogini Tantra
The entire region surrounding this mountain
is infested with rare medicinal plants
& beautiful flowers which find strong mention
in Tibetian Literature & Agama literature
This sacred triangle resembling the
Godess "Yoni" (reproductive organ"
is considered highest spiritual centre
of Yogini-Tantra & Vajrayan
In words of "Guru Rinpoche",
this triangle is one of the
108 hidden sacred spots in Himalayas
where asetics & yogini are deep meditative
& explorative practises of "Shakta Tantra"
This valley is primararily accessed from Tuting
which is located close to Tibet border
However the trek path from Yingkiong
exposes you to rare & beautiful flora
This area is also known as
"Hidden Valley of Flowers"
Pemako circuit was closed for toursim
by Indian government for security reasons
However as of present, the Indian government
has granted restricted access to promote "eco-tourism"
This sacred spot as described by Guru Rinpoche
as no definitive documented "geographical location"
This spot can only be approximated by the
knowledge & descriptions of practioners
of Yogini-Tantra & Vajrayana
Pemako trek is extremely difficult
and is accessible only few months a year
Unfortunately we could not access this valley
due to prior incessant rains &
non-availibility of Guide & Porters
inspite of having "prime information"
I hope this information proves beneficial
to students of Ayurveda, medicinal plants
Vajrayana & Yogini-Tantra
As described in previous part
after spending sleepless night at Hotel Libang
we were ready to hit the road by 6am
and progress towards our todays' destination "Tuting"
We had our breakfast at a small food stall
located near to Hotel Libang
There is small school located here
I decided to talk with the management
to gain some information about the region
& its tribal culture
We left Yingkiong around 9am
We had to take care of our "tyre-puncture"
before we headed on the difficult road to "Tuting"
As I had described in the previous part
today was "Vishhwakarma" Visarjan day
& no shops were supposed to be open
Fortunately we were informed about a tyre-repair-shop
just on outskirts of Yingkiong
The owner had opened his shop for some time
to help his friend
On informing him about our situation
he decided to help us out
Locals here are very helpful especally towards "tourist"
After repair we headed towards "Nubo bridge"
We had a slight worry determining
if the landslide of previous night was cleared?
and the bridge operational?
Fortunately the road was clear
After crossing "Nubu Bridge"
we started climbing the hill towards Moying
This route meets at "Karko" village
located 15 km before Moying
The route from Aalo town to Tuting
via Nebu bridge at Yingkiong is a shortcut
This "bypasses" Jenging town
This route is not demarcated on "Google Maps"
Visitors may make note of this tip
The 160km route between Moying & Tuting
goes through beautiful villages of
Pugging, Janbo, Migging Amging etc
This route is extremely small in width
consisting of sharp- slippery rocks , mud
& innumerable small-big waterfalls
The constant flowing streams from waterfall
makes the route exteremly slippery which may cause
the vehicle to fall in the valley or get stuck in mud
The route which leads to McMohan line
on Indo-tibet border is primaraily accessed
by Indian Miltary Convoys
Hence on this small cycle track
it is exteremly difficult to navigate
when two vehicle come face to face
Hence extreme driving skills & concentration is required
This route is exposed to frequent landslides
The route has extreme switchbacks
& is covered with dense vegetation
which makes it difficult to intercept
the opposite side traffic
The driver must hence be alert all times
With exterme caution & intermittent breaks
enjoying the villages & scenery
we reached "Janbo" around 2pm
We took a refreshment break here & resumed
Tuting was around 90kms from Janbo
The route now became more rocky & difficult
I would like to bring to our viewrs notice that
the route between Moying & Tuting
has to be travessed by climbing up & down
many small hills
Two hills are connect via small bridges
constructed on the downflowing "Siang river"
Travessing through many such hills & bridges
we reached Amging around 4pm
Here there is small hotel which
has some beautiful views of water & valley
We had a final break here after which
we resumed our final 50km journey towards Tuting
The vehicle now on the exteremly difficult route
could only travel 10-12 km/hr
We expected travel time of 4-5hrs
to reach Tuting
We were know expereincing fatigue
& bodily discomfort due to this strenous travel
Sunset & dense vegetation infested route
caused complete darkness with near zero visibility
This was a subtle reminder by nature to us
that in such inhospitable terrain we must
reach our destination before sunset
else in these roads its very difficult
to get help in event of breakdown &
very easy to meet an accident
Now we could only drive at 2-3 km/hr
At around 9 am we could spot some lights at a distance
This sight gave us some releif
Tuting was just 5kms away
But we had to drive around 1hr to cover this last 5km
Finally we reached Tuting around 10pm
Viewers make note that as of present
there are no lodging facilities at Tuting
The only lodging option is the
Governtments "Inspection bunglow" (not circuit house)
which requires prior permission from
the ADC of Tuting
Unfortunately we did not have this
We had no option but to visit the Inspection bunglow
& request the officials there to allow us to stay
As I had informed in the 1st part of this documentary that
the government officials here are very helpful
They alloted us a room with strict instructions
to visit the ADC office next morning
& get written official permission
They were also kind enough to make some dinner
even though it was late
After check-in & quick shower & had dinner
Due to exterme travel fatigue
we quickly collapsed in our beds
Tuting is an important town in Upper siang district
It is surrounded by beautiful ponds
lush green vegetation & snow capped peaks
Post 1962 Indo-China war, the Indian Airforce
constructed an "Advanced Landing Ground" here
Adi tribe is predominantly located here
which still follow their traditional
"Donyi-Polo" religion
Being close to Tibet we find
extreme predominance of Vajrayan Buddhism here
which is reflected through many
ancient Gompas (monastery) located here
However the followers of Buddhism here
belong to Khamba tribe
who have their own "Hingna script"
This script is very similar to Tibetian Script
It is proposed that Khamba tribe
migrated from Tawang district of Arunachal
to Upper siang district via Tibet
They primaraily followed Tibetian Buddhism
but post 1962 Indo-China war
as their access to Tibet was cut-off
they got influenced by the local Adi tribe
& imbibed many Donyi-Polo facets in their practises
Tutings day to day life is hence influenced
by many Gompas located here
These Gomaps are controlled by local Buddhist Lama
One can see Buddhist prayer flags outside each home
The main festivals celebrated here are
Losar & Tibetian New Year
Tuting is considered the
spiritual center of the Godess Dorje Phagmo
The etymology of the word "Tuting" in Tibetian is described as
"Tu" means Yoni or resproductive organ of Godess
& "Ting" means deep inside
which translates as the
Highest creative centre of the Godess
Hence Tuting is considered an indivisible part
of previously described "Pemako circuit"
Tuting-Singha trek located in the Pemako zone
is breathtaking with beautiful vegetation
The Devakota moinastery located in this trek route
is considered the spiritual centre of
Vajrayan & Yogini-Tantra
I hope with this detailed information about Pemako
Tantra, Vajrayan followers & students of
Medicinal herbs & Ayurveda would be encourgaed
to explore this region
Located at a distance of 30kms from Tuting is "Gelling"
which is the last "motorable" village
on the India Tibet border near the Mcmohan line
Located at a close ditance from Gelling
is the village of "Bishing"
which is that last village on the Indo-Tibet border
Bishing is accssed through a tough trek rout from Gelling
Viewers may make note that
to visit any districts of Arunachal pradesh
an ILP (Inner line permit) is required
This can now easily be obtained online
This becomes mandatory if you plan to visit border zones
Early morning post breakfast
we were ready to hit the road by 8am
Today we were lodging at Tuting
We decided to first visit Gelling
After completing ILP check formalities
at Tuting check post we were enroute Gelling by 10am
This route with steep switchbacks
is completely made from Asphalt
Route is primaraily used by Indian military convoys
Enjoying the scence enroute
we reached Gelling around 11 am
Gelling is pristine model village
with beautiful backdrops
which predominantly follows Buddhism
We decided to park our vehicle
& explore the village
We were looking around when an
ITBP officer approached us &
asked us for our identification papers & permits
After a thorough check he informed us
that we cannot explore this village on our own
We must take help of some local & permission of the village head
Else villagers might take offence
& may land us in trouble
In event of trouble, the police or army
may not able to help us
The army & police does not interfere
with the day to day proceedings of the village
We were instructed to seek help from
the local Forest officer or
The village head (sarpanch)
This would enable us to take permission
and get local help which may prove useful
to explore the village
The forest officers quarters require to trek some distance
while the Village heads house was nearby
We decided to visit the "Heads" house
After 4 days of strenous travel
for the first time we were going to
have real-time first-hand experience of
tribal culture & interaction
But this exciting interaction
I will cover in the next part of this documentary
I hope that this 2nd part of documentary
covering unexplored mystical Central Arunachal
was informative & enjoyable
I take your leave with this
beautiful postcard from Gelling
I hope you will join me in
next part of this journey
Thank you for watching
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