Unexplored Arunachal | Ledum Village | Part 5

Ledum, locally known as Ledum Mural Village in East Siang district is located around 30KM outskirts from the main town of Pasighat. Surrounded by farms, horticulture and cultivations Ledum Village is the perfect destination for nature lovers for a day or two to relax within the lap of mother nature. Ledum Village has been awarded and recognized as the cleanest village in East Siang district on 2018 and popular for its annual Butterfly & Biodiversity Meet. It leaves me no room to say that Ledum Village is heaven for nature lovers and photographers who are into capturing different species of butterflies through their lenses. Ledum Village has been listed as eco-tourism village for their conservation efforts by showing the way for others in protecting their rich flora & fauna by banning hunting & fishing besides felling of trees/forest under the jurisdiction.

Ledum Village being the home to the Adi tribe, most of the people here follow the religion of Donyi Polo (Sun and Moon) as we experienced at Ziro, Aalo (Along) and Tuting. Similar to all other parts of Arunachal Pradesh the kitchen serves as the main room of a house with an open fireplace. The household members gather around the fireplace for repartee with a glass of local drink Apong, i.e. local beer made from millet.

If you have stumbled upon this article of mine, just to remind you, we are on our 17-day long trip to explore the Unexplored Arunachal. Below is the itinerary we are following.

Nov 1 : Day 1 : Kolkata – Dibrugarh
Nov 2 : Day 2 : Dibrugarh to Ziro
Nov 3 : Day 3 : Ziro Sightseeing
Nov 4 : Day 4 : Ziro to Dapirazo Pasighat
Nov 5 : Day 5 : Dapirazo Pasighat to Along
Nov 6 : Day 6 : Along Sightseeing
Nov 7 : Day 7 : Along to Mechuka
Nov 8 : Day 8 : Mechuka Sightseeing
Nov 9 : Day 9 : Mechuka Sightseeing
Nov 10 : Day 10 : Mechuka to Along (Igokato Village)
Nov 11 : Day 11 : Along (Igokato Village) to Jengging
Nov 12 : Day 12 : Jengging to Tuting
Nov 13 : Day 13 : Tuting Sightseeing
Nov 14 : Day 14 : Tuting to Yingkiyong
Nov 15 : Day 15 : Yingkiyong to Pasighat (Ledum Village)
Nov 16 : Day 16 : Pasighat (Ledum Village) to Dibrugarh
Nov 17 : Day 17 : Dibrugarh to Kolkata

Unexplored Arunachal Series :

Unexplored Arunachal | Ziro | Part 1
Unexplored Arunachal | Aalo (Along) | Part 2
Unexplored Arunachal | Mechuka | Part 3
Unexplored Arunachal | Tuting | Gelling | Part 4
Unexplored Arunachal | Ledum Village | Part 5

Nov 15 : Day 15 : Yingkiyong to Pasighat (Ledum Village) :

With the bed bugs and things being shady, we couldn’t comfortably sleep last night. So our day began at around 6 AM in the wee hours of the morning. After getting freshen up, we went ahead to the market for a stroll and having breakfast. We noticed a lot of Line Sumos and Buses calling out passengers for various destinations such as Pasighat, Aalo (Along), Tezu, Dimapur, Guwahati, Dibrugarh etc. Yingkiong being the district HQ is well connected with these destinations by Line Sumos and Buses at regular intervals.

Although the journey through the highway to Pasighat from Yingkiong only takes around 3.5 hours, however, as we pretty much had nothing left to do at Yingkiong, Shiva exclaimed, “Aapko yahan aur kuch ghumna hai kya? Nahi to aj jaldi nikalte hain, aj aram see ruk ruk ke photo khichte hue jayenge” (Do you want to see anything else here? If not, let’s starts early! We’d go slowly at our pace while clicking pictures en-route). So after having our breakfast, we packed our belongings, loaded the luggage and started towards our shelter for the day – Osi Homestay at Ledum Village!

Finally, after a painful journey on devouring and demolished roads for the last 3-4 days, we were really enjoying the buttery smooth highway while pleasing our eyes with the golden view of step cultivation fields! En-route we stopped by the beautiful Siang River for a while. We noticed a few families were having an outing with the family. Probably it was a local holiday or something. However, with the sun on top of head felt like it’s burning a hole through our skin. So without wasting much time, we proceeded towards Pasighat.

In a blink of an eye, we reached Pasighat. It was clocking around 12:30 PM. As we already informed our host that we’d be having the lunch en-route, we thought of having an early lunch at one of the dhabas at Pasighat Market suggested by Shiva.

Finally, after having our lunch, we started proceeding towards our shelter for the day – Ledum Village. As mentioned earlier, Ledum Village is situated 30KM outskirts from the main town of Pasighat. As we had already experienced staying at a camp in Pasighat while going to Aalo (Along) on Day 4, we thought of exploring another offbeat place around Pasighat this time. Thus, we chose to stay at Osi Homestay at Ledum Village for the last leg of our trip. The first few KM’s were smooth, however, later we had to cross a river in between. There was not much water, so it was very straightforward! However, I was wondering, during monsoon, when the water levels are expected to be high, how do people cross this river without a bridge! Shiva explained that this is the shorter route and he took this route as he knew the water level would be low during the winters. However, there’s another generic longer route for people to avail during the monsoon when water levels are high.

The route throughout the next part of the journey was paved through the cultivation fields on both side of the road. The journey through this part of the villages was windy and enjoyable. We loved the gentle touch of the cool breeze on our face with the refreshing smell in the air calming our soul within.

Throughout this journey of ours, I noticed a lot of gates at a specific distance. Upon asking Shiva, he informed us that, those are the jurisdiction of each village. And the villagers have put those gates, as otherwise, the elephants, cows and pigs from one village travel to another and disrupt the agricultural fields. So the gates were put in place for villagers to live in harmony. The gates are kept open during the day, however, they shut it down (but doesn’t put a lock, for emergency) once the evening settles in.

Finally, by around 2:30 PM, we reached our shelter for the day – Osi Homestay at Ledum Village. Mr and Mrs Osi Radeng welcomed us warmly and showed our rooms. The homestay surrounded by the farm, garden and agricultural fields completely field within the lap of mother nature. We totally fell in love at first sight! Especially my aunt, mom and dad being fond of farming and gardening totally loved it. They exclaimed that instead of returning back to Dibrugarh tomorrow if we can stay here for another night and go to the airport directly.

Although, that’s a possibility, but the journey from Pasighat to Dibrugarh Airport is much longer and we’d have to start early morning. And as I generally don’t want to take headaches on the very first and last day, I generally book accommodation for those two days at a minimum while keeping myself flexible and scouting for accommodation in between the journey. So, unfortunately, I had to shatter my families dream of staying here for another night.

After getting freshen up, we all gathered together at the open balcony. Mrs Radeng prepared us a cup of tea and offered us their organic cane and fruits right from their garden. Mr Radeng shared that he was always a nature lover from childhood. However, due to life’s turmoil, he had to look out for a job. He used to be a Police Inspector at the local Police Station in Pasighat. After he saved enough money to build a house surrounded by a farm and a garden, he took voluntary retirement and started this homestay to survive within the lap of mother nature and allow the tourists to share the taste of local village culture.

Later in the afternoon, Mr Osi Radeng escorted us to his farm and garden. He showed us all the various species of trees he has planted there. The popular amongst them was Sal, Mahogany, Segun and Sandalwood. He also grows various fruits and grains from time to time based on the season. Other than that he’s also involved in the farming of hens, cows and mithuns (the state animal of Arunachal Pradesh). It was a complete and amazing farm stay experience for us that is hard to put in words!

In the evening, we all gathered by the fireplace in the kitchen. Mrs Radeng offered us Apong along with a few local snacks. Rest of the evening passed like a breeze chit-chatting amongst ourselves. Later, we called off the day at around 11 PM after having our dinner.

Total KMs Travelled: 127 (Upto Pasighat) + 30 (Pasighat – Ledum) =  157KM

Nov 16 : Day 16 : Pasighat (Ledum Village) to Dibrugarh :

Today we just had to travel Dibrugarh, back to Maguri Beel, a mere 3 hours journey. So we started our day a bit late leisurely at around 8 AM. After all these days waking up in between 6 – 7 AM everyday, we just wanted to relax on our last leg of the journey. Later, we took our own sweet time to get ready. Mr Osi Radeng escorted me for a village walk and introduced us to his neighbours. The freshness and sweet smell in the air purified our soul.

Finally, after having our breakfast and bidding goodbye to Mr and Mrs Osi Radeng we left for our last and final destination – Kohuwa Eco Camp across the Maguri Beel in Tinsukia.

Fortunately, while leaving Mr Osi Radeng informed us about a shortcut to Ruksin Gate which goes through the villages. That saved us a lot of time and also helped us avoid taking the longer route through Pasighat. This part of the route being paved and buttery smooth it took us a mere of an hour to reach Ruksin Gate. We stopped for a while for exploring the market and also to check out our ILP. Although it’s not necessary, however, it’s recommended to do so, to be on the safe side, so that you don’t land up into any trouble later.

The next part of the route being the highway was completely smooth! Although we planned to halt over the Bogibeel Bridge for a while, however, there was high-security deployed due to the planned arrival of a local minister. So we were not allowed to stop in-between considering the security protocols. Thus, it took us another 2.5 hours to reach our last shelter of the tour – Kohuwa Eco Camp.

Palash Da already informed me that he won’t be there to welcome us back as he’d be out of town leading a different group of tourists. However, he informed us that his partner would be there at the camp and he has already made the necessary arrangements. And he assured us that if needed we can always call him back in case of any issues.

Finally, we reached Kohuwa Eco Camp at around 2 PM. After getting freshen up, we were served lunch. As expected it was just delicious and finger-licking. Especially my mom, dad and aunt was more than happy to get a proper Bengali bhat – dal – mach (Rice – Lentils – Fish) at lunch after all these days!

After having our lunch and taking rest for a while, we all gathered together to pack all our belongings to prepare for our return flight tomorrow while Shiva went ahead to clean up and do thorough maintenance of his car. With all these days travelling through the devastating state of the road, Shiva’s vehicle badly needed a complete cleanup and maintenance. He joked that “aise gari me airport chorne jaunga to bhikari bolke bhaga dega!” (If I were to drop you at the airport in this vehicle they won’t allow us to enter!)

Later in the evening, we all gathered together to do complete math on our expenses and the remaining that we have to pay to Shiva. Well, it turns out that the expenses were way more than we expected. The main reason behind this mishap was our wrong expectation with the Circuit House and Inspection Bungalows at Jengging – Tuting – Yingkiong circuit. And another important issue was that we somehow highly underestimated the fooding cost.

Rest of evening was mostly uneventful. Each and everyone of us was mournful and heartbroken of this long trip to Unexplored Arunachal coming to an end. Although more than that, we all were sombre as it’s time to return back to our monotonous dull boring life.

Later at around 10 PM we were served lunch and pretty much we called off the day by around midnight.

Total KMs Travelled: 186KM

Nov 17 : Day 17 : Dibrugarh to Kolkata :

I believe today is the worst day to describe throughout this series of Unexplored Arunachal. We woke up leisurely at around 8 AM and took our sweet time to get ready. The morning was pretty lazy. We had our return flight to Kolkata from Dibrugarh via Indigo 6E 206 at 2:35 PM.

Later we were served early lunch and soon after that, we loaded our luggage and left for the airport shortly after. Shiva kept driving leisurely through the highway. Everyone was mum and not uttering a single word. Well, in the beginning as a child, I always used to feel bad on our day of the return journey. I still remember that I used to even cry in these situations! Wish I could explain to you the scene that I created at Hardwar Railway Station when we were returning from our month-long trip from Garhwal via Doon Express! Well that was back when I was 14 years old!

In all these years, although I have grown up, I’m still heartbroken. It’s just that I have learned to be sober and cope up with the situation. And more than that nature has to follow it’s due course I guess. During these kinds of situation, I have learned myself to make my heart understand that unless I go back how can I earn more and escape to explore another unexplored destination again!

In between Shiva stopped for a while at a few fisheries on the way to show me the local culture and the way how fishing is done in Assam.

Finally, we reached the Dibrugarh Airport at around 11 AM. I guess, Shiva too might have developed the bonding after all these days. Probably he thought he’d too break down! Thus he didn’t wait for much to see us off. Instead, he left after shaking hands with all of us and hugging me tightly with promises to keep in touch while his eyes being turned red.

“The end of all our exploring will be to arrive where we started.” – T. S. Eliot

Total KMs Travelled: 47KM

Inner Line Permit (ILP) / Protected Area Permit (PAP) :

Arunachal being a tribal-state is a restricted zone. Thus, Indian Citizens (except the native people of Arunachal) needs Inner Line Permit (commonly referred to as ILP) and foreigners need Protected Area Permit (PAP) in order to visit Arunachal.

One can either apply it online through the web-portal accessible at https://www.arunachalilp.com/ or offline at various cities such as Delhi, Kolkata, Guwahati, Shillong, Tezpur, Dibrugarh, Lakhimpur, Jorhat.

Please check out the detailed procedure of applying ILP / PAP at Unexplored Arunachal | Ziro | Part 1

How To Reach :

Ledum Village is located 30KM outskirts of Pasighat town. There are several ways you can reach Pasighat.

• You can choose to directly fly to Pasighat. Along with that, there is a regular Pawan Hans helicopter service which connects Pasighat with various regional airports such as Guwahati.
• Or else, you can fly to Dibrugarh and take a private vehicle if you can afford or opt for the regular ASTC Bus / Line Sumos to Pasighat from Dibrugarh.
• If you are planning via Guwahati, then you can take an Auto / Bus to Kamakhya Railway Station from Guwahati Railway Station or Guwahati Airport. In the meanwhile, if you have a buffer day, explore the famous religious Kamakhya Temple at Guwahati. From Kamakhya Railway Station there’s a daily train to Murkongselek Railway Station in Jonai of Dhemaji district of Assam. Kamakhya – Murkongselek Intercity Express which is also known as Kamakhya – Murkongselek Lachit Express is one of the best trains in this route. From Murkongselek Railway Station there are several Line Sumos up to Pasighat at regular intervals.
• Finally, as always, you can also take a private vehicle from Dibrugarh if you can afford it.
• Lastly, just for your information, there’s a daily boat service available from Dibrugarh to Oiramgaht from where one can reach Pasighat by local bus. But with Line Sumo’s and ASTC Buses, this is not a convenient option anymore.

District Headquarter Yingkiong is connected with Pasighat with Line Sumos and Buses at regular intervals.

Important Points :

• Needless to say, there’s no scope of using cards or digital payments either at offbeat regions in Arunachal Pradesh. So please carry all your expenses in cash from the nearby ATM’s. Major towns like Ziro / Pasighat / Aalo (Along) have a few ATMs at the market. However, it’s always best to prepare for the worst and carry it from either hometown or major towns of Assam.
• Major telecom operators such as Airtel and Vodafone works great (including mobile data) at major towns of Arunachal. However, as you start moving a bit outskirts BSNL will be your one and only best friend to stay connected with friends and family. Mobile Data on BSNL seems to work fine at specific regions during specific hours of the day at such remote destinations.
• The entire route that we covered as a part of Unexplored Arunachal, is well connected by Line Sumos and Buses at regular intervals. So if you are planning to do the entire itinerary via shared vehicle, it won’t be an issue. For local sightseeing though, you need to hire a private vehicle or hitchhike.
• However, if you are planning to travel on Line Sumos and Buses, make sure to take into account the added buffer time for travelling from one place to another.
• With lots of liquor shops throughout Arunachal, getting your favourite liquor will not at all be a problem. In fact, Arunachal being a tax-free state, you’ll get it cheaper than your hometown.
• Arunachal being a restricted state, you must have proper ILP for each and every region and entry/exit gate you wish to visit and use respectively. Refer to the Inner Line Permit (ILP) / Protected Area Permit (PAP) section for details.
• While venturing out to the unexplored regions, prepare for the worst and keep your camping gears handy. As in most regions where tourist footfall is nil or minimal, govt. accommodation such as Circuit House and Inspection Bungalow is your only option.
• The local people are very friendly, warm and welcoming. Do not hesitate to ask for help or turn towards them in case you are in a mishap.

Important Links :

• Arunachal Tourism Website : You can look up through Arunachal Tourism website for insights on various circuits, places to visit, local culture and traditions and accommodation options.
• East Siang District Website : You can go through the East Siang District Website for insights on places to visit, local culture and traditions and accommodation options in East Siang.
• TripAdvisor : TripAdvisor Forums is a very good place to get your questions answered for anything related to Tourism.

Reviews :

Osi Homestay, Ledum Village: Ledum Village is located at outskirts of 30KM from Pasighat. Ledum Village is popular for being awarded as the cleanest village in East Siang district and for its annual Butterfly and Biodiversity Meet. Thus, it leaves me no room to say that it’s a heaven for nature lovers and nature photographers.

Osi Homestay, surrounded by farms, gardens and cultivation fields, is the perfect destination for nature lovers to relax for a day or two within the lap of mother nature. Mr and Mrs Osi Radeng is very warm, welcoming and humble. They are a wonderful host. The rooms, washrooms and the whole property is very clean and well maintained.

The homestay is surrounded by farm, horticulture and cultivation fields. The popular amongst them was Sal, Mahogany, Segun and Sandalwood. Mr Osi Radeng also grows various fruits and grains from time to time based on the season. Other than that he’s also involved in the farming of hens, cows and mithuns (the state animal of Arunachal Pradesh). The added advantage of staying at such an organic farm stay is that you can have a first-hand experience of local Adi village culture and taste organic foods right from their garden! Other than that there’s such a freshness and sweetness in the air which is bound to purify your soul.

It was a complete and wonderful farm stay experience for us that is hard to put in words! We really enjoyed our stay here.

For my detailed experience on Kohuwa Eco Camp and Maguri Beel please check Unexplored Arunachal | Ziro | Part 1

Costing :

Osi Homestay, Ledum Village: Rs. 1000/- per head per day including breakfast, lunch and dinner.

Kohuwa Eco Camp: Rs. 1500/- per head per day including breakfast and dinner

Vehicle: Rs. 5500/- per day

Our Total Costing for this whole trip was Rs. 2,35,000/- (excluding the flights) which is about Rs. 40,000/- (rounded off) per head.

Contacts :
Mr. Osi Radeng – Osi Homestay, Ledum Village : +91 94364 18673 / +91 94362 23190 / +91 99546 56943

Palash Phukan – Kohuwa Eco Camp  : +91 97071 60530

Shiva, Driver : +91 99547 77434 / +91 94019 47966 / +91 86381 73035. Very friendly and co-operating young chap to travel with. During our course of 17 days tour through tribal villages of Arunachal, he became a family member to us. Although he prefers to get called by his self-named nickname – Nick to maintain the style!

Dipankar Da, North East Travels: +91 89722 47306. Dipankar Da is more than a friend to me and my go-to solution when for North-East destinations. He’s very reliable and knowledgable when it comes to Birding, National Parks, Tiger Reserves and destinations in North East.

Unexplored Arunachal Series :

Unexplored Arunachal | Ziro | Part 1
Unexplored Arunachal | Aalo (Along) | Part 2
Unexplored Arunachal | Mechuka | Part 3
Unexplored Arunachal | Tuting | Gelling | Part 4
Unexplored Arunachal | Ledum Village | Part 5