BharatSangraha

Monpa & Tawang Belt · Eastern Himalaya & Brahmaputra Belt

Terrain and eco-zones

Montane, and stratified by height rather than by season. Tawang town at about 3,000 m runs from below freezing on winter nights to the low twenties in summer; Dirang, a thousand metres lower, is mild enough for apples and kiwi; the Sherdukpen shelf below that is warm enough for oranges. Rainfall is heavy on the outer ranges and drops sharply behind them, so the inner valleys are drier than the foothills. Snow closes Sela and the higher pastures from about December, and the crop year is short enough that a single growing season is the norm.

Landforms

Tawang Chu and Nyamjang Chu valleys — steep-sided, terraced on the sunny flanksSela Pass at about 4,170 m, the divide between the Tawang basin and the Kameng valleysAlpine pasture and rhododendron scrub above roughly 3,500 m, grazed in summer by yakBlue pine, oak, fir and rhododendron forest on the middle slopesThe Eaglenest and Sessa ridges on the southern rim, dropping through some of the steepest altitude gradients in the eastern Himalaya

Rivers and waters

Tawang Chu — the northern basin's river, flowing west out of the beltNyamjang Chu — the Zemithang valley river, and the black-necked crane's wintering ground on its flatsDirang Chu and Kameng (Bichom and Tenga) — the southern drainage, joining the Brahmaputra on the plainSangti Chu — a broad, flat, gravel-bedded valley floor west of Dirang

Through the year

SeasonMonthsTypicalWhat it is like
WinterDecember–February-10 to 12 °CSnow at Sela and above, and the pastures empty. Losar falls in this window and Torgya at Tawang is in January. Butter tea consumption is at its highest and the tunnel under Sela is what keeps the road open.
SpringMarch–May2–20 °CRhododendron in flower up the whole altitude range, sowing on the terraces, and the yak moving back up to the summer pasture.
MonsoonJune–September10–22 °CHeavy on the outer ranges, lighter behind them. The road up from the plain is at its worst; landslip is the normal condition rather than the exception.
AutumnOctober–November2–18 °CClear, dry and the best walking and viewing weather. Buckwheat and millet are harvested, Choskar is observed, and the black-necked cranes arrive at Sangti and Zemithang.

Best time to visitOctober and November for clear weather and the harvest, or March to May for the rhododendrons. January if the point is Torgya at Tawang Monastery, which means accepting the cold. The high pastures are only reachable in summer, and Arunachal Pradesh requires an Inner Line Permit for Indian visitors and a Protected Area Permit for foreign nationals — arrange it before travelling, not on arrival.

The climate, landforms, rivers and seasons of Monpa & Tawang Belt, and the best time of year to visit. (4)