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4 Top Reasons to engage Holiday Scout for your North East Experience

Sangti Valley Dirang Chu Arunachal Pradesh

We recently had the opportunity to visit Arunachal Pradesh with Holiday Scout. Arunachal Pradesh is a great destination but still not on the main tourist map of India and mind you, for a first-time visitor it definitely was an off beat destination. 

Offbeat destinations offer a unique blend of culture, adventure and a chance for genuine connection within the local community that is not easily achieved in more traditional destinations. It also lets us introspect when we are out of our comfort zones. That is also the time when magic happens when you don’t resist. When someone once said “Life begins at the end of your comfort zone.”, he hit it on the nail.

A Road Trip in West Arunachal Pradesh 

We undertook this 11-day road trip across the length (South to North and back) of West Kameng District and Tawang District which are part of West Arunachal Pradesh region.  

Holiday Scout is one of the renowned tour operator for North East India. We would rather describe them as an cultural experience provider! The entire trip which started from Guwahati Airport and ended there only, was curated by Holiday Scout, based in Arunachal Pradesh. A brief list of places we visited and things we did are below.  

Clear day at Dirang Valley at Dirang Chu river
Clear day at Dirang Chu river

Places to visit and Things to do in West Arunachal Pradesh.  

Things to do in Bhalukpong – Orchid Research Centre, Waterfalls 

Things to do in Bomdila – Monastery, Viewpoint, Ama Market, Enjoying the new Coffee Shops, handicrafts workshops etc.  

Things to do in Dirang Valley – Dirang TDL Monastey, Mandala Top, stay at riverfront boutique cottages, learn to cook monpa cuisine, visit 9th century village, picnic at Sangti Valley etc.  

Tawang – Visit Bum La pass, the highest pass which doubles as border with China, 14th century Urgelling Monastery, visiting the largest Monastery of India, visit the land of 108 lakes many waterfalls etc. 

Reasons to Travel with Holiday Scout  

To say that our Road trip with Holiday Scout in West Arunachal Pradesh was a total success and that we completely enjoyed it would be describing our experience aptly. Here are the reasons below. 

Travel and Logistics including required permits 

From the time of meeting us at Lokapriya Gopinath Bordoloi Airport at Guwahati to dropping us back, things worked perfectly. We were met by Sange Tsering and Tsering Dondu, with their large SUV to take care of us and our luggage. It was thoughtful of Holiday Scout to arrange for a bigger SUV for that extra comfort.  

Being a border state of India, all Indians who are not Arunachal Pradesh residents need the Inner Line Permit (ILP) and Non-Indians require Protected Area Permit (PAP).  They had already arranged for it. 😀

Stay was in a mix of hotels and homestays but always clean and comfortable place.  

Sange Tsering owner of Holiday Scout with Vasudevan from Lemonicks.com a top travel blog
Vasudevan with Sange Tsering at Bomdila View Point, Helipad

Dedicated, Knowledgeable and Enthusiastic Coordinator and Guide 

There are fixed itineraries which maybe fine-tuned to suit your taste. Their extensive knowledge of the region ensures that, even if you need a customized itinerary, they can develop it in a short period of time. The fact that we had two dedicated persons by way of Sange and his friend who doubled up as the chauffeur who were members of the Monpa tribe, which is the predominant tribe in this region. This also meant that they could communicate with the locals, and we were welcomed as one of their own! Holiday Scout ensures this!  

In addition, where needed, Holiday Scout had arranged for a local guide to explain things to us.  

Since Holiday Scout is well respected and their management are proactively helping the government tourism department, they can magically open normally closed doors. For example, the private quarters of HH Dalai Lama at Dirang TDL Monastery was thrown open by the Chief Monk and he personally gave us a guided tour.  

Dirang Valley Arunachal Pradesh TDL Monastery Rinpoche and Vasudevan
Vasudevan with Rinpoche of TDL Monastery

Again, Monpas opened their doors welcoming us to share Butter tea or Ara or even some Momos. In one place we actually learnt how to make momos.  

Flexibility of Itinerary 

Itineraries are only as good as how disciplined we are, as travellers, sticking to the time. However, Holiday Scout know a thing or two in how to rearrange things, in case we find a particularly beautiful spot where we want to spend more time as we did at not one or two but many places.  

Having a dedicated vehicle helps in starting early if required to negotiate a particularly difficult or even stop at a scenic spot on the road to take some selfies!  

Monpa tribe dance at Audung, Tawang
Monpa tribe dance at Audung, Tawang

Depending on our interests Holiday Scout was able to add a couple of spots in lieu of some non-interesting (for us) places. For example, during World Tourism Day Holiday Scout were able to take us to the village where the mother of 6th Dalai Lama was born, to participate in the local dances even and share their food. We also go to meet the one of the descendants of the mother of 6th Dalai Lama. 

Safety  

Last but not the least is the Safety, Security and Trust factor.  

Arunachal Pradesh is by and large quite a safe place for travellers and people are pleasant and friendly. There was not a single case where the locals were trying to sell us stuff at “tourist” prices or we felt uncomfortable and unsafe.

Even so, having Holiday Scout at your side gives that extra blanket of safety. Sange Tsering informs us that his team members are handpicked and trained on safety and security aspects, including while on the road, visiting attractions or staying at an accommodation. He regularly helps locals to set up and run trustworthy homestays.   

Not for nothing has Sange Tsering named one of 50 People to know in the Himalayas!

sangti valley fun
Fun time with Sange Lhamu, Sange Tsering and Vasudevan

Disclaimers:
I was hosted by Holiday Scout. All views expressed are my own and based on my personal experiences and conversations in the region. For more info on their tours Holiday Scout.

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P.S.- This article, Reasons to travel with Holiday Scout belongs to Le Monde, the Poetic Travels, one of the top Indian Travel Blogs, published by the traveling couple bloggers, Nisha & Vasudevan. Reproduction without explicit permission is prohibited. If you are viewing this on another website other than the RSS feed reader or www.lemonicks.com itself, then that website is guilty of stealing our content. Kindly do us a favour by letting us know via Contact Us. Thank you.

25 thoughts on “4 Top Reasons to engage Holiday Scout for your North East Experience”

  1. Arunachal Pradesh is very beautiful. Good to know about your experience with Holiday Scout. Do you have their contact number?

    1. Arunachal is the least explored of the seven sisters of North East India. Here is their phone number. +91 95406 98458

  2. I’ve never been to Arunachal Pradesh, the place is gorgeous!!! I’ve been to India a few times before but never been to the part of the country.

    1. North East India is relatively less explored. Even by Indians. The 7 states also called the 7 sisters, that make up the North East have some awesome stories to tell the travellers.

    1. You are welcome! It takes the pain out of hours of planning for an unknown place and allows us to sit back and enjoy.

  3. What a great experience you had. An 11-day road trip sounds tough and long to me but Im sure it’s a wonderful experience we can have.

    1. Amazing is an understatement! 🙂 I am sure Holiday Scout can tailor-make an itinerary for you, depending on your interests and time available.

  4. Sounds like a wonderful trip and experience! There’s so much to explore out there I think it would be impossible to do without a tour guide. Thanks for sharing!

    1. It was just awesome! One can travel without guides but sometimes we are short on time. During those times guides and a fully dedicated vehicle is very convenient

  5. Safety is so important to me. Especially true as our family now has little people traveling with us again. Thank you for the recommendation of Holiday Scout.

    1. Yes, an 11-day road trip can be an exhilarating experience filled with memorable moments. Safety is always a top concern, and it’s reassuring to know that the area you traveled in is secure. Keep exploring and creating more amazing adventures!

  6. This sounds amazing and looks like a wonderful experience. I am for sure going to have to try Holiday scout myself!

    1. I’m glad to hear that you find Holiday Scout appealing and I hope that you’ll have an enjoyable experience using it. Don’t hesitate to reach out if you have any questions or feedback along the way. Happy traveling!

    1. You’re welcome! I completely understand the importance of safety, especially when it comes to travel and experiencing new things. I’m glad to hear that my recommendation resonated with you and your family. If you have any further questions or concerns, feel free to reach out to me anytime. Happy travels!

  7. The top reason to plan a trip with the family is safety. Overall good to know that a lot can be done in this region. Thank you for writing this informative blog.

    1. Thank you for taking the time to read my blog and leaving a comment. I completely agree with you that safety is one of the top reasons to plan a trip with family. It’s important to ensure that everyone is secure and comfortable during the trip.

      I’m glad that you found my blog informative and that you learned a lot about the region. It’s always great to explore new places and create memorable experiences with family. If you have any questions or need any further information, feel free to ask. Thank you again for your feedback!

  8. This post looks amazing It have shown the real beauty of the North east This travel blog website is a treasure trove of valuable travel information, from destination guides to insider tips, helping me plan my dream vacations with ease.During my visit to nepal Guide Porter hire from Pokhara has helped me through out the journey like yours

  9. There are still some hidden destinations in India that are yet to be fully explored. There is still a lot to explore in northeast. Same way Kashmir is also amongst the most beautiful tourist places in world . One need to select best time to visit Kashmir to explore the best places to visit in Kashmir.

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