A three day trip to Kibithu, Arunachal Pradesh on my motorcycle.

Hello everyone, this is a detailed write up of my recent three day trip to Kibithu, Arunachal Pradesh.  Kibithu is a small town in Anjaw district of Arunachal Pradesh and is one of the easternmost populated towns in India.. Its elevation is 1240m. The view and the isolation of this place will definitely keep u in awe.

Kibithu was on mind since many months or probably a year. I hail from Tinsukia, Assam, which is a Northeastern state sharing its border with Arunachal Prades on one side.. kibithu is only 380kms or so from my place so this place was definitely on my bucket list. Finally on the month of May, 2018 me and my good  hometown friend Akarsh Keshan planned for a ride out to kibithu . We planned for a four day ride as i was in short of time . To visit Arunachal Pradesh one would need an ILP(INNER LINE PERMIT) as these places share international border. The day before our ride we applied for our ILP which can be easily made available from the tourism office at Mohanbari or u can easily apply online at www.arunachalilp.com or just search Arunachal ILP in google and u would get the link. But to get approved it may take few days when applying online so its better to register for ILP  a week ahead of ur trip.

Finally after getting ILP  we were very excited.. As it was month of May the weather wouldn't be very cold so we took some light inner and very few clothes. Basic motorcycle tools are very necessary as this place is very isolated and a fuel holder is a must as there is only one petrol pump for about 200kms stretch. The petrol pump is at khupa town..

We started our ride at 6am in the morning from Tinsukia in the hope and pray for a clear weather as it is very  unpredictable at this time of the season.  It was a bit cloudy in the morning but gradually the sun came up and a bright sunny day it was with some clouds every now and then. We enterede state border check gate. The officers asked for our ILP and the driving license, entered our details and a vehicle fee of Rs. 100 for motorcycle. They said that this time of the year isnt favourable for rides as the monsoon has started and much probability of landslides in the area.. still hoping for the best we moved on.  After checking in we  stopped for a chocolate and a cigarette, and started our ride again.. the next stop was Tezu town. We stopped at a fuel station to fill our tanks as well as the extra gallon we had with us. We bought a bottle of whiskey and some beers for our trip and some necessities.  We headed towards demwe to meet a friend on the way, had a warm welcome st his home , we had our breakfast, smoked a cigarette and then left from demwe at arnd 10:30am towards hawai, the next stop to halt the night and move towards kibithu the next morning.  Our friend Shankar was very happy to meet and watch us explore this part of Arunachal . On the was just few kms after crossing the intersection to brahmakund, tezu and hayaluing we reached the first view point, Hawa Camp.

The beautiful view at hawa camp just motivated us to ride with more energy in the hope of better views .The roads are comparatively good with some stretch bad but u can't complain when u ride on the mountains and if adventure is what u seek. We clicked some pics and then resumed our ride further . After few kms of riding we reached tidding where u have to cross and iron hanging bridge with beautiful view of the mountains.

The views just got better and the weather was with us .it was bright and clear which also brightened up our mind and the eagerness to ride and to reach early. We reached khupa after few kms of riding.. there is another check gate at khupa. The officers would check ur ILP they were also very anxious to see us ride to the borders. We had talk and they also wished us luck and we moved on. We refilled our tanks at khupa , this is the last petrol pump in Anjaw. By then it was about 1pm in the afternoon. There are some restaurant at this place we had some pork momo and chowmein an its was really yummy.. the spice the herbs all just compliment the mountains and the weather of the place. We stopped for about an hour and then started again. Reached hayaluing after an hour or so. Stopped at a shop to check our tyre pressure and also poured some chain lube as the chain gets really dry while riding on uphill so timely lube is necessary. We left from hayaluing towards hawai. The time was about 3pm in the evening. Very pleasant weather and the views were just so welcoming , was enjoying every moment of the ride.

Finally after some kms of riding for about 2-2.5hrs we reached the intersection towards hawai town.. the time was about 5pm in the evening as it was about to go dark. Hawai is situation further east from the main highway and had to take a diversion towards right when going towards kibithu. There is a small sign board showing the way to hawai public school. Take that diversion and u get a hanging bridge. Cross the bridge and follow the road that leads to hawai town, the district headquarters in Anjaw, Arunachal Pradesh.
Hawai town is about 8-10kms uphill from the main highway which took us about 45mins as the weather became sudden foggy and it was getting dark. Finally reached hawai town , there are two guest houses in hawai town, the new and the old. The new one is a bit costlier, the room charges are 2000-2500 per night . However the old one is much cheaper and for budget traveller it is much better option. They provide room for about 800 rs with hot water , lobby and balcony with a view. We reached the guest house about 6pm. It was dark already. We parked our bikes in the verandah and checked in the room. Ordered chicken and rice for dinner which costs about 300-350 per plate. I took hot water bsth, had few drinks and slpt off . We were to leave for kibithu early next morning .

Oh, what a view to wake up to. Hawai is one of the most beautiful town in Anjaw district. The slouds were inside our room to wake us up.  So serene and natural.

We rode towards walong and kibithu. Walong is 50kms from hawai and kibithu is 80kms. We left around 6:30 am in the morning. Reached walong about 9am . Such beautiful wild mountains all along the way. We stopped at the walong war memorial. Such beautiful location, the wilderness and serenity of this place makes us very humble and makes is remember the sacrifice our soldiers do to protect and preserve our border areas.

Walong to kibithu is a rider's paradise , this place has very fee riders and tourists and especially in the monsoon and that is the beauty of exploring these places, totally offbeat and serene. We reached kibithu around 11am. We found a sign at an intersection saying ''welcome to the Easternmost part of India". We felt such achievement and content. Took some pictures . The road on the right to the board leads to kaho, which  shares the border more close to china. But we had to cross a hanging bridge and during the monsoon as the wster level rises so the steel bridge is closed and only a wodden bridge for locals is kept open. Hence we couldn't ride to kaho and chose the straight road towards kibithu. We found a checkpost and the officers asked us to submit the license and ILP and take when we are bsck after going to the last point in India. This is a small village with only three household and a shop on the border. We rode to the kibithu helipad the last point. And from there the chinese army building can be seen . The Indian flag sailing in the sky fills our spirit with a sense of patriotism and love for our country.. big wild mountsins purify our minds and realisee our very small part in this gigantic mother nature. We spent an hour on the helipad met skme army jawans and then moved back from Kibithu. While coming bacl we collected our license and ILP which we submitted at the check post .
We spend an hour or more at kibithu and then headed back towards walong. We decided to relax ourselves at the hot water spring or garampani which is located 7kms before reaching walong town while going back from kibithu. There is a small diversion with a sign board. Take that road to the left which leads to s beautiful cottage.. we asked for rooms but the caretaker of the guest house said that it had to be pre booked at walong. And the key is provided there.. we asked if we could sleep in our tent on the porch and if she would cook us dinner for the night . She agreed.. we thanked her and were very happy. The cottage is very well maintained and beautiful and huge mountains surrounding it . Just few steps down walking down we reached the hot wster spring.. the water was very warm and the view was breatheless.. we bathe for about three hours , drank and relaxed on the natural hot water  spring amidst the mountains.

We were very relaxed and very tired and of course drunk too. We were very happy that the weather was with us all through the ride and we successfully reached and compled easternmost part of India. We had our dinner and slept the night off. The next morning we were to leave towaeto home. We left garampani about 7am in the morning. While coming back we rode towards helmet top which is about 20kms uphill from the main highway woth very steep , narrow and bad roads.. after riding about 9kms the clamp holding my exhaust broke and it fell off. The road was total offroad. The weather was getting cloudy too. Helmet top is the highest point in walong and kibithu. We decided not to ride to the top as we were getting late and had to reach tezu until evening so we rode back towards home taking beautiful memories of this place and with a promise to return back . We were tired but very happy for the weather and our bikes were in our favour throughout the ride without a single breakdown and disappointment. We resched demwe at around 6pm in the evening. Demwe is only 14kms away from tezu. We stopped the night at our friend's place. We shared and told him about our experience, and he was glad we had a great time. Had a very pleasant and satisfying sleep and left in the morning towards home. Kibithu is definitely a recommend place to visit now that it is not much tourist oriented the serenity of this place makes it special and kindly do not litter and keep this world clean. Thanks for Reading.