Sela Pass
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Sela Pass is the second highest Pass in India.
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Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.
Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as wait time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.
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4.5
373 reviews
Excellent
287
Very good
74
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9
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2
Terrible
1
sasphotography
Kolkata (Calcutta), India56 contributions
Feb 2022 • Family
It's high altitude road conected to tawang ,major attractions are the road full of snow with Sela lake ..we visited in the month Feb where Sela lake is totaly frozen ,like no discrimination between land and water ..it breath taking beauty .but care full due to high altitude there are less oxygen which may presepritate breath lessnes specialy elderly.
Written May 3, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
ms14_delhi
Mumbai, India169 contributions
May 2023 • Couples
The mountains around the pass were covered in snow when we reached there. At 13700 ft, you also find a beautiful lake. We could not go close to the lake due to the snow on the banks and snow-fall but the area is serene nevertheless.
Written May 9, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Pankit-Shah
Mumbai, India119 contributions
Apr 2022
We visited Sela Pass on our way from Bomdila to Tawang and we experinced real Snow Fall. It was just amazing and the entire place was covered in White Snow.
It was a Surprise to see snow fall as it was not expected in April last week. This place is Amazing as entire Arunachal Pradesh is....
It was a Surprise to see snow fall as it was not expected in April last week. This place is Amazing as entire Arunachal Pradesh is....
Written May 16, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
ShilpaD
Mumbai312 contributions
Apr 2023 • Family
Amazing experience. We passed first on way to Tawang. The place was crowded, but not so much. We got down, took pics and super hot coffee. (The washroom was filthy). On return, it had snowed and the place had transformed. The drive wa surreal this time. Bit stressful as there was little way with ice on both sides and risk of vehicle skidding. But with God's grace, we slowly got down the way and had a memorable drive
Written April 6, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Discover54742920239
3 contributions
Jan 2024 • Friends
Don't go in winters . You might not be allowed to go to bumla due to heavy snow. Roads dangerous so don't test your driving skills at bumla. Leave it to the expert local taxi operators . You'll thank me later
Written January 9, 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
shekhar
New Delhi, India785 contributions
Nov 2021
Highest road where unless you are acclimatized you should not halt here. Very pictures place, a natural lake around and road well maintained by BRO. this place is photographer delight to click natural beauty.
Written January 7, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Samir Gandhi
Pune, India17 contributions
May 2022 • Couples
Sela Pass & lake near by are beautiful. They are on the way to Bomdila from Tezpur. Very cold. Jasawant memorial is nearby. You can have some good snacks at military canteen & of course buy warm cloths.
Written May 4, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Charul A
Mumbai, India42 contributions
Sep 2023 • Friends
It's a lovely experience. It's at a height of 13500 feet so when you reach there from bomdilla you may feel a bit of mountain sickness.. The Indian Army stand guard. A small army canteen is located there .. Beautiful pass with beautiful lakes and mountains
Written October 30, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Mahak_Travelling
Bangalore District, India366 contributions
Sep 2021 • Friends
I visited this place with friends. We reached there at around 2 PM. This is a beutiful place with full of fog. Temperature was around 12 degrees. Place has a few shops and army canteen and a serene and beautiful lake in 200 meters. You can get maggie , tea and dry sacks like chocolate and biscuits here. The army people are really friendly and they make yummy maggie tea. Don't expect any other option for food if you are going there in lunch time. Many of our phone network was also working fine. We did a mistake of missing out on Lake and later when we returned to this place it was raining so couldn't enjoy the lake.
The route to this pass is little tough but local drivers were experienced to cross this. You will see many army vehicles ans our army people either in drill or training.
The route to this pass is little tough but local drivers were experienced to cross this. You will see many army vehicles ans our army people either in drill or training.
Written October 18, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Kumsou
Kolkata (Calcutta), India8 contributions
May 2013 • Family
Arunachal always had intrigued me for long……. so when the things fell in right places...we jumped at the opportunity to explore the mystique and aura that surrounds it and now when I write this…there is this tremendous sense of humility, knowledge and joy of experiencing something that is simply unmatched.
First thing first…going to Arunachal requires a permit for all because of its proximity and borders with China and Tibet, this inner line permit popularly known as ILP, we got easily by applying at Arunachal Bhawan in Salt Lake Area of Kolkata, it states that how many people are going, duration of stay and places they would be visiting…sounds odd but quite logical once you gather the pieces.
Ahem! So first hurdle crossed….next we were directed to a travel agency named aptly as Eastern Frontiers and one Mr.Rajarshi took care of most of the stuff, so we finalized on Kolkata-Guwahati-Bhalukpong- Dirang-Sela Pass-Tawang route.
Guwahati being the gateway of North-East…we booked a return flight from Kolkata to Guwahati and back.
We were picked up at Guwahati airport by our designated driver who was quite experienced driving in the hills with his Scorpio; as we nestled in and drove outside the city…en route we encountered the mighty Brahmaputra, which was furious even in the month of May.
Once we moved deeper into Assam and towards Arunachal…….the breeze started to become colder and fresher and jungles…… denser and greener.
We reached the border of Assam and Arunachal….a place called Bhalukpong where we were booked into Assam Tourism Cottage at Prashanti Cottage…..a beautiful resort set in the backdrop mountains and Kameng river which flows back from Tibet ….our sons loved the place and we decided to take a dip in that oh so very cold river…so we off-roaded the Scorpio down to the river , which was great fun in itself to take down the SUV to almost 60 degree down for some time and boy…was that water clean and cold ! Refreshed and rejuvenated….decided to check the small market place in Bhalukpong.
We foot crossed the border into Arunachal and the first thing that strike you is number of liquor shops that adorns the market place… grabbing few beers made me realize that I am paying just one third of what I would have paid at Kolkata…Damn..why Govt. wants these hills people to be high on spirits at such cheap price…I thought living in the hills naturally lifts your spirits….anyways next morning we were headed for the hills namely Bomdilla (8000 fts) and our night halt at Dirang (5300 fts).
As the Scorpio eased onto those hills suddenly I looked down and realized the gorge down below is way too deep at every curves and to be honest…I started to fear a bit…you always do when your life is at the hands of someone else driving and I am the worst passenger in the world if I sit beside the driver, but somehow the guy started to give me confidence with his swift but sure moves of the wheel and his overall control of the vehicle and soon we were all enjoying the cloud capped mountains and numerous streams flowing down from pristine green mountains….Arunachal is 100% hills so if you are going somewhere up ……you are mountain hopping all the time…we lost count of how many we scaled in a couple of hours or so and little farther up we stopped at the Nepechu Falls which was right on the side of the road…we drank the purest water flowing from the mountain and suddenly it stuck me that this is the “ real taste” of water and we have conveniently forgotten this by all those Aquafinas and Bisleris of this world packed with added minerals and energy and what not.
All through the drive BRO (Border Road Organization) keeps reminding you that they are making roads for you and they are doing a damn good job considering all the landslides, road blockage and rains.
Further up you can not miss the massive presence of Indian Army, Buddhist Monasteries and simple smiling people of the hills….together they humble you to the core as you start to ponder about the condition they live in…..but then again maybe they all are enlightened folks already and they won`t need a Blackberry and a fat salary to feel secure in this world.
One monk reminded the age old saying of Buddha’s noble truths as he explained those something like this:
life is frustrating and painful, suffering has a cause, suffering can be ended, We, and the world, can get along quite comfortably without all our unnecessary posturing. We could just be a simple, direct and straight-forward person. We could form a simple relationship with our world, our coffee, spouse and friend. We do this by abandoning our expectations about how we think things should be. We become mindful by abandoning our expectations about the way we think things should be and, out of our mindfulness, we begin to develop awareness about the way things really are. We begin to develop the insight that things are really quite simple, that we can handle ourselves, and our relationships, very well as soon as we stop being so manipulative and complex.
Well that was very simple…wasn`t it? This happened at Nyingma Monastery at Bomdilla…once you go inside and see well lit candles against a giant Buddha statue you could do nothing else but get overwhelmed by the sanctity of the place as young monks play outside….you a tend to wonder about the simplicity of the whole life and whether what you have actually achieved can be classified as achievement at least spiritually?
Bomdilla was quite chilly and we had to drive through the clouds and as you take out your hand through the window of the car and touch those clouds…not only your palm gets moist and eventually wet but there was a feeling of your soul getting cleansed as well.
We reached Dirang in the evening, that is another hilltop and the Awoo resort is ensconced on a hill among Kiwi plantation as the proud owner informed that this was 22 years of his labour to make that resort atop the hill…I had no reason to doubt him…absolutely none.
We were taken good care by warm staffs and that made our stay at Awoo truly remarkable. Two things here are worth mentioning; my younger son took a fancy to Yak Meat mentioned in the menu, but after seeing the magnificent Yak in flesh and bone in front of his eyes he quite logically backtracked his decision.
When we eventually left Dirang to go to a Jungle resort in Dett Elephant,he left his ipod in Awoo resort Dirang…once we realized that half way to Dett Elephant, we called the resort and the manager Ali promptly acknowledged finding the ipod from our room and promised to send that back tomorrow to Dett Elephant and he did and that restored my faith in humanity, simple deeds like this never happens on a regular basis but when it does…it leaves you impressed to say the least.
Dirang girls were fashionables so were the boys, small market caters to your daily need but as you go further up the prices also travels up with you and that’s fair enough considering everything has to come from down the valley to as high as 16000 fts.
There is a fascinating valley called Sangti where you can see Siberian Black Cranes in the winter we were informed, this valley is the only place being used for agriculture, the panoramic view of the valley can take your breath away.
Its another thing that we saw Marijuana plantation in a small corner as well….but you have to give few people their weeds.
There are other places of interests like Sheep Breeding Far, Yak research centre, Apple gardens and Kiwi plantations.
Next day was the big day marked for Sela Pass the 2nd highest motorable road in the world at close to 14000 fts. The distance was only 56 Kms and it took 4 hours to reach that along some very treacherous roads, deep gorges some close to 10K down under…one look at it and your heart is ready to pop out of your mouth.
The weather was bad and rain and fog made it quite tough to ascend with visibility being anything but rich……but as soon as we laboured to the top…all our miseries were gone in a whisker by the stunning sight of the top and mist laden mountain ranges all around with pristine paradise lake…it was cold as hell…sub zero actually.
We couldn’t stand there and sneaked into the only warm place……an eatery joint run by 2 sisters where you can get steaming cup of tea and hot Maggie noodles priced at Rs.50/= not much when you think where you are eating them…..and since the journey to the top is so arduous….the humble Maggie seems like a divine dish altogether. Also encountered some magnificent angry yaks….what a splendid creature, they can only survive above 10000 fts…pity people have eaten them on the verge of extinction.
On the way down…there is Nyukmadong War memorial to honour the soldiers who laid down their lives on 18th November 1962 against Chinese invasion with phrases like “ Go home and tell them about us for your tomorrow we gave our today” sure to melt the heart in gratitude.
Another gem nestled in a forest area near Tippi is Orchid Centre where you can see some very unique and rare orchids, they have what they call….a temple of orchids which houses the most beautiful of orchids that you will encounter ,if this part interests you..The glasshouse is splendid and well maintained.
Took lots of detours and discovered amazing people and nature throughout our stay in Arunachal and its truly a remarkable place….little tough to visit but the pain is more than worth it as it offers innumerable rich insight into nature and mountains that always dwarfs you…it also gives you lots of time to yourself amidst best natural surroundings to contemplate and introspect…..definitely worth a try for that part alone…everything else that you get on the way is bonus and benefits that is pure and unadulterated.
P.S. : Leave your laptops and phones at home as technologies and heights haven’t
gotten married yet .In a way that’s how the mountains want you…plain,pure
and very original.
First thing first…going to Arunachal requires a permit for all because of its proximity and borders with China and Tibet, this inner line permit popularly known as ILP, we got easily by applying at Arunachal Bhawan in Salt Lake Area of Kolkata, it states that how many people are going, duration of stay and places they would be visiting…sounds odd but quite logical once you gather the pieces.
Ahem! So first hurdle crossed….next we were directed to a travel agency named aptly as Eastern Frontiers and one Mr.Rajarshi took care of most of the stuff, so we finalized on Kolkata-Guwahati-Bhalukpong- Dirang-Sela Pass-Tawang route.
Guwahati being the gateway of North-East…we booked a return flight from Kolkata to Guwahati and back.
We were picked up at Guwahati airport by our designated driver who was quite experienced driving in the hills with his Scorpio; as we nestled in and drove outside the city…en route we encountered the mighty Brahmaputra, which was furious even in the month of May.
Once we moved deeper into Assam and towards Arunachal…….the breeze started to become colder and fresher and jungles…… denser and greener.
We reached the border of Assam and Arunachal….a place called Bhalukpong where we were booked into Assam Tourism Cottage at Prashanti Cottage…..a beautiful resort set in the backdrop mountains and Kameng river which flows back from Tibet ….our sons loved the place and we decided to take a dip in that oh so very cold river…so we off-roaded the Scorpio down to the river , which was great fun in itself to take down the SUV to almost 60 degree down for some time and boy…was that water clean and cold ! Refreshed and rejuvenated….decided to check the small market place in Bhalukpong.
We foot crossed the border into Arunachal and the first thing that strike you is number of liquor shops that adorns the market place… grabbing few beers made me realize that I am paying just one third of what I would have paid at Kolkata…Damn..why Govt. wants these hills people to be high on spirits at such cheap price…I thought living in the hills naturally lifts your spirits….anyways next morning we were headed for the hills namely Bomdilla (8000 fts) and our night halt at Dirang (5300 fts).
As the Scorpio eased onto those hills suddenly I looked down and realized the gorge down below is way too deep at every curves and to be honest…I started to fear a bit…you always do when your life is at the hands of someone else driving and I am the worst passenger in the world if I sit beside the driver, but somehow the guy started to give me confidence with his swift but sure moves of the wheel and his overall control of the vehicle and soon we were all enjoying the cloud capped mountains and numerous streams flowing down from pristine green mountains….Arunachal is 100% hills so if you are going somewhere up ……you are mountain hopping all the time…we lost count of how many we scaled in a couple of hours or so and little farther up we stopped at the Nepechu Falls which was right on the side of the road…we drank the purest water flowing from the mountain and suddenly it stuck me that this is the “ real taste” of water and we have conveniently forgotten this by all those Aquafinas and Bisleris of this world packed with added minerals and energy and what not.
All through the drive BRO (Border Road Organization) keeps reminding you that they are making roads for you and they are doing a damn good job considering all the landslides, road blockage and rains.
Further up you can not miss the massive presence of Indian Army, Buddhist Monasteries and simple smiling people of the hills….together they humble you to the core as you start to ponder about the condition they live in…..but then again maybe they all are enlightened folks already and they won`t need a Blackberry and a fat salary to feel secure in this world.
One monk reminded the age old saying of Buddha’s noble truths as he explained those something like this:
life is frustrating and painful, suffering has a cause, suffering can be ended, We, and the world, can get along quite comfortably without all our unnecessary posturing. We could just be a simple, direct and straight-forward person. We could form a simple relationship with our world, our coffee, spouse and friend. We do this by abandoning our expectations about how we think things should be. We become mindful by abandoning our expectations about the way we think things should be and, out of our mindfulness, we begin to develop awareness about the way things really are. We begin to develop the insight that things are really quite simple, that we can handle ourselves, and our relationships, very well as soon as we stop being so manipulative and complex.
Well that was very simple…wasn`t it? This happened at Nyingma Monastery at Bomdilla…once you go inside and see well lit candles against a giant Buddha statue you could do nothing else but get overwhelmed by the sanctity of the place as young monks play outside….you a tend to wonder about the simplicity of the whole life and whether what you have actually achieved can be classified as achievement at least spiritually?
Bomdilla was quite chilly and we had to drive through the clouds and as you take out your hand through the window of the car and touch those clouds…not only your palm gets moist and eventually wet but there was a feeling of your soul getting cleansed as well.
We reached Dirang in the evening, that is another hilltop and the Awoo resort is ensconced on a hill among Kiwi plantation as the proud owner informed that this was 22 years of his labour to make that resort atop the hill…I had no reason to doubt him…absolutely none.
We were taken good care by warm staffs and that made our stay at Awoo truly remarkable. Two things here are worth mentioning; my younger son took a fancy to Yak Meat mentioned in the menu, but after seeing the magnificent Yak in flesh and bone in front of his eyes he quite logically backtracked his decision.
When we eventually left Dirang to go to a Jungle resort in Dett Elephant,he left his ipod in Awoo resort Dirang…once we realized that half way to Dett Elephant, we called the resort and the manager Ali promptly acknowledged finding the ipod from our room and promised to send that back tomorrow to Dett Elephant and he did and that restored my faith in humanity, simple deeds like this never happens on a regular basis but when it does…it leaves you impressed to say the least.
Dirang girls were fashionables so were the boys, small market caters to your daily need but as you go further up the prices also travels up with you and that’s fair enough considering everything has to come from down the valley to as high as 16000 fts.
There is a fascinating valley called Sangti where you can see Siberian Black Cranes in the winter we were informed, this valley is the only place being used for agriculture, the panoramic view of the valley can take your breath away.
Its another thing that we saw Marijuana plantation in a small corner as well….but you have to give few people their weeds.
There are other places of interests like Sheep Breeding Far, Yak research centre, Apple gardens and Kiwi plantations.
Next day was the big day marked for Sela Pass the 2nd highest motorable road in the world at close to 14000 fts. The distance was only 56 Kms and it took 4 hours to reach that along some very treacherous roads, deep gorges some close to 10K down under…one look at it and your heart is ready to pop out of your mouth.
The weather was bad and rain and fog made it quite tough to ascend with visibility being anything but rich……but as soon as we laboured to the top…all our miseries were gone in a whisker by the stunning sight of the top and mist laden mountain ranges all around with pristine paradise lake…it was cold as hell…sub zero actually.
We couldn’t stand there and sneaked into the only warm place……an eatery joint run by 2 sisters where you can get steaming cup of tea and hot Maggie noodles priced at Rs.50/= not much when you think where you are eating them…..and since the journey to the top is so arduous….the humble Maggie seems like a divine dish altogether. Also encountered some magnificent angry yaks….what a splendid creature, they can only survive above 10000 fts…pity people have eaten them on the verge of extinction.
On the way down…there is Nyukmadong War memorial to honour the soldiers who laid down their lives on 18th November 1962 against Chinese invasion with phrases like “ Go home and tell them about us for your tomorrow we gave our today” sure to melt the heart in gratitude.
Another gem nestled in a forest area near Tippi is Orchid Centre where you can see some very unique and rare orchids, they have what they call….a temple of orchids which houses the most beautiful of orchids that you will encounter ,if this part interests you..The glasshouse is splendid and well maintained.
Took lots of detours and discovered amazing people and nature throughout our stay in Arunachal and its truly a remarkable place….little tough to visit but the pain is more than worth it as it offers innumerable rich insight into nature and mountains that always dwarfs you…it also gives you lots of time to yourself amidst best natural surroundings to contemplate and introspect…..definitely worth a try for that part alone…everything else that you get on the way is bonus and benefits that is pure and unadulterated.
P.S. : Leave your laptops and phones at home as technologies and heights haven’t
gotten married yet .In a way that’s how the mountains want you…plain,pure
and very original.
Written June 4, 2013
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
I want to visit sela pass with my bike which is registered on my mother's name. Can I visit there with a authorisation letter? Or else what are the documents required.?
Written October 21, 2022
Hi, I am planning to visit Arunachal Pradesh from October 2 to October 9 from Kolkata, I want to include Bhalukpong--- Dirang--- Tawang---Bomdila ---Nameri, start from Guwahati , end at Guwahati. Please advise how many days should I stay at Tawang to include Bumla pass in my iternary. Also suggest which local sightseeing I should not be missing. Any recommendations and suggestions welcome.
Written March 18, 2022
Can i see snowfall or snow in sela pass at the time of June-july ? Or which month is the best colourfull view can i get ? Pls tell
Written April 8, 2020
For Snow fall , please plan to visit " Sela Pass" from November to February, but the it will be very cold & the area may be closed temporary due to heavy snow.
Written April 11, 2020
Sherpa41424244809
Arthur's Pass National Park, New Zealand
Can I get to see snow in the month of December
Written November 11, 2019
Will i be able to see Snow/Snow Fall during 27th sept and 6th oct this year at Sela Pass/Bum la Pass?
Written September 16, 2019
Hi, how is the weather condition in sela pass now. is a bike ride good during September.
Written August 27, 2019
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