Nampong (Arunachal Pradesh): A small tribal community in the hills of Changlang district in Arunachal Pradesh have opened their homes for people to stay with them and have a taste of their culture, food and society.
Some of the families of the Tangsa community near Nampong have opened home stay, inviting tourists to not only stay with them amid the lush green nature cover but also taste their ethnic cuisine, visit the neighbouring hill tops and so on.
Jankhong Morang, a resident of Nongki Bosti in Nampong, has turned his small traditional hut to a home stay where tourists can savour smoked tea called ‘phalap’, rice beer called ‘ju’ or ‘kham’, in addition to a staple diet of steamed rice and boiled vegetables.
During their home stay, Morang said tourists can take the Pangsau Pass, which is only 12 km from Nampong, to visit Myanmar.
“We take tourists to the Pangsau Pass on the 10th, 20th and 30th of each month. They can go up to the border and after crossing the border they can hire motorcycles on the other side run by the Myanmarese youth and visit the lake of No Return,” he said.
He said the lake was called so as during the World War II, many aircraft of the Allied Forces disappeared there while flying over it.
“We also take tourists to the hilltops where we cultivate,” Morang said.
Traveller Hitesh Saikia said he has stayed with the Tangsa community and it was an amazing experience.
“I have stayed with the Tangsas. It’s amazing to stay with the local community… The home stay concept in these areas is a recent phenomenon…,” Saikia told IANS.
An official said the home stay provided an opportunity to stay close to nature and enjoy local food.
“They serve local food and one can really enjoy while being in the middle of such lush green nature and serenity,” said P. Bordoloi, an executive with the state health department, who frequently visits different locations along the Assam-Arunachal Pradesh border.
One can call Nongjung Mossang at 09402239426 and Jankhong Morang at 09402223826 to know more about home stay.
Like many parts of the northeast, Arunachal Pradesh too has a history of World War II cemeteries at Digboi in Tinsukia district (bordering Assam) and at Jairampur, about 40 km from Nampong, in Changlang district.
Many tourists visit these historically important sites during their home stay at Nampong to get a peep into the World War II history.
“These graves bear a testimony to those soldiers, unlisted workers and labourers who ventured into the jungle amid blistering heat and laid down their lives during the World War II while being a part of the Allied Forces against the Japanese Imperial Army,” reads one of the inscriptions at a cemetery in Jairampur.