Aizawl is the capital of Mizoram which is a north-eastern state of India. It is the largest city in Mizoram and the center of administration of the state. The travel blog is on the experience of my two days short visit in Oct 2012 during my stay at NIT Silchar. Mizoram, the land of Mizos is a mountainous state with dramatic landscape, scenic bluish hills, spectacular waterfalls and rich traditional culture. Breathtaking tourist destinations attract many tourists to the state.
It is required to obtained an Inner Line Permit in advance to enter Mizoram for tourist other than government employee. ILP can be obtained from the Liaison Officers in New Delhi, Kolkata, Mumbai, Guwahati, Shillong, and Silchar. ILP can also be issued on arrival at the Aizawl airport (Lengpui Airport). One day before of my journey, I applied for ILP providing identity proof, photo and 120 INR at Mizoram house located in Silchar and obtained the permit with in 4 hours on the same day. The permit was for 15 days permit as tourist. International tourist additionally have to register themselves in the sate police with in 24 hours of arrival in the state along with the visitor pass.
The Journey started at 6 am on 21 Oct 2012. Bus and SUV are the common vehicles available for road transportation from Silchar to Mizoram. There is no train communication to Mizoram. However, Aizawl is well connected to Kolkata by air which is the best way to reach Mizoram. After purchasing a ticket at 500 INR for a seat in a SUV from a travel agent near Mizoram house, I left for Aizawl. The SUV was occupied by 7 other fellow passenger and all of them are BSF security force. After crossing Silchar, the vehicle passed through the check post of Mizoram which lies at the Assam and Mizoram border. As all my fellow passenger are government employee, they did not require any ILP. The security at the check post check our Identity cards, and my ILP to enter Mizoram.
The vehicle moved through the mountains. The undulating road was not in good condition. The road travel in north eastern state is difficult due to frequent land slide. We were traveling through the curve and undulating road with beautiful natural scenic on both sides of the road which was very enjoyable. After traveling for approximately 9 hours, we arrived at Aizawl at 3 pm. The vehicle dropped me at Thuampui, I had no clue where to go after that. The driver showed a hotel nearer to it and left with rest of the passenger.
Aizawl:
I went to the Hotel and got a room at a price of 600 INR per day. The room was nice and well maintained. After getting refreshed, I came out of the hotel to explore the city and roamed in the near by area. The sun was about to set. The view of the Aizawl city during the Sun set was wonderful. After a while it became dark at about 5:30 pm. I returned to the hotel and had my dinner at the hotel. Exploring the City:
Next day morning at about 5 am, I went to explore the city. It was the winter season and the city was cover with dense fog. As the state lies in the eastern end of India, there is early Sunrise and early Sunset. I roamed on the street by foot and observe the beauty of the city and the surrounding mountain. The whole city was constructed on a steep mountain. The view of the city from a distance is most exciting and amazing. The road of Aizawl was clean and well maintained. There is hardly any plain land in Mizoram. Whole Mizoram is covered with Mountains. The vast stretch of mountains is visible from the city. Mountain range with morning fog has a scenic view. Green mountain with blue sky makes the environment more beautiful. I captured a lot of photographs of these mountains.
After a while, I returned to my room at 8 am and had my breakfast in the hotel. Then I took a bus to Chandmari from Thuampui bus stop. Public transport of Mizoram is very good. City bus, taxi are the common mode of transportation inside city. Chandmari is located at the center of the city and most of the markets are located here. Mizo and English are the two languages for communication. People can easily understand English. The city is very safe for tourist with proper tourist facilities.
I arrived at hotel at 1 pm. I had a plan to Champhai district of Mizoram. There is a beautiful lake (Rih Lake) in Myanmar which is at a distance of few kilometer from Champhai and Indian national can visit there for few hours. I was curious to visit Rih lake and Champhai. Unfortunateley, all the tickets were sold and there is no seat in the Helicopter. Which was very disappointing for me. The road travel by bus to Champhai takes long hour of approximately 10 hours with uncomfortable journey. Hence, I abandoned the idea to go Champhai. After returning to my hotel, I booked a seat in a SUV and returned to Silcher. It was already 6 pm when I left Aizawl. The vehicle arrived at 3 am on the next day at Silcher.
Though I could not cover many places of Mizoram, it was very memorable from my short span of stay at Aizawl. Reiek mountain trekking, Blue mountain trekking, exploring traditional Mizo village, Mizo dance, Vantawng water falls, Palak Dil are the most attractions in Mizoram worth of exploring. The life style, food habit, and colorful traditional costume in the mountainous state is different with vibrant culture. I wish to visit this state again to explore these destination with more days of stay. At least 7 days is required to explore the state.
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21 Oct 2012
About me
Tapan Kumar Pradhan PhD, IIT Kanpur http://tapankp.weebly.com Distance:
Silchar-Aizawl = 172 km. Guwahati-Aizawl = 470 km. |