Basar: A beguiling getaway from urban monotony

Home to the beautiful and friendly Galo tribe, Basar's villages are surrounded by wilderness and wrapped in myths. True to the spirit of the northeastern state that literally means the "Land of the Dawn-lit Mountains", Basar impresses travellers in more ways than one. The journey to the mostly unexplored area in the state's West Siang district is not for the faint-hearted. A nearly five-hour-long drive through the hills awaits the tourists from Silapathar, the last prominent town in Assam before entering Arunachal Pradesh. The roads are serpentine and narrow, surrounded by dense forests, and at some points even non-existent due to landslides. The cars negotiating the roads with steep slopes on one side and sharp mountains on the other, pass through many fascinating spots, including the breathtaking "Brahmaputra viewpoint". The journey, thrilling as well as perilous, gives one the feeling of travelling through a virgin land, out of the common man's reach.