15 Dec 2022
Mechuka
The place as they say is diffrent one compared to rest of the north east. It has pine trees on one side and on the other with hill which is covered with grass. The river runs like a snake through the valley
It is confluence of Tibetan ,Himachal(covered with pine) and North East landscape.
The place is great one for people who seek a quieter place and want to avoid the popular hill stations because of the crowd . Though the facilities are tad better than basic ones, one should understand that the connectivity is available only with 2g bsnl mobile network , It is a devloping tourist spot
But if you are looking for spot to trek , go on bon fire near the river bed , a cold breeze , the sound of that ,water gushing from the hills, with just you and your friends standing on the hanging bridge ,this is the place.
Some people might feel this can be expected in any of the himlayan hill stations , well might be true , but most of them have enough crowd.Probably the lack of internet connectivity for some time in and less crowd might make you happy ( since most in cities are always hearing the honking)
If you are looking for certain extra added facitites , this might not be one
Now coming to the homestay part they are very nice people who take care of your food needs and even plan the trip for the day as to where to visit and in what order.The owner and her wife getup very early and arrange everything(food ,hot water) so that everything is smooth. Please remember Mechuka is getting devloped , and do not expect five star facities
Travel
As said the facilities are basic there,
That's because there is only one road in working condition which connects Mechuka , that's from Along (Aalo). It takes roughly seven hours from Aalo to Mechuka. It is around 180 kms distance wise. The last 45 kms at the entrance of Mechuka is quite treacherous. Now you need a capable driver and trustworthy tourist operator to do the trip .
I think in both aspects NEST has been wonderful .when i tried to compress the tour plan ,due to my official commitments , NEST categorically said no . I personally prefer a person who calls spade a spade .
You need certain amount of days to make the trip , you will understand that only after covering the trip
Later when the required leave was sought and the plans were finalized, they made a customized plan and even arranged a high ground clearance vehicle(recommended)
The owner of the travel agency was in touch with us at every part of the journey making sure we don't face any hindrance
Their way of handling right from billing of tour plan to prompt replies was commendable.Their pickup from Airport(Dibrugarh) and drop to Airport was smooth without any hiccups . The contact details were shared well in advance
Also since there was one day halt at Aalo at( Reyi homestay) , which was quite good
To sum it up if I were to go on another trip with my friends to Mechuka , i would choose NEST
Please note these are specifically my views and thoughts on trip to Mechuka.