Mechuka Valley – It Has A Very Old Buddhist Monastery For The Major Tourist Lure

MECHUKA VALLEY

AT

WEST SIANG

Mechuka also known as Menchukha is a small town nestled 6,000 feet (1,829 m) above sea level in the Mechuka Valley in West Siang District of Arunachal Pradesh, India.The name Men-chu-kha means medicinal water of snow where men is medicine, chu is water and kha is snow though kha also means mouth. The popular name for Menchukha is Mechukha.

Menchukha is situated in a forested valley, surrounded by pine trees and thornbushes. The river Yargyapchu flows in the valley of Menchukha. Mechuka is 180 kilometres northwest of Along and is only 29 kilometres away from Indo-Tibet border. The nearest airport is Lilabari Airport in Assam.

Mechuka Valley is home to the people of the Memba, Ramo, Bokar and Libo tribes. The local population is primarily Memba, a Tibeto-mongloid Ethnic Group.People of this place are believers of Buddhism, Donyi-Poloism, Christianity and speak Memba, Adi, Hindi and English. Mechuka is known for both its religious and historical significance. The 400-year old Samten Yongcha monastery of Mahayana Buddhist sect is a contemporary of the much-revered Tawang Monastery.

Mechuka is rapidly becoming a popular tourist destination in Arunachal Pradesh due to its scenic beauty, exotic tribes, gentle hills and snow-capped mountains and River Siyom (locally known as Yargyap Chu). The Siom River, which flows through Mechuka also provides a breathtaking view in the valley.

The major tourist attraction here is a 400-year-old Buddhist Monastery, which is located at a hilltop in the westernmost part of Mechuka. Numerous ancient statues can also be found here. Accommodations are available at Tourist lodges and Inspection Bungalow and a few hotels are also coming up to meet the increasing influx of tourists from the country and abroad. The people of Ramo (Adi) tribe have resided in the Mechuka valley since time immemorial in the periphery of Mechukha valley in the villages of Gapo, Pauk, Padusa, Lipusi, Hiri, Purying, Rapum, Charung, Rego and Karte.

There are no flights directly into Arunachal. But it’s most convenient to fly from Kolkata to any of these cities in Assam -- Dibrugarh, Guwahati, Jorhat or Tezpur. (We flew into Dibrugarh.) 

To enter Arunachal, the Brahmaputra will have to be crossed – by a bridge at Tezpur and Guwahati or by ferry at other points. From Bogibeel Ghat near Dibrugarh, you can take the bhudbhutti (engine boat) or freighter or the snazzier car ferry, which is much more. The latter also does not operate so frequently.