Phawngpui

I’ll make this short. Mostly because I was playing with the dog and I don’t really have a lot to offer in terms of directions.

So what you do is, if you’re not from Hnahthial, you spend your night in South Vanlaiphai. That's about 2 hours South-East from Hnahthial. There’s a Tourist Lodge there. And there’s a nice man called John who will take care of you. Granted I haven’t spent the night there but I plan to soon. If I do, I’ll let you know. (And if you want to book your stay there, get in touch with me and I’ll see if I can get you Pu John’s contact details.)

I’m not talking about scaling the heights of the Blue Mountain. I just have plans for the picnic style route. From South Vanlaiphai, you leave after breakfast and you’ll reach Sangau after about half an hour’s drive. From there, you push on ahead to Thaltlang. About a half hour again because the road sucks. At Thaltlang, you need to rent a 4-wheel drive. And when I say you need a 4x4, I mean that you should not drive your own 4x4 up the hill but that you make sure you hire one. The drive up is very challenging and you really need someone who knows the road. And knows it well. Be safe.

So! The Pick-Up truck will drive you to Far Pak. That will be about 3000 INR. The drive up is not pleasant but good for experience. The meadow there is to die for. The view is breath-taking. The air is gorgeous. Your IG will be flooded.

You can leave when the air gets a bit nippy. Or when your tuck supply runs out. Then drive back to South Vanlaiphai and have your dinner and rest for the night there. I think Pu John will be able to arrange a bonfire if you ask nicely. He makes really good fish curry, by the by, so make sure you tell him to prepare that. I don’t joke about food much and in my old age have gotten pretty persnickety over food so you know I’m good for my word when I say someone made good food. The chow in South Vanlaiphai town, however, is nothing to write home about. As in it is not good. And the boiled egg sweats beads because they put it in a fridge otherwise. But the fish curry in the Tourist Lodge is good.

Spend some time in the paddy fields of South Vanlaiphai before you leave the next day. The brook that runs there has fishes in it is how clean and healthy the water is. You can also make a pitstop at Darzo Peak for the history of it. It was where Fort Treager was before it burned down.

Not a bad way to spend a weekend.

P.s.: Unmanned veggie vendors are a big thing in this route. Come with change. Make sure you buy a bunch of the tiny bananas. Very tasty.