Mechuka

It isn't hard to describe the unique charm that Mechuka (Menchukha) exudes - but maybe it is isn't as easy to believe what you hear till you experience it.

It struck me as the Indian version of frontier towns I've seen in films about Alaska. Wooden cottages like hunting cabins; rolling, barren hills that could be compared to the Scottish Highlands; a raging monsoon and the overwhelming remoteness (there isn't even a petrol depo here, you just buy it in black) would make an excellent location for a Roman Polanski film...but it worked just as well for me too. After a staggered 17 hour drive through typical Arunachal mountain roads, forests & towns one might just wonder what the whole point of it was, but the payoff that greeted us after actually blew us away. The landscape was suddenly different. We turned another corner and there was a whole township in front of us, an unexpectedly large one, at that.

During our terribly tiny day-&-a-half stay there, the hospitality and contentment of Mechuka's people really moved me. We had wonderfully long conversations in Gebu's living room (the fantastic Gebu's homestay at menchukha), shared a cup of tea and local wine over laughs at Kefele's (our guide) hut while finding shelter in the driving rain and consumed innumerous hot bowls of Maggi (a staple snack) in many small Dhabas. We also trekked a while on the meadows and walked by a couple of streams. When we were lucky we caught a few glimpses through brief openings in the clouds, of the snow capped peaks that surround Mechuka.

The brevity of our visit really made me value it so much more - I will, without a doubt, return here. All the big, obvious reasons aside, there is something so inexplicably attractive about the many unsaid small joys in Mechuka that I can easily brave the insects, bad roads, limited electricity, unlimited rain, unending slush, countless landslides, strong beers & the early nights/mornings many, many times again...