DAY 1 – Journey to the Aizawl town.
Only two months were left for College to come to an end and there was one thing on that “Things to do before College ends” list of ours – an “all girls trip.” As the days were limited and so was the budget, we decided on this place which was not very far from the city where my college was and we had heard that this place is known to give you an experience of a lifetime.
So yeah, we packed our bags, bunked a day’s worth of class and headed out towards this place for the weekend. It was a 6 hours drive through a not so pleasant road but the scenery on the way kept us engaged. We took the local shared taxi because it didn’t cost a lot (We were College students with a limited budget.)
In order to enter the Mizoram border, one needs to make a permit on the way. The taxi drivers know this and they will help you out. There could be a luggage checking (So keep your “stuff” safe).
After a loo break on the way and 6 hours of drive on the road, we finally entered the beautiful city of Aizawl. It was 3 PM and the streets looked busy. The taxi guy dropped us near our Hotel (Which we selected after a lot of research and it was a very decent and cozy one). We first grabbed some Burgers from KFC (Yeah, you don’t have Burger King or MacD in the North-East India) and then checked in to our Hotel. The entire staff in the hotel were very friendly and they were all women. Surprise Surprise.
We rested for a while and freshened up and it was almost 5.30 PM when we decided to go outside and explore the city.
Another surprise – every shop on the street was shut down and there was hardly any vehicle on the streets. We asked around why it was so and we got to know that this is the way things happen in Mizoram. People go back home at 5 – 5.30 PM and the streets become empty after that. We were quite surprised by it but at the same time really excited to check out the streets. So we set out walking on the almost empty streets. It was calm and pleasant.
As the entire Aizawl city is situated on the hills, there were stairs to climb down from one street to another. We walked through random streets and stairs and we were so amazed by the cleanliness all around and how people were walking from one house to another, greeting their relatives on the way and looking all happy. We reached one of the points on the edge of the cliff next to a church where we could see the entire Aizawl city lit up. It was such a breathtaking view. We stood there for a long time trying to soak in the beauty of this city. Those moments were one of the best part of the entire trip.
We headed back towards our Hotel as it was getting late and we didn’t want to get lost in a new place too. So before retiring for the night we found one restaurant which was open for dinner and served some Vegeterian food (You will have trouble finding a place which serves vegeterian food there. But for the Non Vegeterian guys, you are in Paradise. You will find some great pork dishes and some nice fish dishes to have with rice.) Somehow I managed to eat something while my friends enjoyed their food. On our way back to the hotel, we realized that it had rained a little while we were having our dinner and the entire road was wet. The walk to the hotel was really nice as we enjoyed the gentle breeze that was blowing. The weather in Aizawl is quite pleasant as well and the little showers of rain once in a while keeps the temperature from going high. We went back to our rooms and sat down talking for a long while, excited about the next day. We don’t remember when we dozed off to sleep.
DAY 2 – Reiek Tlang Trek and sightseeing.
The next morning we woke up early and had a very light breakfast and headed out for the most awaited part of the trip. The Reiek Tlang trek. Reiek was almost 30 kms from the main Aizawl city and we booked a cab to drop us till the starting point of the trek. Cabs are really costly in Aizawl and they can cost you a fortune, so you have got to bargain with the driver. We ended up paying a lot even then because it was the Easter Holidays time and there was a scarcity of the cabs.
Nevertheless, we took off on our journey towards Reiek and the drive to the top of the hill was filled with the beautiful scenery and the colorful flowers. Some beautiful songs played by the cab driver made the journey even more beautiful.
When we reached the starting point of the trek, our heart filled with happiness as we saw the beautiful green forest that lay ahead of us. There was no one else but just the five of us and a few local people doing their daily chores nearby. We got a little scared to be honest, but our driver sensed our fear and volunteered to help us by leading the way throughout the trek. We were a little hesitant at first, but we agreed on it. The path was not very confusing, is what we realized later as there were proper sign boards on the way to lead us through. So, you can make your way through it without much help but a little bit of research about the path can always be helpful. Well, we were thankful to our driver for guiding us through it all as we didn’t have to bother even a little on the way and we enjoyed the trek even more.
So then we started walking trough the lush green forest which was almost dark with little rays of sunlight peeping its way through the trees. There were leaves lying on the ground. Leaves of all different shades. They made the crackling sound as we stepped on them. This place already had my heart.
As we walked further, we came to a point from where I could see something that looked like a CAVE. Yes, you read it right. It was a cave in the middle of nowhere and it was a huge one too.
We were quite taken by surprise as we didn’t know that this huge cave happens to be one of the places of tourist attraction in Mizoram.
Beautiful. Enormous and beautiful it was.
We stopped there for a while, even scratched the initials of our names on it. It was an unexpected beauty in the middle of an already beautiful journey.
I realised I had come to the right place with the right people.
We resumed our trek from the caves and we walked a little more to reach the end of the forest and towards the edge of the cliff. The wind was blowing away our hair and we were just trying to keep our legs to the ground as we saw the beautiful layers of mountains infront of our eyes. The sight was so pleasing to the eyes and our happiness knew no bound.
There was a flight of stairs just on the edge of the cliff which would take us further on top. That staircase indeed looked like the stairway to heaven.
I remember spotting a cross just on the edge of the cliff. We guessed that someone might have fallen down and this cross was put up in his memory (just a guess, mind you). The wind was strong and the climb looked very difficult. But we knew it would be worth it. So we gulped down some energy drink and got up the stairs slowly and without looking back. (Do carry some energy drinks and water with you. You won’t find anything there for a long stretch of distance.)
On reaching the top most point, after a lot of huffing and puffing, we found a bench which was facing to the entire mountain range. Yes the climb was worth it. The view was worth it. That moment was the purest of all and we could just see the smile on each face while staring at this beautiful creation of nature. Moments like this make you feel so alive. You forget all your pain and sorrows and in that moment you are just a happy soul.
As we descended down the cliff on the other side and looked back, we could see the trek through which we had come up. I really couldn’t believe that I had walked all the way from there and I had come out alive.
We did sit down there for a long time. Enjoying the best moment of our trip and probably one of the best moments of our lives. That moment is still so fresh on my mind. We were so happy to be there.
We made our way through the grass and the path led us back to the cave and a little later we reached the point from where we had started.
We completed the entire trek in around 4 hours. We took our time to soak in the positivity and also we were in no rush.
After this we headed back to the Aizawl city, listening to Troye Sivan’s “Strawberries and Cigarettes” which by the way was the song of the trip. The song still brings back memories from that place.
I think everyone has that one song for every trip. That one song which is enough to open up the entire memory box of a beautiful trip to some paradise or with some important people.
On reaching Aizawl city we went back to our hotels and rested for a while and treated ourself to some nice lunch.
Later in the evening we went out to see the beautiful Solomon’s Temple, which is a church situated at a distance of 9 km from the city.
The church was a marble white structure with a beautiful compound filled with colorful flowers. It was really peaceful and there were not a lot of people around. It is a nice place for tourists to check out. The sun was about to set and we headed back to the city. Really happy about how beautifully the day went by.
DAY 3 – Exploring the Aizawl town.
The next day we had planned to see the local market area and the streets along with the people of Aizawl. Majority of the shop owners out there were ladies. Be it someone selling the variety of fruits on the streets or the street market for clothes or the shops in the mall. This particular thing about the city made me realise how evidently different is the cuture in North-East India from the rest of the country. You don’t get to see things like this very often in the rest of the country. In the daily market, you will find a variety of fruits, local vegetables (few of which you will not find elsewhere), some nice home made Wine which is something you should definitely try. In the clothes shop, you will find some really nice collection but the price tag will say a different story. You will have to bargain your way through it. Ofcourse, the people are very tough to convince but you can give it a shot. People out there speak English fluently, so you won’t face much difficulty. You might find some Hindi speaking folks as well.
We went to this shop called ” The Tribe Fiction” which deals in T-Shirts with some really cool graphics. We brought one each as a souvenir of the place. It was of good quality and till date the T-Shirt looks new.
We spent a little more time exploring the streets of Aizawl and trying to make the best of the last few hours in the city.
We packed our bags with a heavy heart. We were taking back a part of this beautiful city with us, the memories of this place. It was one of the most beautiful places I have ever been to. Yes, it is a little remote and you will have struggles reaching this place. But trust me, this place is worth it all. So if ever you get a chance to explore this place, please do not hesitate. If 5 girls can explore it on their own, I am sure you can do it too.
Plus it is pocket friendly too.
The Travel Tales 