ASIAN ALPINE E-NEWS
Issue No. 45 January 2019

Photo: Harish Kapadia

Contents
THE KAMALA VALLEY 2018 – Harish Kapadia
Kurung-Kumey District of Central Arunachal Pradesh

1

Report 2018

Page 2 ~ 14

Photographs

Page 15 ~ 32THE KAMALA VALLEY
Kurung-Kumey District of Central Arunachal Pradesh
Nov. 2018

REPORT

The Central Arunachal Pradesh contains major valley of the Subansiri river. Flowing
from Tibet, it cuts through to the Indian territory near Taksing and flows east and thenturns south. In south between Daporijo and the Apatani plateau a major tributary, theKamala river merges with it. The Kamala valley is relatively unvisited and full details
are not known about it.
Two rivers originate from the high snow peaks in north of the Kamala valley. The
northern one is Kumey and the southern is Kurung, also known as the Khru rivervalley. A high ridge divides the two valleys. They merge further east and forms theKamala river. However, on many maps the Kumey river is called the Kamala from its
source. It flows from high peaks like Nyegi Kangsang (6983 m) and several peaks ofabout 6800 m. A high peak of 6655 m is mistakenly called Takpa Siri.
There are many villages in the Khru (Kurung) valley and rough road connects Ziro (onthe Apatani plateau) with the district headquarter of Koloriang. Road further continues
till Sarli at present. There is no direct road into the Kumey (Kamala) valley along its
banks from the Apatani plateau. Subsidiary roads connect the Koloriang road withbifurcations across the high ridge into the Kamala. First such rough road is from Palinto Yangte by road, and foot trail to Talli in the Kamala valley, across a ridge. The
second road is across Totam Top, a high pass to Parsi Parlo. Another road partly
under construction is from Sarli across Phunchi top to Damin. These rough roads into
the Kamala ends at first villages on the river, are rough and except the road to Parsi
Parlo, not complete.
The Apatani Plateau
My first visit to the area was to Ziro and Hapoli. We trekked to the Tale valley top andsaw high snow peaks towards northwest. That led to inquiries and study of past
literature to know about those valleys and peaks. A sign board on the road at Yachuli
showed Koloriang as 157 km and that led to another inquiry about that road.
(For full note on the above visit see Appendix A at the end)

HISTORY
Due to its remote location not, many have visited these valleys. There were forays by
the British expeditions and later by two mountaineering parties.

1. Miri Missions - 1911- 1912
The British made a policy to send exploratory teams, called “Missions” to survey thearea and to increase knowledge of the areas beyond the inner line. This would enable
them to administer the area better, establish friendly relations with tribal communities
and fix boundaries with Tibet.
First such Mission started from Lakhimpur on 11 November 1911 with Sub-divisional
officer as Political Officer. They were escorted by 150 armed officers and men,
Assistant Commandant Capt. A. M. Graham. The party which went up to survey the
Khru valley was attacked but when Capt. Graham opened fire the Nishi opposition
melted away. They returned completing their job successfully. Next year, in 1912,
another Miri Mission under Capt. G. A. Neville reached the Khru valley and crossed
into the Kamala valley in the north to village Talli. He was attacked at nearby village
of Riang but with same result by superior firing power. He concluded that Nishis as atribe are not accepting the British authority. Based on his report loose political control
was established in the area from 1914 and gradual authority was established in the
Khru and Kamala valleys over next decade.
Around the same period at the Shimla Conference in 1914 the McMahon Line wasdrawn that settled the boundary between India and China to large extent. The focusof government shifted further south to the Subansiri area. The Khru and Kamala
valleys were under the British administration and were administered from new
township of Koloriang.
(Bose, M.L.: History of Arunachal Pradesh. Concept Publishing, New Delhi, 1997. P.
121, 128 and 148).

2. Christoph von Furer-Haimendorf
In 1938 J.P. Mills, advisor to the government, to study tribes of the North-East, invited
well-known anthropologist Christoph von Furer-Haimendorf to India. On his arrival in
India in 1938, Germany was declared an enemy nation and war was proclaimed inEurope. He was arrested as ‘German Enemy Alien’. However, through hisconnections, he managed to get himself located at Hyderabad from his open prison in
Nagaland. In 1944, he unexpectedly received a telegram from Mills summoning him
to Shillong. He was asked to go to the Apatani valley as ‘Special Advisor, Subansiri’.
His assignment was to study the locals and the Chinese influence on the local
tribesmen. By being stationed there he was to assert the British control in thiscontested region.

He spent eight months in the valley and established an external governing authority inthe valley for the first time.
Ref; His book Himalayan Barbary, March 1945.

3. Col. F.N. Brett and Ursula Graham-Bower
Subsequently, an ‘Inner Line’ was set up by the British to prevent outsiders fromentering the tribal area and proceeding towards Tibet. This was an imaginary line on
the map. To cross and enter the tribal areas one had to obtain a permit. The systemstill continues to prevent outsiders from controlling trade and change culture here.
After Haimendorf left the valley in 1945, a British administrator F. N. Betts was deputed
here. He was accompanied by his anthropologist wife Ursula Betts (formerly Ursula
Graham Bower, see their books) who studied the life style of the Apatanis andrecorded it in various journals and a book. When these administrators left the valley
in 1948, true to the British practice of annexation, they followed the old dictum, ‘first
send explorers, then Administrators and finally the army’. A platoon of Assam Rifles
was permanently stationed at Hapoli (premises still exist) and it was supplied by air.
This was the time when the World War II had just ended, and the military was verymuch in command in the North-East.
Ref. book: The Hidden Land by Ursula Graham-Bower 1953
Both, Bett and Haimendorf visited the Kamala valley briefly. They followed trails fromthe Apatani plateau into the Kamala, which merges with the Subansiri. There were notmany trails, certainly not into the Kamala. Their books mention about the tribal culture
and people, only few geographical details are available in their books.

4. McMahon LineIt was intended that the Miri Mission would proceed north to the Subansiri valley. Thatwould help to determine the border with Tibet. But the hostile attitude of tribesmen in
the upper Kamala valley, forced the Mission to turn back long before they reachedanyway near the Tibetan border. Further information was provided by F M Bailey on
whose advice McMahon seems to have drawn the line south of Migyitun as boundaryof Tibet. It was with the understanding that some small modifications might have to bemade here to meet the Tibetan religious susceptibilities.
(Lamb, Alastair: The McMahon Line, two volumes. Routledge & Kegan Paul, London,
1966, p. 322/23 and 537

5. Tushar Kanti Bhattacharyya
Tushar Kanti Bhattacharyya was an administrator who has spent life time working inthese remote valleys, not only in the Subansiri but also in the upper Dibang and Siang.
He pushed into the remote valleys to meet the villagers, one of early contact with
Indian administrators. Being a person in authority he travelled light obtaining supplies

and porters locally. His treks were long and certainly arduous, going to remote villages.
It was certainly his own enthusiasm and that carried him to these remote places,
beyond call of duty. Above all, luckily, he was a writer and has written books about istravellers. They form an invaluable reference today for many areas and life in thosevalleys in that period.
He was one of the early explorers of the Kamala valley, certainly first after Haimendorf
and Brett. He entered the Kamala from the east, near Raga, where it merges with the
Subansiri. He went west, almost along the river. But as the river winds its way throughdeep valleys and thick forest, he had to make detours into the side valleys, sometimes
climb to traverse at higher levels and spend time at villages to understand theirproblems and establish administration. He reached Talli, Parsi-Parlo, Damin and after
crossing the Kamala reached Huri. He writes about people, their legends, life andbeliefs. Views of snow peaks are mentioned. After reaching Huri he retuned via Damin
to Koloriang in the Khru valley to reach Ziro, the administrative headquarter. He wascertainly an unsung hero and such dedicated exploration must be admired as it was
not only here but, in many valleys, he performed his duty as if he was born to do so.
His four books are a treasure trove on which current administration is built.
Books by Bhattacharjee, T. K.
a. Enticing Frontiersb. Alluring Frontiersc. Frontier Traild. Idus of Mathun and Dri valleys
6. MOUNTANEERING EXPEDITIONS
The first team to visit the area was from the Indian Mountaineering Foundation in 1995,
led by Col. M.P. Yadav. They followed similar route, till Koloriang, Sarli and Milli, but
went further northwest towards their desired peak Nyegi Kangsang (6983 m) They
solved the terrain difficulties and reached a high col on east of the peak. Crossing to
the north, they made a final camp. However, their summit attempt stopped on a plateau
below the main summit.
(Ref. article in Appendix B at the end)
An Indian-British expedition was organised here in 1999, led by Col Balwant Sandhu
and Doug Scott. It was a pioneering expedition in face of unknown terrain. The teamwas first delayed by poor roads to Koloriang and further to Sarli. They had
administrative problems and lack of enough porters. They trekked via Milli along the
Kurung valley, proceeding north towards the peak “Takpa Siri” (6655 m). This was oneof the “Takpa Siri peaks” in the range, not the true peak, worshipped by the Tibetans,which is only 5735 m and rising above the Subansiri valley. This party endured muchsuffering, sickness to members, injuries and attacks of malaria. They had to be
evacuated by helicopter having manage to obtain a faraway glimpse of their peak.
(Ref. article in Appendix C at the end)Our trek in November 2018
We were a party of three. Two retired Indian Air Force officers: Wing Commander
C.M. Jaywant, (retd), Group Captain Nitin Kanitkar (retd) and myself, Harish
Kapadia. We were supported by three porters from Kumaun as usual. We employed
five local porters led by guide Milli Tagh. The Indo-Tiber Border Police (ITBP) force
helped us at every stage. Pawan Thakur of ITBP accompanied us till Koloriang.

14 November 2018
We flew to Guwahati and travelled by train to Naharlagun. We arrived at Ziro, (1500m) by evening. We stayed at “Home Stay” at Siro, of Hibu Tatu.
18 November:
We drove on very rough road to Koloriang- (1500 m), via Palin.
20 November:
After meeting SP of Police and completing purchases we left for Sarli, (1940 m).
Some high peaks along the Tibetan border were seen next morning.
21st November:Road is partly constructed across Phurchi Top, (2434 m), to descend into theKamala valley. The stages on road are simply named by its distance: we stayed at“Kilometre 39” or simply “KM 39” -(1970 m) where the road ends at present.
22 November:
We trekked on under construction road for 10 km, it was rough and at many places
full of slush. There were many villagers going up and down. There was a checking
for election cards at Damin and hence many had come from Ziro and different
villages to register themselves. We camped at “KM 44” on a helipad. It was a great
camping place with views of Takpa Siri Peak, Kamala valley, many peaks on thewest and Huri village in the valley. Several planes were seen circling to drop
equipment and food in this remote valley.
From here we obtained a grand view of the valley. Specially two peaks in the northattracted attention. One on the northwest was Takpa Siri, a holy peak for the Tibetans,but rarely seen due to its location. Tibetans perform a kora, circumambulation, aroundthe peak. The shorter kora, called Kingkor, is passing on the sides and face of themountain, too near to view the peak in full. The longer version of the kora, called
Ringkor, passes in deep valleys. Again, denying any clear view of the peak. Thus, wewere lucky to see the Holy Mountain in full glory.
23 November:“KM 61” was our next camp, at Damin village (1060 m). It was a large village withresidential school and many house and government departments. We had goodinteractions with local village elders and others
24 November:
We descended to the bottom of the valley, on the banks of the Kamala river. It was
best to walk on the rough road or “cutting road” as locally known. Any short cut wasslippery and very testing. We crossed the Kamala over a long “Foot Suspension
Bridge” (FSB) to the left bank. Trail climbed steeply to the ridge above where we
stayed at ITBP camp. (KM 71)
25 November:
We had a day of rest at the beautiful Huri camp. We could observe several nalas andthe bend of the Kamala turning north towards the watershed with the Subansiri. Thiswas only large clear patch without forest cover in the area. A high pinnacle called“Tolo Domcho” rises from here. It is associated with legends. It is believed thatduring Solar Eclipse souls of dead persons emerge from there. The pinnacle isclearly seen from Damin also.
26 November:
We descended by the same trail to the Kamala river and crossed to the right bankacross the FSB. Following the trail along the river we climbed a little to camp at
Damin Basti (Or old Damin) near a solitary house.
27 November:
We were to exit from the Kamala valley by a different route. Hence, we followed thetrail to the east, along the river, with several ups and down. On the first day wecamped at Jali Nala which flows from the Jali village, above in the hills.
28 November:Continuing with similar trail, we camped at a clearing in the forest near Saba village.
29 November:
The trail gradually proceeded with some difficult patches. After one such difficult
patch we suddenly emerged on a broad motor road where a huge bull-dozer was
working. A car was seen a kilometre away. The next village was still about 7 km
away at Pagam but walking on road was easier. We camped at Paryang village. My
fitter colleagues had proceeded ahead and were gracious enough to return to join
me back.
30 November:
We walked leisurely to Parsi-Parlo village (at junction of Parsi and Parlo rivers with
the Kamala.
1st December to 4th December:
It turned challenging to get a taxi from here to go to Ziro. However, some contacts
solved the problem. We crossed the Kamala-Khru watershed across Totam Top(Take Hage village). Road descended to a bridge on the main Koloriang-Ziro road.
With a rough road, poor condition of our taxi without headlights we managed toreach Ziro late in night. Nitin was holding a torchlight from window to the road for thetaxi to drive. Exciting affair.
After a day of rest, we were back on the road to Naharlagun railway station for train
to Guwahati.
5 December:
We flew to Mumbai and Goa.

ROADS AND TRAIL IN THE KURUNG AND KAMALA VALLEY

Itanagar to Naharlagun- Ziro
Place
Itanagar to Naharlagun Town
Naharlagun Railway station
Potin
Possa
Yachuli
Yazali
Joram Top
Ziro
Itanagar-Naharlagun-Ziro

Distance
14
9
31
7
8
37
10
12
128 kmZiro to Koloriang (road along the Kurung (Khru) valley)
Place
Ziro
Joram Top
YazaliTalo
New Pania
Deed
Dem
Shakti
New Palin
SangramDistance
0
12
12
10
10
8
7
8
10
52

Koloriang

42

Ziro-Yazali-Koloriang

159 kmTurn west from the main road

Via Old Palin located high onmountain. Descend 3 km to crossPanior river flowing from Yangte.
Foot-trail leads to Talli – a large
village in the Kamala valley. Meer
camp proceed to “0” Point, crossbridge on main KLG road. Road tosouth leads to Nyapin – 38 km
District HQ of Kurung-Kumey
District

Koloriang to Huri rough road
Place
Koloriang
Sarli “0” point

Distance
039

Sarli village(8)

Lee village is 7 km before Sarli.
village
Road ends here, Trail ahead to Milli
village and ahead to passes on the
Tibtan borderPhurchi Top (From “0”point of Sarli)

21

Kilometre 34 (Kilo 34)

9

Kilo 44

10

Kilo 61 (Damin)

17

Kilo 71 (Huri)

10

Koloriang-Sarli “0”point- Damin-Huri

106 KM

Newly constructed road steeply
climed to Phurchi Top to cross into
the Kumey (Kamala) river basin
Descend on rough road. Road atpresent ends here and ahead allalong “cutting” is done and is goodfor walking.
Continuous descent and one climb.
Road construction camp andHelipad ground to campContinuous descent to the large
village almost at bottom of thevalley.
Descend to right bank of Kumey
Kamala) river. Cross the riveracross a Foot Suspension Bridge.
The broad “Cutting Road” continues
to top of the ridge to ITBP Camp.

Road from Parsi- Parlo to Koloriang- Ziro
Place
Parsi ParloDistance0

Totam Top (near Take
Hagu village)

24

Khru Bridge (37 km)

13Koloriang (49 km)

12Parsi Parlo -Koloriang
Towards Ziro
Koloriang to Sangram
Sangram to Palin
Palin to Ziro
Koloriang-Yazali-Ziro

49 km

A rough road is ready towards
Damin for 7 km via Atung village (3km) and Pagam (4 km)
Steep climb by road to the ridge
between the Kamala and Khru
valleys.
Descent in the Khru (Kurung) valley
to meet the Ziro-Koloriang mainroad at a bridge across the Khru
river.
Turning west from the bridge
Koloriang is 12 km via village Rindhi

39
52
85
176 kmTrek Route
Place

Height Distance

Kilo 34

1970
m

Kilo 44
Helipad1680m

Roadhead in2018
10

Hours ofwalk
Across Phurchi Top (2434 m).
Camped near the road5

Daminvillage (Kilo
61)
Huri

1060
m

17

7

Descend on under construction
road to this large village

1175
m

10

6

Damin Basti

1060
m

10 km

5

Jalli Nala

680 m

10

5

Sabe village

610 m

12

7

Opp Payang
village

560 m

14 km

7

Parsi-Parlo

490 m

7 km

3

Descend to the Kumey (Kamala)river, cross to left bank and climb
to high ridge. Bridge (FSB) to be
crossed at 700 m height
Descend to the river and follow
the broad trail to a village to eastof the main village.
Trail to east along the Kamalariver through thick forest, ups
and downs.
Trail through forest and many up
and down
After 6 km of forest trail meet theroad and walk on motor road to
Pagam
Continue on the road via Autung(4 km) to Parsi-Parlo (3 km)

100 km45 hours
net

Total

BIBLIOGRAPHY
Books
Bailey, F. M., Lt. Col. : No Passport to Tibet. Rupert Hart-Davis, London, 1957.
Linter, Bertil: China’s India War. Oxford New Delhi, 2018.
Huber, Toni : The Cult of Pure Crystal Mountain. Oxford University Press, New York,1999.
Maxwell, Neville : India’s China War. Pantheon Books, New York, 1970.
Furer-Haimendorf, Christoph von : Himalayan Barbary. (March 1945) Reprint:
Spectrum Publications, Guwahati, 2016 (First Edition, 1956). Pages 183 to 200“Kamala valley”.
Graham-Bower, Ursula. 1953. See Chapter 7, p. 67 “To the North” trek in the Kamala
Valley.

Bhattachrjee, Tushar Kanti: Enticing Frontiers. Treks in the Kamala and Khru valley
between 1968 – 1972. Page 43 to 78.

Blackburn, Stuart : The Sun Rises. Anthropology of the area

Articles:
1. Alpine Journal, 2001 London : “Arunachal Pradesh: by Doug Scott
2. Himalayan Journal, Vol. 52 “To Nyegi Kangsang” by Col. M. P. Yadav
3. Himalayan Journal, Vol. 72 : “On the Apatani plateau, the Subansiri valley”
by Harish Kapadia

SUMMARY

Dates: 13th November to 5th December 2018
Members:
1. Harish Kapadia
2. Wing Commander C M Jaywant (Retd)
3. Group Capt. Nitin Kanitkar (Retd)
Kumauni Porters:
1. Harsinh Mangal Sinh
2. Hayat Sinh Harkotia
3. Bhavan Ram Harkotia
Guide -Porter Sirdar: Milli TaghTHANKS TO:
1. DIG Prem Singh Negi (Training) of ITBP at Delhi
2. Commandant Mukesh Dashmana of ITBP at Bhalukpong.
3. Pawan Thakur of ITBP.
Lt Nawang Kapadia Chowk, 72 Vijay Apartment, 16 Carmichael Road, Mumbai 400026.
Website: www.harishkapadia.com E mail: harikaps@gmail.com

Lt. Nawang Kapadia(1975 – 2000)
Dedicated to the memory of Lt Nawang Kapadia of 4/3 Gorkha Rifles
He loved the mountains, and gave his life protecting them
See www.nawang.com

Kurung-Kumey District of Central Arunachal Pradesh

Takpa Siri Peak. Seen from camp high on the Kamala Valley on way to Damin.

Camp on helipad ground. Takpa Siri and unnamed peak rising above the Kamla valley.

Potin- breakfast halt on way to Ziro

Palin- on Ziro-Koloriang road

In the Kurung valley every one drinks Pepsi Cola- not water. Huge collection of empty bottoles

En route to Koloriang

KoloriangSarliFirst view of snow peaks on Tibetan border from Sarli. Close up of peaks below

First view of Takpa Siri (left) and unnamed peak as we entered the Kumey or Kamala valley.

Camp where motor road ended.

Damin village

View of Huri across the Kamala- on way to Damin.

Crossing Foot Suspension Bridge on way to Huri.

Stay at Huri, ITBP Camp

Stay at Huri at ITBP Camp

“Tolo Domjo” peak behind the Huri camp.

Camp at Damin Basti. “Tolo Domjo” peak behind

Harish Kapadia wih traditional “Dah” sword with a villager

Returning from Huri

The Kamala River.

Trail from Damin to Parsi Parlo

The Kamala between Damin and Parsi ParloPagam Village- almost end of the trek

Parsi Parlo – end of trek. Waiting for taxi

Wing Cdr C. M. Jaywant (Retd)

Group Capt. Nitin Kanitkar (Retd)

Harish Kapadia

Our Guide Milli Tagh