Friday, September 16, 2016

Sela Pass

#ashokasays Did you know 313:

Usually when you ask many people to name the highest motor-able pass in the world, immediately you'll get an answer that it is the Khardungla Pass in Ladakh Region. And I know that some of you have driven in this. But there are many passes in India which are very high and gives you an extraordinary experience when you drive through it.
Sela Pass in Arunachal Pradesh is one of the many we have here. And some bikers in this group may have been through this pass.
Sela Pass, also known as Se La, is a high mountain pass at an elevation of 4,170 m (13,700 ft) above the sea level, located in Tawang District of Arunachal Pradesh state of India. It’s among the most frequented tourist destination in the whole of Arunachal Pradesh.
The road's winding design, providing stunning panoramic views, is very curvy and fun for a leisurely ride, so it pays to take it slow. It connects the Buddhist city of Tawang Town to Tezpur and Guwahati and is the main road connecting Tawang with the rest of India.
The view of Sela lake enroute is just majestic. The climb is simply terrible, with a notorious lack of oxygen that tests the organisms and a high degree of steepness. The ever-windy Sela Pass gets heavy snow in winters and is usually open throughout the year unless landslides or snow require the pass to be shut down temporarily. This place is snowed in most of the year and offers excellent and heavenly views all year round.  The air is thin, oxygen is less and one gets tired and starts panting very soon. Despite this the experience of just being there is exhilarating.
You should know why this pass is named as Sela. It wouldn't be wrong when you say that war and romance meet at this pass.
Sela was a local girl who loved Jaswant, an Indian soldier against her father’s wishes. During the Indo-China war, Jaswant Singh single-handedly fought the Chinese for three days by fooling them while Sela brought him ammunition and food from the camp.
The story goes that Jaswant positioned himself on a hill top in a long trench and placed rifles to give an impression that the entire army was behind him. Finally he was betrayed by Sela’s father and was captured and beheaded by the Chinese. Sela in agony committed suicide by jumping from a hillock. A brass bust of Jaswant is kept in Jaswant Garh, also the site of the battle. Sela has a pass at 13,700 feet named after her.
Being there, anyone would feel that if there’s any place that defines heaven on earth? Then this is it.

INCREDIBLE BHARATHA









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