Trip To Tam Dil Lake In Mizoram: Ride From Thenzwal To Seling
My bike ride in Mizoram was on its course. Although I faced some issues the day, I reached Aizwal. Since then, everything was going as per my plan. After Reiek and Vantawang Waterfall, my next destination in Mizoram was the border district Champhai. Now I was in Thenzawl, and knowing Champhai is around 250 kilometers, I knew it would take two days to reach Champhai. So, I divided my ride into two parts. First, I aimed to ride till Tam Dil Lake and in the second leg, ride from Tam Dil to Champhai and visit Rih-Dil Lake on India-Myanmar Border. While riding scooter was fun, it was the first time in my ride of north-east India that I couldn’t reach the destination by evening. I had made reservations at Tourist Lodge at Tam Dil lake, but a late checkout and many photography breaks derailed the plan. By evening, I couldn’t make till Saitual, and I had to search for alternate accommodation in Seling. Therefore, in this article, I will be sharing my trip to Tam Dil Lake in Mizoram as well as my bike ride from Thenzawl to Tam Dil Lake. I will also be sharing some information like how to reach Tam Dil Lake, accommodation facilities in Tam Dil, and other places to see near the lake.
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Why Plan A Trip To Tam Dil Lake In Mizoram
Anyone visiting Mizoram knows that the state has more to offer in terms of natural beauty and less in history and architecture. In my article on “Places to Visit in Aizwal,” I mentioned the Tam Dil Lake. The one reason for visiting Tam Dil lake is that it is easily accessible from Aizwal. The second and most obvious reason is that the other lakes in Mizoram are far from the capital city. Palak Dil, the biggest lake in Mizoram, lies in the southern Mizoram more than 300 kilometers from Aizwal. Whereas the Rih Dil Lake is in the Champhai, which is the far eastern district and requires plenty of travel. These two lakes demand more days; thus, tourists have one option, the Tam Dil lake. Tam Dil lake is only 80 kilometers from the state capital and is reachable after a three-hour drive. A drive from Aizwal to Tam Dil lake allows visitors to experience the remote areas of the state and get a glimpse of the dense forest and hills for which Mizoram is famous.
How To Reach Tam Dail Lake In Mizoram
Arriving Tam Dil lake is easy as there is only one route connecting Aizwal to Tam Dil. The lake lies close to the Aizwal-Champhai Road, which is a combination of National Highway 306 and 102B. The road is a single lane but well paved. I rode on this stretch during my scooter ride from Tam Dil to Rih-Dil. I also rode on the National Highway 102B on my last leg of Mizoram’s journey when I rode from Ngopa in Mizoram to Churachandpur in Manipur. The route to reach Tam Dil lake from Aizwal is as follows: Aizwal City-> Tuirial-> Seling-> Keifang-> Saitual-> Tam Dil lake.
If you had read my previous posts on my ride in Mizoram, you know that I traveled from Thenzawl, therefore followed a different route. The route I followed was: Thenzawl-> Serchhip-> Baktawng-> Tlungvel-> Seling-> Keifang-> Saitual-> Tam Dil lake. My plan was to ride for Tam Dil lake and stay at the Mizoram Government Tourist Lodge. My plan got derailed, and by sunset, I only managed to reach Seling. I had to find accommodation at Seling, which was a horrible experience, and eventually, end up in Frest rest house in Seling.
Regarding the availability of transport, as the lake is on the Aizwal-Champhai road, it is well connected by both public and private buses. Anyone planning to visit the Tam Dil Lake can get a bus in Aizwal City. These buses have fix timings and start early in the morning. If one is not punctual, he/she can still visit the lake by traveling on Sumo services, which ply on these routes. These sumo services are operational throughout the day. The only problem arises after Saitual as the lake is still 10 kilometers from Spiritual. One can either hitchhike or hire a taxi/autorickshaw at Saitual or Keifang.
My Trip To Tam Dil Lake In Mizoram
I started my day early in the morning. The first site I went to was Vantawng falls. The waterfall is close to the Tourist Rest House in Thenzawl and hardly took ten minutes to reach there. Upon arriving there, I found the waterfall engulfed in fog and hardly anything visible. With no scope of fog getting clear, I decided to visit Tuirihiau falls. Tuirihiau lies close to Vantawng falls. To visit Tuirihiau falls, one has to trek to reach the base of the waterfall. It is a short trek and took me five minutes to reach there. As I was visiting Mizoram in November, the waterfall was not flowing with its might. It looked more like a small water stream falling from a certain height. I had seen many fantastic waterfalls while riding in Meghalaya and couldn’t find any reason to stay at the Tuirihiau waterfall for a long time. Had it been a monsoon season, the story would have been different. I returned to the rest house for breakfast and checkout formalities.
Once I compted the checkout formalities, I went again at Vantawang falls, and now the fog subsided significantly. I took my camera and captured a few phots of the waterfall and shot a timelapse. Vantawang falls is a 210-meter two-tiered waterfall, and the waterfall looked majestic from the watchtower. A trek leads to the base of the waterfall, but I decide to skip visiting the bottom of the waterfall. I was running out of time, and the trek was not an easy one and required an hour trek. Moreover, the waterfall has less water, so I couldn’t find any logic of visiting the base of the waterfall. After visiting both the waterfalls, I explored the Thenzawl market and Deer park. With nothing more to do, I decided to ride for my next destination, which was Tam Dil Lake.
Ride From Thenzawl To Serchhip
As mentioned above, the route I followed was Thenzawl-> Serchhip-> Baktawng-> Tlungvel-> Seling-> Keifang-> Saitual-> Tam Dil lake. I refueled my scooter at the Thenzawl petrol pump and then aimed to reach Serchhip. Serchhip is one of the eight districts of Mizoram and district headquarters of the Serchhip district. The road from Thenzawl to Serchhip is in good form barring a few stretches where construction is going on. The widening of the road and new tarmac made the ride an unbearable stretch, and it took me about one hour to cover a 30 kilometers stretch. Once I reached Serchhip, I took a short tea break as I had breakfast a few hours back and continued my ride towards my next destination, Baktawng village.
Once I crossed the Serchhip, I again encountered the hills and dense forests on both sides of the road like my previous rides in Mizoram. Roads in the majority of Mizoram is a single lane road meandering through hills and woods, and the current stretch was no exception. I had relief as I was no longer annoyed by the dust. I continued my ride and noticed a beautiful football field on a hilltop amidst forests and took my first photography break of today’s ride. Football is the most popular sport in Mizoram, and I saw a glimpse of it while exploring Aizwal city, but I was not aware of a scenic football ground in a hilly state. The majority of Indian’s are aware of cricket stadiums on hills, but here in Mizoram, the story is different.
Ride From Serchhip To Baktawng
Riding between Serchhip to Baktawng was fun, no more traffic or traffic snarls, just a single lane road running through the heart of the forest. From Serchhip, Baktawng is around 40 kilometers and took me about 2 hours to reach. The reason for the delay was the multiple photography breaks I took. The natural beauty of Mizoram drove me, and with sunset approaching, the view was spectacular. By the time I reached Baktawng, it was already four, and I noticed shades of darkness on the hills. Tam Dil lake was still 75 kilometers to go, and it was sure I wouldn’t be able to make till Saitual.
I planned to visit the largest family of Ziona in the Baktawng town. He is known for holding a world record as the head of the “world’s largest existing family” with 39 wives, 94 children, 14 daughters-in-law, and 33 grandchildren, 180 in total, and counting. I wanted to visit the home, but knowing the sun sets early in the north-east, I was forced to drop the plan and continue towards Seling. Between Baktawng and Keifang, Selling was the only significant town where I can find accommodation, so I kept my journey towards Seling.
Ride From Baktawng To Seling
Seling is 30 kilometers from Baktawng, and it took me another one hour to reach there. By the time I arrived in Seling, it was 5:30 PM and almost dark. I was not in favor of driving in the dark in an unknown region and therefore decided to find accommodation in Seling. After riding to and fro in the marked, I found a few shops with the name “Hotel” in their signboard and tried my luck of finding accommodation. To my surprise, all of them were restaurants, and none had an accommodation facility. I was in serious trouble and was running of ideas. Initially, I thought to ride to Saitual, but knowing the roads of Mizoram, it was a challenging task. The second option was Aizwal, but then it would cost me an extra day. I thought to check with a few more locals and try my luck. One shopkeeper informed me that there is a forest rest house on the outskirts of town and I can find accommodation there. Now with the hope of finding night shelter, I drove to the forest rest house.
At the forest rest house, I couldn’t find any reception, office, or guard to talk about the room’s availability. I rode aimlessly in the area’s circumference with no luck and therefore decided to nock one of the residents. Luckily, my first attempt was the bull’s eye, and I knocked on the home of officer managing guest house. They informed me that they have one room available as no guest is coming (I was traveling in Mizoram during the state’s election). After check-in, I joined the family and had a fantastic conversion. We discussed the election, tourism in Mizoram, and finally, I joined them at the dinner. Later, when I asked about the cost of the stay, they refused to take any money. Instead, they said if I want to give money, it is better to donate in their children’s Christmas gift box. It was the second time in Mizoram when I saw the epitome of hospitality in Mizoram. I experienced similar hospitality in Reiek during my initial days in Mizoram.
After dinner, I ended my today’s ride and spent the next hour thinking about how less we know about the people of north-east India. In mainland India, people have myths and misconceptions about northeastern India. Today’s ride could have been a disaster for me, but I was saved by Mizo hospitality. Today I felt that north-east India was blessed with natural beauty and with people with a golden heart.
