Along tourism and travel guide

Aalo is beautifully located between several small villages and at two rivers: Sipu and Yonago. You will pass it on the way to the picturesque Mechuka valley. Hills surround it, and there are orange orchards everywhere. It is 300 m above sea level and has pleasant weather for most of the year

Walking around the village areas of Aalo is quite a scintillating experience. There is very little noise, and the air is fresh and pollution-free. Walk along with one of the hanging bridges, swinging and swaying over the gushing river and through some mud paths to experience authentic Galo life. It is a great area for trekking and hikes with dense, unspoiled forests that is the stuff of dreams of a true adventurer. Don't miss a sunset viewing from the Patum cable bridge, a breathtaking, unmissable sight.

The market areas with stalls manned by friendly locals with fresh produce, bamboo products, and especially the juicy oranges are worth spending a leisurely hour.

Getting There

Along has no local train station or civil airport. It is best to take a flight or train to nearby Dibrugarh and then drive down to Along. There are several government-operated buses by the Arunachal Pradesh State Transport. Private buses and taxis are also available from various transit points in the state. 

The Galo tribes are the predominant people in the region. They have the reputation of being friendly, organized, and disciplined. In the old days, the people practiced shifting cultivation, where the people make their living by growing one type of crops like barley, rice, or maize for a few seasons in one area. Then the area is cleared of all vegetation, and the area is abandoned for a few years until the soil's fertility is restored.

While this is an ancient tribal practice, it has been discouraged in recent years due to increased air pollution in the area during crop-burning. They now also practice wet rice cultivation, where paddy fields are flooded with water, and terrace cultivation, where rice is grown on steps cut into the slopes of the hills to prevent soil erosion by flowing water.

The tribesmen speak the Galo dialect, a Tibetan-Burmese derivative, but do not be surprised if they speak to you in English or Hindi.

Suppose you visit this area during the Mopin festival in April. In that case, you will be swept away in the joyous celebrations and folk dances and prayers for prosperity and universal happiness.  Your face will be smeared with rice powder, and you can take part in the eating, drinking, and merry-making for many days.

The food you will get is simple but delicious. Food is cooked over an open fire; normally rice, boiled vegetables, chicken or pork, and stuffed inside hollow bamboo shoots and cooked without oil or too many spices. Breakfast is pitha, a type of rice cake with black tea. The local fermented beverage is Poka, a fermented rice drink that is heady and strong-tasting.