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 his is one jungle that can be visited just for the sheer discomfort it offers to an urban youth bred in modernity. There is no electricity and no telephone cable even very far away leave alone television or radio. Ages away from any civilization the stay here in the forest camp of simple cottages is marked by doing what the primitive men used to do. Sleeping when the sun sets and waking up with the
sunrise. Indian standard time is followed in this far eastern part of India also; hence it is evening by 1600 hrs and pit dark by 1700 to 1730
hours. Nothing much is left of doing after that. Except of feeling the crisp mountain air and hearing the roaring
Deban river flow. Idyllic evenings are spent chatting around the campfires with local men about their stories of the jungles, watching
 million stars and relishing the simple food cooked on wood fire. The food prepared of locally available ingredients like forest beans, etc. and eaten under the light of an oil lamp tastes even better than it sounds.
During the day the jungle is very much visible from the base camp- right from lower level to the snow line. It is the
only national park in the world that spreads from a level of 200 meters above sea level to more than 4500 meters above sea level. Tropical evergreen to alpine vegetation, the change in tree lines is very fast and distinct. It also has the distinction for having four members of cat family-
the tiger, snow leopard, clouded leopard and leopard. However, seeing any of these animals is a remote possibility though even distant roars are enough to send shivers in the body. The evergreen rain forests with thick overgrowths are so dense that it is completely dark over the
ground.
The crystal clear river  Deban flows rapidly and has a wide sandy
beach on both
sides. A hand-held boat helps crossing the river. Or an elephant ride is more adventurous, by the time elephant reaches midstream it is almost entirely in water! The
elephant ride also enables climb to steep forested hills where the tribal mahout tells about the trees and birds. Most of the times the birds are not visible, only chirruping proves their presence.
Most of this forest is still unexplored and its biodiversity largely unrecorded. It is possible to trek inside and
camp for a few days where the pleasure of appreciating the Himalayas, forests and wildlife increases manifold.
The town nearest to Namdapha is a cute little Arunachali town Miao. There is an interesting
Tibetan Crafts center where Tibetan refugees make very beautiful carpets. The route to Miao from Assam involves traveling through the old Stilwell road, an old coal mine at Ledo where a primitive looking train still quarries out coal and
beautiful tea gardens of Margherita town.
Leave nothing at Namdapha except your footprints and bring nothing from Namdapha except sweet memories; for Namdapha is one of
last remaining stretches of Mother Earth that is still in shape as it is supposed to be.
| QUICK FACTS |
| Getting there |
Nearest airport and railway station of significance are Dibrugarh and Dibrugarh/Tinsukia respectively. From here it is a long drive to Deban valley. The road is very bad till Arunachal border and then improves dramatically upto Miao. From Miao it is a very basic path to Deban possible only by four wheel drive vehicle. |
| Further connections |
Miao, Margherita and Digboi. |
| Best time to visit |
Pleasant all through the year. Nights are cool. Rains heavily in monsoons. |
| Important |
The National Park is very less developed in terms of infrastructure. There is no electricity and telephone. The only place to stay is forest rest house having basic facilities only. Bring ample number of clothing, personal belongings, medicines, camping equipments and provisions with you. The area is less
adapted to tourists hence keep a low profile. |
 
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