Shergaon is not on the way to anywhere. It sits on the Rupa-Kalaktang road, off the main highway to Tawang. Most traffic heading north never sees it. That is the reason to go.
It is a Sherdukpen village. The Sherdukpen are one of the smaller communities of West Kameng. They are Buddhist, and most people here are Sherdukpen.
Around the village are apple orchards, pine and rhododendron on the slopes, and clear streams. The monasteries here are centuries old. This post covers why to start here, the orchards, a day in the village and the farm stays.
Why start a mountain trip here
The classic Tawang trip climbs from the plains to Sela Pass at 13,700 feet in very little time. A lot of people feel it.
A night or two at Shergaon changes that. You arrive somewhere quiet after one day's drive, and sleep well. You do the big crossing to Tawang the day after, already in the hills.
The drive from Shergaon to Tawang runs through Rupa, Bomdila and Dirang and over Sela. It is shorter than the drive from Guwahati would be.
The orchards
Shergaon is best known for its apples. The government orchard here is one of the biggest in Arunachal. More than forty varieties of apple grow on it, along with nuts and berries.
Private orchards fill the slopes around the village. Come in late summer or autumn to see the fruit on the trees.
A day in the village
A full day here is a slow one. Walk the village and the orchards. Visit the old monastery. See the megalithic site and the horticulture farm. Follow a forest trail down to a stream.
Come back to the farm in the afternoon and do nothing much at all. Phone signal is thin to absent. That is rather the point.
What a farm stay is like
Farm stays here are family-run and simple. Expect clean rooms, home cooking and chickens and turkeys in the yard. Your hosts will sit and talk if you want them to.
You eat what the family eats, vegetarian and non-vegetarian both. It helps to order dinner a little early.
If you are used to hotels, the change is small and pleasant. If you need room service and a lift, Shergaon is not the place. We will tell you so.
Getting there
From Guwahati, the most interesting way in is the quiet road through Rowta and Bhairabkunda. Read the back road to Shergaon. From Shergaon, Tawang is one long day over Sela.
We route Shergaon into our western Arunachal trips as the first night. See Shergaon and Sangti valleys, or start from Tawang & the Western Passes and ask us to add it.
Shergaon is one stop in our guide to western Arunachal beyond Tawang.
