Sela Pass the tourist Place

   4.Sela Pass

The Sela Pass (more appropriately called Se La, as La means Pass) is the high-altitude mountain pass located in Tawang District of Arunachal Pradesh state of India. It has an elevation of 4170 m (13,700 ft) connects the Buddhist city of Tawang Town to Tezpur and Guwahati and is the main road connecting Tawang with the rest of India. Tawang is situated at a distance of 78 km from Sela Pass while Guwahati is at a distance of 340 km.

SelaPass Entrance

A view at SelaPass

SelaPass Lake

The pass has hardly any vegetation and is usually snow-covered to some extent all through the year. During winter temperature in the pass can go down to −10 degrees. This place is snowed in most of the year and offers excellent and heavenly views all year round. This part of the Eastern Himalayan range is pretty special for the Buddhists as it is believed that about 101 lakes exist in and around Sela pass and each of these lakes has a huge religious significance for the Buddhist community. Very close to the Pass is the beautiful Sela Lake (sometimes called Paradise Lake because of its beauty), which could be fully or partially frozen in winter. Some small rivers also flow out of the lake and during grazing season, yaks grazing around the lake. While Sela Pass does get heavy snow in winters, it is usually open throughout the year unless landslides or snow require the pass to be shut down temporarily. Sela Pass is the main route to access Tawang town, and given the proximity of Tawang District with Tibet.