Arunachal’s Tuting to enter Buddhism tourism circuit

Arunachal Pradesh’s Tuting region in the Upper Siang district will soon be included in the Buddhism tourism circuit. Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Pema Khandu, who was on a two-day visit to primary Buddhist sites, said that this will be done to attract more tourists in this region.

He added that Tuting, being blessed by Guru Padmasambhava, is one of the holy places for spiritual practitioners to practice dharma and meditate. The popular triangle Gelling-Tuting-Singha forms the ‘Pemako Zone’ that offers unparalleled beauty with its flora and fauna.
Now, with this move, it is expected that opening up and slowly promoting Tuting, along with Chowkham, Tawang, and Namsai will help boost tourism revenue in this region. As per reports, Arunachal Pradesh had been registering a significant growth in revenue collection, and that efforts need to be made to disperse the incoming travellers, which would also help Tawang to breathe and decongest a little.

However, although the Union Tourism Ministry has identified several countries as a target source for the existing Buddha Tourism Circuit, it needs to be seen how Tuting is placed for the same. Further, to bring this region in the circuit, one of the major challenges will be the distance and condition of the road from Pasighat to Tuting, a stretch of 360-plus kilometres. However, that part of the country now has three operating airports, i.e., Lilabari, Dibrugarh, and Pasighat, whereas trains are available from Guwahati to Murkongselek, which is just 36 km away.
Meanwhile, in the coming days, work is likely to get started to put this region under the Buddhism tourism circuit and woo more tourists.