Lohit Expedition 2003
December 2003
Team Lohit:
Vicki Barlow, Pete Caterall, Paul "Skinny" Jones, Rob Litherland, Bryan Smith and Laura Tipper.
This December, Bryan and five Brits will be attempting a first descent of the Lohit River
in the far Northeast corner of India. The Lohit comes into India at the border with China
near India's eastern most inhabited tip, at a place called Kibithu. It is a medium volume,
continuous Class 4/5 river in its upper alpine reaches and becomes pool drop towards the confluence
with the Bramaputra. There have been a few raft expeditions on it, but none of them have been
complete and all have been run in conjunction with the Indian Army. Our expedition aims to run
the entire river self-supported in kayaks, a possible first complete descent. The trip starts at
Kibithu, unless we are able to get permission to start even higher at the village of Dichu, we will
then take approximately 7 days to complete over a hundred mile stretch of river that ends in Brahmkund.
Jeff Boyn and two Canadians will also be attempting the Lohit with raft support at the same
time. Aquaterra Adventures, based in New Delhi, has helped facilitate permits and stage logistics
into this remote region of the Arunachal Pradesh. We can't thank them enough, as this region of India
has been extremely hard to access and they have worked in conjunction with government of Arunachal Pardesh
to make the trip possible.
Because Arunachal Pradesh borders Bhutan, Tibet, China, and Burma it has been politically sensitive
and traditionally off-limits to foreigners until very recently. The AP is home to over 65 tribes and
is much like Kashmir in a strategic sense because of its proximity to its immediate neighbor China.
With a mostly Tibeto-Burman Buddhist population, Arunchal's indigenous people keep this region spinning
with alienation from New Delhi. It can be said however that the politics and policy of the region are
generally far less of an issue to these sturdy mountain people than the earthquakes, avalanches, floods,
frost, and famine that the youthful Himilayas throw at them. There is a tremendous history in India and
the Arunachal Pradesh. Combine that with a hundred mile first descent. Well let's just say it will be
just as much of an adventure as an expedition.
While the Lohit Expedition will take up a better part of December we will be warming up on the Shimla and
the Sutlej which are Northwest of Delhi prior to the Lohit and we hope to get a 4 day run in on the Tonns
immediately following the Lohit. The entire trip will be documented with still photographs and video and
we hope to share some amazing stories when we get back.
While the Brits have obtained sponsorship from several UK based companies, Bryan would like to give an extra
special thanks to all the paddling companies that are making the trip possible:
More Info
Here are some links where you can out more about where we are going, see the people, and look at some maps:
Maps of India - Arunachalpradesh
Arunachal Tourism - Guide Maps
Arunachal Tourism - The People
Another map of the region
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