How this Assam rider took a merit award scooty to the roof of Arunachal

Picture this: A clear morning in the Himalayas, cold and ruthless. Prayer flags are fluttering, and a scooty pushing through the high-altitude roads of a raw and untouched destination in Arunachal Pradesh's Tawang. Apart from the popular routes, this is considered one of the most offbeat and adventurous destinations- the Gongkar La Lake . This is not your typical tourist lake; sitting at an altitude of around 15,000–15,600 ft, it is among the highest and least explored lakes in Northeast India. A trip to this high-altitude alpine lake is one that is usually dominated by custom-built adventure bikes. The journey to Gongkar La Lake is more than just a trip, it's a ride that tests both the driver and the machine. Where heavy adventure bikes are the usual protagonists of such altitudes, a humble scooty becomes the unlikely hero. Sounds like a daring task, right? But a 21-year-old from Assam's Bongaigaon made it happen.

And if you are thinking it's a custom-made scooty built for roads like this, think again. The scooty pushing through the roads of Gongkar La Lake is actually the exact standard model that the Assam government distributes to meritorious students under the Dr. Banikanta Kakati Merit Award, part of the Pragyan Bharati scheme. What might be an ordinary commute tool for many, Bongaigaon's Ankur Sarkar turned it into a Himalayan triumph.

Starting his journey from Assam's Bongaigaon to Arunachal's Gongkar La Lake Ankur rewrote expectations of what an ordinary scooty could endure. No high-end gear or expensive equipment- just a pair of basic riding gloves, helmet, and a puffer jacket- was all it took for Ankur to prove that true grit beats any gear.

Ankur's big win of Gongkar La Lake wasn't an overnight feat. Initially, after receiving the scooty, Ankur began with short runs of 200–300 km to nearby destinations like Meghalaya. Then he used the same scooty to travel to places such as Tawang, Banaras, Ayodhya, and Lucknow with his friends. But the rider in Ankur wasn't satisfied with just that; he wanted more. In March 2026, Ankur decided to take on the almost impossible feat- a journey to Arunachal's Gongkar La Lake. A thrilling 4-day and 3-night journey that tests a rider at any given point to their absolute limit. "Many biker groups warned me not to go to Gongkar La, they told me it was very challenging," said Ankur. However, for this 21-year-old rider, his mindset was clear, "There's no return until I see Gongkar La." He hopped on this challenge with zero mobile network, no route options on Google Maps, and absolutely no roadside or emergency services available. Ankur relied entirely on his knack for challenges.

"I was being told that my scooty tyres are very small compared to those of an adventure bike and would get stuck in the muddy roads." That's what another group of bikers told Ankur while he was en route to Gongkar La. But giving up before even trying is not Ankur's forte. His journey of this Himalayan triumph commenced from Arunachal's Dirang, from there Ankur and his friend paved their way to Bumla Pass, Madhuri Lake, and the infamous Tawang Monastery. After exploring the local markets in Tawang and mentally preparing themselves for the journey, the duo headed towards the Mago Chuna Valley the very next morning- a step closer to Gongkar La.

The already demanding journey became more hostile for the duo the moment they reached Mago Chuna Valley. The valley welcomed Ankur with a torrential, unforgiving downpour, the type that lashes with no mercy. Navigating their way through the downpour in temperatures reaching as low as -3°C, the duo reached Tulung La checkpoint. Past this checkpoint, the expedition became even more challenging, with escalating altitudes, blurry vision, sub-zero temperatures and continuous freezing rain. At one of the trickiest stretches, the incline became so severe that Ankur had to ask his pillion to get off so he could push the scooty up the steep. Such extreme conditions would have convinced any typical rider to abort the mission, yet all these weren't enough to convince Ankur to take a return route without reaching his destination.

Without any waterproof riding gloves, Ankur's hands became numb in the freezing temperature. After covering a significant distance in the extreme conditions, the duo stopped at a turn. Looking around, all they could see was heavy fog, the kind that even reflects light back to the source. In sub-zero temperatures, when the human body already goes into survival mode and physical exhaustion sets in, psychological doubt followed Ankur, he started questioning, "Did we make the good decision? Is this the correct route?" Just when Ankur decided to submit to the unforgiving mountains and take a return route, they saw a car approaching them, which to Ankur came like a sign of relief. "It's difficult to bring even a 4x4 car up to this altitude, how did you manage to come all the way here in that scooty?" the traveller in the car asked Ankur, and Ankur took his question as his cue to keep going. All the uncertainty vanished, Ankur was just 400 meters away from his destination.

Just 400 meters remained, what more could the mountains possibly throw at them? That's what Ankur thought before he finally laid eyes on his destination: Gongkar La Lake. The lake was entirely frozen, its natural beauty preserved beneath a dense layer of white ice. Yet for Ankur it was one of the most beautiful views. "The view of Gongkar La Lake was so surreal I felt like I was dreaming," said Ankur upon reaching his final summit. But the mountains are as cruel as they are beautiful, and high-altitude weather changes in the blink of an eye. The weather deteriorated rapidly, the snowstorm came with even greater force, and staying there for more than 20 minutes could have posed a life threat. Despite all the challenges the duo overcame to reach the lake, the weather forced them to return within 20 minutes.

"The journey was not easy, both the road and the weather were unforgiving.. I had my fair share of slips on the thick blanket of ice covering the road. We also encountered a small landslide near Tenga Valley. But the final view made up for everything... it was fascinating. The journey should go on like this, like a never-ending process. This particular journey challenged me a lot, but I would love to discover and explore more such places." That's what Ankur told India Today NE when asked if he would ever do this again.

"More than anything, I want to thank myself for believing in me." Ankur’s feat is a striking contrast to the assumption that only expensive, high‑powered machines can access extreme landscapes. For the young people of Northeast India, many of whom face limited resources Ankur's journey is proof that ambitions, when mixed with determination and planning, yield extraordinary results. At Gongkar La Lake, the scooty may be small, but the message is large. This journey of Ankur stands as a portrait of proof: "It’s the mindset, not the machine."