Ciriang Tlang

Location

               Ciriang Tlang (Mt. Ciriang) is one of the most famous and beautiful mountains in Thantlang Township, Chin State, Myanmar. It is near the border of India and Myanmar. There is Hriangkhan village in the east, Tikir in the south, Sialam in the southwest and Thau in the north. All these four villages share their territories in one part of the Ciriang Tlang range. There is a very flat area, the so-called "Lung-awn rawn" (meaning the sound of the stone), in the bottom of the mountain in Thau territory. That Lung-awn rawn is a pretty good site for hydroelectric power.

Ciriang Tlang with Lung-awn Rawn

Topography of Ciriang Tlang

               The top of the mountain is quite long and it looks like a plateau. There is a very large forest, the so-called Ciriangtu. Ciriang Tlang is the sources of some big streams like Hriawh Va in Thau territory, Phiawh Va in Tikir territory and some tributaries of Thangse Va stream in Hriangkhan territory. The source of Saisih Va also starts in the west side of Ciriang Tlang.

               The Ciriang Tlang range, extending about 15 miles east-west between Thau and Tikir Villages. The highest point is in the east side of the mountain in Hriangkhan territory. There was a small village in the bottom of the highest point before the British era but was deserted because of a very cold climate.
              From the highest point the mountain lies east-west like a plateau for around 4-5 miles. And the range goes down slowly and becomes Innral and Nukaitlang between Saisih and Hri-awh Rivers within Thau Territory. And then the range goes up again and appears as Buntlang near the confluence of Tipi River and Tio River. The range goes down and ending in a ridge at the confluence of Tio and Hriawh Rivers. In Tio River there is a very large valley called Lotha-rawn (meaning Good-land valley).

               In the south side, the range goes down rapidly and form small mountain changes and ridges along the way. The highest point is Salen Tlang between Vomkua and Salen Villages. The range slowly disperses in the south and appears as small mountains and ending in d in La-aw River and Bawinu (Tipi) River. Ciriang Tlang is one part of many ranges in the Chin States that connects to Himalayas ranges further north.

               There are several water falls in Ciriang Tlang especially in Thau territory. There are seven of them. Khuaiva Falls is the largest which is in the borderline of Hriangkhan and Thau territory. All water falls dried up in summer time except Khuaiva. Khuaiva is the source of Hriawh Va, which is the largest River in Thau territory (Read about Rivers in Thau territory at Semnaklairam.blogspot.com).

               The Northside of Ciriang Tlang is very steep. From Lung-awn Rawn, the mountain went up in around 85 degrees straight to the top. There are several white soft sandstones in this side. Some of them are 300 feet (est) high horizontally. Some stones are very big. No one knows the age of the rocks in Ciriang Tlang. The soft sandstones in Tikir territory are so high and beautiful. They are magnificent. The views are spectacular. This Ciriang Tlang is a perfect location to take a movie like "The Lord of the Rings." Ciriang Tlang is actually one of the natural wonders in the Chin State.

               One of the most marvelous things of Ciriang Tlang is its long and large plateau on the top of the mountain range. There are many kinds of wildlife on its top; many high soft sand-stones in the sides of the mountain so on and so forth. There are many valuable honey combs on the high sandstones. Some honey combs are in a very high rock and it is very risky getting them.  

                                                         

Part of Ciriang Tlang Range

The Weather

               Ciriang Tlang has two extreme weather conditions since it is a long range. In monsoon season, the cloud always covers some parts of the mountain. The rain fall is very high. It may have one of the highest rain falls in the Chin State. It has a place the so-call "Rua-fiang" (It original name might be "Ruah-fiang," which literally means "the Ridge of Rain). Ruafiang has a lot of rainfalls in the monsoon season because it is in the corner where Ciriang Tlang and Faiceu Tlang meet like a cross road.

               In Nukaitlang area the weather is extremely hot in the summer because its low elevation. Nukaitlang lies between the Saisih River and Hri-awh River. In Buntlang the weather is more tolerable than in Nukaitlang. Bungtlang is in the middle of Tipi, Tio, Hri-awh and Saisih Rivers and it is pretty hot and dried in summer. It is cold in winter because of the fogs from four rivers. The rainfalls is very heavy during the monsoon season. Ciriang Tlang mountain range ends in a small valley in Tio River in Indian border in the west, and La-aw River and Tipi (Bawinu) River in the south after forming several small mountains, valleys and streams. Tio and Tipi are some of the hottest places in the Chin State. The summer temperature reached around 100-110 degrees (F).  

Thau Village. The far mountain range is Faiceu Tlang

              Throughout the range, people practice sifting agriculture, growing variety of rices, corn, bean, vegetables and millet.

Animism and Ciriang Tlang

               Ciriang Tlang was a sacred mountain for the local Thau villagers before Christianity. They sacrificed cow, sia or pig to the natural spirits of that mountain each year. It was one of the most sacred and powerful mountains in Thantlang township. Thau people used to pray to the spirits in that mountain when they encountered calamities in the village that "Oh Ciriang Mountain, please protect us from 954

               The local people believed that there are many thousands of khuachia (nat in Burmese) in Ciriang Tlang mountain. This spirits dwell in the rock, forest, wetlands and in any other places there. The people frequently heard the voices khuachia at night many times. These spirits do everything like human being. My aunt used to sacrifice animals to appease the spirits in this mountain. My father, a non-Christian, told me that he heard the voices of khuachia so many times when he was alone at night in the weekend while many people went home for rest on Sunday. Many people told me a story how they encountered these spirits at night in this mountain. There are many scary stories like that.

Khuachia's society seems to form like a human society in naming and calling and playing each other. There are several instances of interaction between khuachia and human being in this mountain in the past. A boy, Al Bik, was lost while he was about 12 years old near the foot of this mountain and people believed that he was taken away by the spirits in this mountain.

Flora and Fauna

               Ciriang Tlang is covered by deciduous forest but is always green all years round like a tropical region. Chin Rural Development Program (CRDP) declared it as a wildlife sanctuary.  Both rhododendron arboretum (red) and rhododendron moulmeinense (white) grow around the peak of the mountain. Bamboos' family plants such as pharh, ruangal and tekte also are very plentiful. Wild banana are around the area. Popular trees such as mual, hnahsau, mum, hriang, chengcher are also in the area. Chengcher tree, which flowers bloom in the winter, grow in many places. It was so beautiful when it blooms around the Christmas time. Many vines grow throughout the mountain range. Popular wild fruits such as thurthling, kethei, sarzuk and thanthei, dingkawk, hriphi, thithet and dingzun grow in this mountain.

               Many reptiles like snake and rat, insect and some kinds of butterfly can be found. Hundreds of unnamed plants and species can be found in this area. More researches need to be done that how many kinds of plants and species are in this area. There are many indigenous medical plants such as thingkawp, tawlrel, thingsi and thingthupi etc. Some people believe that there could be many indigenous medical plants more to be found in this forest. Lungthi (lit., stone-blood) are also found in the high rocks near the peak.

Deer, sakhi, sathar, saza, bear and wild boar are around the mountain. A very large fung male lived in this mountain 5 years ago and it was shot and killed by the hunter from Sialam village. No one knows whether that male fung animal was the last of that kind in this mountain. Carnivorous animal such as tigers, leopards and other small cats live in various places. Foxes also live around the mountain.

Many popular birds such as vapual (horn bill), vanvuk, vanga, varit, artau, vavu, vaking, valah, vangal, chimbu, two kinds of hoopoe, three kinds of falcon and many other birds also inhabit in the area. There are four kinds of monkey (zawng, dawr, huho, ngau) in this mountain. Lungpangkhuai (rocky-bee) are also found. The singing birds such as tlerlung, tuklo, fiakfairok, koktut and satututut sing sweetly in the summer time. 

Thau Village. The background is Ciriang Tlang

The Height of Ciriang Tlang

               No one knows the height of Ciriang Tlang exactly since the official record is not available. Its height is less than that of Thau Tlang and Phawngpui Tlang but the range is longer than those two mountains. The highest point might be around 7,000 above sea level. Survey needs to be done.

How to get there

               Ciriang Tlang is about 60 miles west of Hakha, capital of the Chin State. Cars and motor cycles are available in Thantlang for rent. The mountain can be reached through Saisihchuak Road via Hakha to Thantlang, then to Thlualam, Hriangkhan and Thau. There are some lodgings in Ruafiang Kuar (Ruafiang pass). The cost for a motor cycle is about Ks. 35,000 ($40) one way from Thantlang to Thau. The road is small and dangerous. It is tough to drive cars and motor cycles. If you plan to visit Ciriang Tlang you will need to carry extra gasoline for reserve. There is no shop to buy gasoline on the way. 

Where to Stay

               It is best to stay in Ruafiang, which is between Faiceu Tlang and Ciriang Tlang in the valley. From there you can see Thau, Bungtlang and Hriangkhan villages and some Indian villages in India. Ruafiang is a very quiet place. It is one of the best places to stay if you travel on Saisihchuak Road. In fact, Ruafiang Pass is a gateway between India and Myanmar on the famous historic Saisihchuak Road.

Best time to visit

               The best time to visit Ciriang Tlang mountain is from February to May. The forest is very dense and only strong hunters could go inside the forest. Many people get loss there. Make sure to remember your path to return back to the camp.  The mountain is mostly wet and dark during monsoon season. Fogs and cloud covers the mountain top mostly in monsoon because of its high altitude and position. It is pretty scary when thick and black cloud passes the mountain top during monsoon season. There are a lot of land leech (cangvat) in the mountain areas during monsoon. November to December is also very cold but is a good time to visit this mountain.

Activities

               It is a perfect place for hiking, rock climbing, rock propelling and sight-seeing the birds, flowers, forests and surrounding areas.  Ciriang Tlang is, in fact, one of the most unexplored places in the Chin State. It is one of the best places in the Chin State to visit for adventurers. No westerners visit the mountain top since the time of the British colony. Research needs to be done about the plants, the species, rocks and the honey combs. 

One day this Ciriang Tlang would be one of the most attractive tourist destinations in Myanmar especially for eco-tourists because of its beauty, charm, good climates and many of its plants and species. Someday it would be a perfect safe haven for the wildlife too.  

Thau Village. The Background is Ciriang Tlang