After skirmishes with China, India is beefing up border security in the Himalayas.

Along the perilous mountain ranges, New Delhi deploys cruise missiles, howitzers, choppers, and Israeli-made drones.

A postcard image of gushing streams and calm lakes can be found on the winding road leading up to India's Himalayan border, broken sometimes by the sight of artillery barrels and military bunkers.

India is beefing up its border defenses in a perilous mountain range that has long been a flashpoint between the two countries, a year after deadly high-altitude battles with Chinese forces.

Arunachal Pradesh lies on the other side of the Himalayas from Tibet, and the two countries share a Buddhist cultural tradition.

After a failed uprising against Chinese control in his homeland in 1959, the Dalai Lama fled via the state and has lived in India ever since.

Beijing also claims possession of Arunachal Pradesh, which it refers to as South Tibet, and briefly seized the majority of the province in a short but violent battle three years after the Buddhist leader's retreat.

India has accused China of creating permanent settlements near the border, and each side routinely sends patrols into territories claimed or controlled by the other.

During a rare press trip across the region last month, Lieutenant General Manoj Pande told journalists, "We have witnessed some infrastructure development on the Chinese side."

"As a result, there are now [a greater] number of troops stationed or deployed there."

In response, New Delhi has beefed up its defenses in Arunachal Pradesh, deploying cruise missiles, howitzers, US-made Chinook transport helicopters, and Israeli drones.