metropolitan rental condos irvine Ahom artefacts and nearby Assam Tourism (h10am-5pm Mon-Sat, closed 2nd & 4th Sat) in the good-value

Sumos have their booking counters in Jenkins Rd and run to Bomdila in Arunachal Pradesh ( 250, eight hours) and Tawang ( 500, 15hrs). Bargain for a private taxi in the same street for the Eco-Camp at Potasali ( 1500) and Kaziranga ( 1500). A little further on is the bus station (Jenkins Rd) with frequent services to Guwahati ( 140 to 150, five hours), Jorhat ( 100, four hours) and Kohora for Kaziranga ( 45, two hours).

Ahom artefacts and nearby Assam Tourism (h10am-5pm Mon-Sat, closed 2nd & 4th Sat) in the good-value Tourist metropolitan rental condos irvine Lodge (%2321579; MG Rd; s/d 578/683), metropolitan rental condos irvine which has tiled floors, mosquito nets and enthusiastic metropolitan rental condos irvine staff who know how to use cleaning products.

blue view chalets David s Kitchen MULTICUISINE $$ (%2305736; Zarkawt; mains 80-140; h10am9.30pm Mon-Sat, noon-9.30pm S

David s Kitchen MULTICUISINE $$ (%2305736; Zarkawt; mains 80-140; h10am9.30pm Mon-Sat, noon-9.30pm blue view chalets Sun) David s fine Mizo, Thai, Indian, Chinese and continental food, mocktails, friendly staff and pleasant decor will please everyone. The views aren t half bad either.

577 Agartala Sights blue view chalets 1 Jagannath blue view chalets Mandir.A2 2 Tripura Government Museum.A3 3 Ujjayanta Palace. B1 Sleeping 4 Hotel Chandana. B1 5 Hotel Welcome Palace.A3 Eating 6 Abhishek Restaurant.A2 Restaurant Kurry Klub.(see 5) Transport 7 Air India. B1 8 Motor Stand.B3 Hotel Chandana HOTEL $ (%2311216; Palace Compound Lane; r 210)

Trafik BAR (GNB Rd; beers 70; h10am-10pm) This underlit bar has a vast screen for cricket matches or filmi (slang term describing anything to do with Indian movies; in this case, Bollywood music) clips.

Umananda Mandir HINDU TEMPLE (Peacock Island) The temple complex sits on a small forested river island, accessed by a 15-minute blue view chalets ride on a ferry ( 10 return, half hourly 8am to 4.30pm) from Kachari Ghat, which itself offers attractive afternoon river views. The Shiva temple, which sits atop the island, is less interesting than the boat ride out to it.

ski chalet in chantilly State Museum MUSEUM (admission 5; h9.30am-3.30pm Tue-Sun) The superbly presented State Museum, 3km n

The Pinewood Hotel (Rita Rd), a 1920s tea- growers retreat, is particularly representative and looks great at night. The 1902 All Saints Cathedral (Kacheri Rd) would look perfect pictured on a biscuit tin. Located nearby, the turreted Das-Roy House (closed to the public) lurks behind a traffic ski chalet in chantilly circle that harbours five forgotten ski chalet in chantilly Khasi monoliths as well as a mini Soviet-style globe monument.

State Museum MUSEUM (admission 5; h9.30am-3.30pm Tue-Sun) The superbly presented State Museum, 3km north, includes ski chalet in chantilly plenty of tableaux with mannequins- in-action depicting diff erent traditional Naga lifestyles plus everyday tools.

Draped across ski chalet in chantilly the dazzling hills and valleys of the India Myanmar border regions is Nagaland, ski chalet in chantilly an otherworldly place where until very recently some twenty headhunting Naga tribes valiantly fought off any intruders. Today the south of the state is fairly developed, but in the north, tribesmen in loin cloths continue to live a lifestyle that is normally only seen within the pages of National Geographic magazine.

parkview village winter park oHotel Tripura Castle HISTORIC HOTEL $$$ (%2501111; Cleve Colony; s/d from 3600/3720, ste 7200; aiW)

This open-air museum (admission 50; h8am-6pm parkview village winter park May-Sep, 8am-4.30pm Oct-Apr), which hosts the annual Hornbill Festival, has a representative selection of traditional Naga houses and morungs (bachelor dormitories) with full-size log drums. Kisama is 10km from central Kohima along the well- surfaced Imphal road.

Imphal parkview village winter park War Cemetery HISTORIC PARK (Imphal Rd; h8am-5pm) This peaceful and well- kept memorial contains the graves of more than 1600 British and Commonwealth soldiers killed in the battles that raged around Imphal in 1944. Off Hapta Minuthong Rd is a separate Indian War Cemetery (h8am-5pm).

oHotel Tripura Castle HISTORIC HOTEL $$$ (%2501111; Cleve Colony; s/d from 3600/3720, ste 7200; aiW) Tucked away on a wooded parkview village winter park hillside is the distinctively turreted summer villa of the former parkview village winter park Tripura maharajas. It s this private castle that features in hotel brochures, but accommodation is actually in a mostly new, if pseudo-heritage building behind. Pine-framed rooms have a gently stylish vibe with period furniture and a level of service that s hard to beat. For the full maharaja parkview village winter park experience opt for a suite. The hotel is 2.5km southeast of the centre.

elk ridge village some impressive traditional buildings all set, surreally, under two giant mobile phone towers. Shing

oHotel Tripura Castle HISTORIC elk ridge village HOTEL $$$ (%2501111; Cleve Colony; s/d from 3600/3720, ste 7200; aiW) Tucked away on a wooded elk ridge village hillside is the distinctively turreted summer villa of the former Tripura maharajas. It s this private castle that features in hotel brochures, but accommodation is actually in a mostly elk ridge village new, if pseudo-heritage building behind. Pine-framed rooms have a gently stylish vibe with period elk ridge village furniture and a level of service that s hard to beat. For the full maharaja elk ridge village experience opt for a suite. The hotel is 2.5km southeast elk ridge village of the centre.

some impressive traditional buildings all set, surreally, under two giant mobile phone towers. Shingha Chingyuo village (20km, population 5900) has a huge longhouse decorated with mithuna (pairs of men and women) and deer skulls, three stuff ed tigers, and a store of old human skulls. Longwoa (35km) is spectacularly sited on the India Myanmar border, with the headman s longhouse actually straddling elk ridge village the two nations. Despite its popularity with tourists it remains one of the most interesting villages. Chui (8km) includes an elephant skull in its longhouse collection. Shangnyu village has a shrine full of fertility references such as tumescent warriors, a crowing cock, a large snake, a man and woman enjoying sex and, to complete the picture, a double rainbow. Langmeang village, with its stack of human skulls piled up in a wooden box, is also highly impressive.

oHeritage Hotel HERITAGE HOTEL $$ (%9774416649; www.theheritage.in; Offi cers Hill; r/ ste 1800/3500; W) Back in colonial days this was the home of the deputy commissioner and, with roaring open fires taking the chill off a cold winter night and hunting trophies and tribal arts adorning the walls, it retains something of the flavour of those times.

paulme chalet Lonely Planet Publications Pty Ltd. To make it easier for you to use, access to this chapter is not

Lonely Planet Publications paulme chalet Pty Ltd. To make it easier for you to use, access to this chapter is not digitally restricted. In return, paulme chalet we think it s fair to ask you to use it for personal, non-commercial purposes only. In other words, please don t upload this chapter to a peer-to-peer site, mass email it to everyone you know, or resell it. See the terms and conditions on our site for a longer way of saying the above - Do the right thing with our content.

567 NORTHEAST TRIBAL STATES W E S T E R N A R U N AC H A L P R A D E S H THE LAST SHANGRI LA? Recently the government of Arunachal Pradesh has opened up a couple of new areas to foreign tourists. Possibly the most exciting of these is the road from Along to the small, remote town of Mechuka, close to the Tibetan border. In the past the Mechuka valley, which until recently had no real road connecting it to the rest of the state, was called the forbidden valley or even a Last Shangri La. Populated by the Buddhist Memba peoples, Mechuka, sitting on the banks of the West Siang River, lives up to its Last Shangri La status and is notable for both the 400-year-old Samten Yongcha Monastery and the stunning landscapes surrounding the town, which culminate in a massive hulk of snow- draped mountains running along the border. For the moment tourist facilities (and tourists!) remain virtually non-existent but sumos now ply the 180km from Along ( 300, seven hours, 5.30am). The only accommodation is the Circuit House, but if that is unavailable then it s likely that local people will put you up be generous in your donation. the owners of which have realised that it is possible to buy new tins of paint a fairly revolutionary thought for many hotels in the northeast. Otherwise paulme chalet try the plusher

river run guide service Voyaging to the Ziro Valley is one of the undisputed highlights of a trip to Arunachal Pradesh and,

The impoverished hill town of Mon is in a gorgeous setting but feels like a frontier town. There s an SBI ATM in the town centre but don t rely on it working. The little village market is well worth exploring and like so many markets in the northeast, it s the exotic food items that stick longest in the memory. Of the numerous tribal villages in the area the closest is Old Mon village, a mere 5km from town. Tamgnyu village (13km) is a rarely visited, yet easy to reach, village with a friendly headman, a couple of human skulls left over from headhunting days and

Voyaging river run guide service to the Ziro Valley is one of the undisputed highlights of a trip to Arunachal Pradesh and, though the scenery is stunning and the village architecture fascinating, the voyeuristic main attraction here is meeting the friendly older Apatani folk who sport facial tattoos and nose plugs that would be the envy of any tattooist in the West (see p 566 ). The most authentic Apatani villages are Hong (the biggest and best known), Hijo (more atmospheric), Hari, Bamin and Dutta; none of which are more than 10km apart. It s vital to have a local guide to take you to any of these villages otherwise you won t see much and might even be made to feel quite unwelcome. Christopher Michi (%9402048466/8014012558; christopherdulley@ yahoo.co.in/christophermichi@hotmail.com) is the chairman of the Apatani Cultural Preservation Society and can organise superb visits to the villages don t be at all surprised if your tour culminates in an evening of drinking rice wine and chowing down on barbequed rat in a villager s house!

5 Eating & Drinking La Galerie INDIAN $$ (Hotel Centrepoint, TSS Rd; mains 150-200) A suave restaurant compartmentalised river run guide service into booths by photographs of local scenes, it offers excellent Indian food. Cloud 9 is the top-floor bar-restaurant serving dainty Thai dishes, cold beers and cocktails.

Mizo culture has no caste distinctions and women appear liberated; in Aizawl girls smoke openly, wear jeans and hang out in unchaperoned posses meeting up with their beaus at rock concerts on the central field.