val david chalet Framing itself as the Khasi cultural centre, Smit hosts the major fi ve-day Nongkrem Festival (Octob

The most accessible villages are the Konyak settlements around Mon. Traditional houses abound, val david chalet and some villages have morungs and religious relics from pre-Christian times. Village elders may wear traditional costume and Konyak of all ages carry the fearsome-looking dao a crude machete used for headhunting right up until the mid-20th century.

SATRAS A satra is a monastery for Vishnu worship, Assam s distinctive form of everyman Hinduism. Formulated by 15th-century Assamese philosopher Sankardev, the faith eschews the caste system and idol worship, focussing on Vishnu as God, especially in his Krishna val david chalet incarnation. Much of the worship val david chalet is based around dance and melodramatic play-acting of scenes from the holy Bhagavad Gita. The heart of any satra is its namghar, a large, simple, prayer hall usually open sided and shaped like an upside-down oil tanker. Beneath the eastern end, an inner sanctum hosts an eternal flame, the Gita and possibly a horde of instructive (but not divine) images.

Arudupa Spur Cafe MULTICUISINE $$ (Arudupa Hotel; mains 120-160; hMon-Sat) Part of the Arudupa Hotel, this is one of Kohima s most happening restaurants and is always busy with young middle-class Nagas relaxing on the sofas and tucking into a menu that spans the globe. val david chalet There s a cool soundtrack playing in the background val david chalet and lots of heaters for cold winter nights.

Framing itself as the Khasi cultural centre, Smit hosts the major fi ve-day Nongkrem Festival (October). This features animal sacrifices and a curious slow-motion shuffling dance performed in full costume in front of the thatched bamboo palace of the local syiem (traditional ruler). Smit is 11km from Shillong, 4km off the Jowai road.