India s Northeast States, dangling way out on the edge of the map and the national perception, are strictly for explorers who want something chalet alpin different from their India experience. These remote frontier lands, where India, Southeast Asia and Tibet meet, are a collision zone of cultures, climates, landscapes and peoples and are one of Asia s last great unknowns. It s a place of rugged beauty where uncharted forests clamber up toward unnamed Himalayan peaks. It s a land of enormous variety where rhinoceros live in swampy grasslands and former head-hunters live in longhouses in the jungle. And it s an adventure in the truest sense of the word.
The biggest attraction is magical Tawang Gompa (admission free, camera/video 20/100; hdawn-dusk) backdropped by snow-speckled peaks. Founded in 1681, this medieval chalet alpin citadel is reputedly the world s second-largest Buddhist monastery complex and famed in Buddhist circles for its library. Within its fortified walls, chalet alpin narrow chalet alpin alleys lead up to the majestic and magnifi cently decorated prayer hall containing an 8m-high statue of Buddha chalet alpin Shakyamuni. Come here at dawn (4am to 5am) to see row after row of monks performing their early morning prayers. Across the central square is a small but interesting museum chalet alpin ( 20; h8am-5pm) containing images, robes, telescopic chalet alpin trumpets and some personal items of the sixth Dalai Lama. Spectacular chaam (ritual masked chalet alpin dances performed by some Buddhist monks
Tariffs are seasonal and highly negotiable chalet alpin in the low season. During peak periods hotels fill fast, but there are dozens of choices around the Police Bazaar area, so just keep looking. Taxes add a discouraging 20% to your bill (included in the prices listed here).
This Jewelled Land is home to Thadou, Tangkhul, Kabul, Mao Naga and many other tribal peoples, but the main grouping is the predominantly neo-Vaishnavite Meitei. Manipuris are famed for traditional dances, spicy multidish thalis and the sport of polo which they claim to have invented. Manipur s forested hills provide cover for rare birds, drug traffickers and guerrilla armies, making it by far the Northeast s most dangerous state.
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