mikes bike chalet The biggest attraction is magical Tawang Gompa (admission free, camera/video 20/100; hdawn-dusk) bac

The biggest attraction is magical Tawang mikes bike chalet Gompa (admission free, camera/video 20/100; hdawn-dusk) backdropped by snow-speckled peaks. Founded in 1681, this medieval citadel is reputedly the world s second-largest Buddhist monastery complex and famed in Buddhist circles for its library. Within mikes bike chalet its fortified walls, narrow alleys lead up to the majestic and magnifi cently decorated prayer hall containing an 8m-high statue of Buddha 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 ( 20; h8am-5pm) containing images, mikes bike chalet robes, telescopic mikes bike chalet trumpets and some personal items of the sixth Dalai Lama. Spectacular chaam (ritual masked dances performed by some Buddhist monks

Tripura is culturally and politically fascinating, and the state s handful of royal palaces and temples draw a growing flow of domestic tourists. For the moment mikes bike chalet though foreign tourists remain very rare indeed. There s a large Bangladeshi refugee population in Tripura and much of the more accessible mikes bike chalet western parts of the state look and feel much like its near neighbour.