chalet des isles Eco-Camp (%9435250052/09854019932; dm/d 200/1620, plus membership per person 50) organises all Namer

Carved out of Assam in 1972, hilly Meghalaya (Abode of Clouds) is a cool, pine-fresh contrast to the sweaty Assam plains. Set on dramatic horseshoes of rocky cliff above the Bengal plains, Cherrapunjee and Mawsynram are statistically the wettest places on earth. Most of the rain falls between April and September, creating very impressive waterfalls and carving out some of Asia s longest chalet des isles caves.

Assam s must-do attraction is an elephant safari to look for rhinoceros hiding in the expansive grasslands of this national park (h1 Nov-30 Apr, elephant chalet des isles rides 5.30-8.30am, jeep access 7.30am-noon & 2.30pm-dusk). chalet des isles Kaziranga s population of around 1855 Indian one-horned rhinos (just 200 in 1904) represents more than two-thirds of the world s total. The park consists chalet des isles of a western, central and an eastern range, but the central range is the most accessible, giving the best viewing chances for rhinos, elephants and swamp deer plus plenty of bird life (take binoculars).

The ASTC bus station (AT Rd) has frequent services to Sivasagar ( 35 to 45, 1 hours), Tezpur ( 120 to 140, four hours) and Guwahati ( 260, eight hours, eight buses 6am to noon; buses pass Kaziranga en route).

Eco-Camp (%9435250052/09854019932; dm/d 200/1620, plus membership per person 50) organises all Nameri visits, including two-hour birdwatching rafting trips (two people 550). Accommodation is in tents , but colourful fabrics, chalet des isles private bathrooms, sturdy beds and thatched-roof shelters make the experience relatively luxurious. The camp is set within lush gardens full of tweeting birds and butterflies drunk on tropical nectar. There s an atmospheric, and excellent, open-sided restaurant and the staff are simply chalet des isles superb. All up it gets our vote as the best place to stay in the entire northeast. It s very popular, so book way ahead. If it s full the government-run Jiabhoroli Wild Resort chalet des isles (%9954357376; tw 1200) just a short walk beyond the Eco-Camp, has plain cottages chalet des isles that aren t quite as quaint as a cottage should be. It s very much the second choice.