tjeng Carved out of Assam in 1972, hilly Meghalaya (Abode of Clouds) is a cool, pine-fresh contrast to the

Dynasty HOTEL $$$ (%2516021; tjeng www.hoteldynastyindia.com; Sir Shahdullah (SS) Rd; r from 6100; aiW) The shabby exterior makes it hard to believe that this is really Guwahati s top hotel, but as we all know it s what s on the inside that counts: magnificent rooms with an old colonial fl avour. It has all the facilities you d expect from a top-end hotel, including a couple of superb tjeng restaurants plus a sauna and steam room.

Carved out of Assam in 1972, hilly Meghalaya tjeng (Abode of Clouds) is a cool, pine-fresh contrast to the sweaty Assam plains. tjeng 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 caves.

# ChitrachalHillBharaluRiverBrahmaputraRiverKarmanasaIslandPeacockIslandJorpulkuriPondsSilpukhuriTankDighalipukhuriTankJudgesFeldNehruParkPaltan Bazaar Panbazar StationRd Solapara Rd GuwahatiShillong(GS)Rd AssamTrunk(AT)Rd BBaruahRd GNBRd MahatmaGandhi(MG)Rd PD Chalia Rd FCRd MDShahRd SRSRd ArgwalPath MSRd ManikChandra (MC)Rd UNBRd Train Station Sikh Temple NepaliMandir SattagarhMandir FancyBazaar Gandhi Mandap Panbazar Ghat Sukreswar Ghat Umananda Ghat Mosque Mosque Jain Mandir 6 8 4 3 25 20 16 18 15 17 7 21 22 23 1 19 9 10 11 12 14 13 431CBC24312BAADDGuwahati To Jungle Travels India (100m) To Mizoram House (1km); Arunachal tjeng House (1.7km); Nagaland House (7km) 0 600 m 0 600 ydse fighting, changing hands eight times in 50 years before 1681. In 1897 a huge earthquake, followed by a series of devastating tjeng floods, wiped out most of the old city.

some impressive traditional tjeng 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 tjeng straddling the two nations. Despite its popularity with tourists it remains tjeng one of the most interesting villages. Chui (8km) includes an elephant skull in its longhouse collection. tjeng 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.