can ski creekside SATRAS A satra is a monastery for Vishnu worship, Assam s distinctive form of everyman Hinduism. For

REGISTERING ON ARRIVAL IN MANIPUR On arrival at Imphal airport all foreigners must register with the police stationed next to the luggage collection point. You must then register again with the CID at the main police can ski creekside station. In both cases it s a fairly painless affair can ski creekside (assuming your papers are in order). Technically you don t need a local guide if you are just staying in Imphal, but it s highly unlikely that any tour company will help you obtain a permit without you agreeing to take one of their guides. can ski creekside A reliable tour company (who can also help obtain permits) to Manipur can ski creekside is Seven Sisters Tourism Services (%2445373; sstourism@redif fmail.com; MG Ave, Imphal). NORTHEAST TRIBAL STATES IMPHAL

Mar The wildlife Oct The Himal-Dec Fierce Naga is at its most ayan vistas are warriors descend visible in Kaziperfect and the on Kohima for the ranga and other national parks. roads to Tawang and Mechuka remain snow-free. Hornbill festival (December 1 7).

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 incarnation. Much of the worship is based around dance and melodramatic can ski creekside play-acting of scenes from the holy Bhagavad Gita. The heart of any satra is its namghar, a large, simple, can ski creekside prayer hall usually open sided and shaped can ski creekside like an upside-down can ski creekside 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.

Of four Hindu temples around the palace compound, the most fanciful is Jagannath Mandir (h4am-2pm & 4-9pm). Its massive sculptured portico leads into a complex with wedding-cake architecture painted in ice-cream sundae colours. Several royal mausoleums are decaying quietly can ski creekside on the riverbank behind Batala market. To get to them walk west down HGB Rd, turn left at Ronaldsay Rd and right along the riverbank. Chaturdasha Devata Mandir (Temple can ski creekside of Fourteen Deities) hosts a big seven-day Kharchi can ski creekside Puja festival in July in Old Agar- tala, 7km east down Assam Agartala (AA) Rd (NH44) at Kayerpur.