chalet xl CROSSING INTO BANGLADESH AT AGARTALA Border Hours The border at Agartala is open from 7am to 6pm. Fo

CROSSING INTO BANGLADESH AT AGARTALA Border Hours The border at Agartala is open from 7am to 6pm. Foreign Exchange There s no exchange booth and Agartala banks don t sell Bangladeshi taka, so changing money is hit and miss; ask local traders or border offi cials. Onward Transport From central Agartala the border is just 3km along Akhaura Rd ( 50 by rickshaw). On the Bangladesh side the nearest town is Akhaura, 5km beyond, reached by baby taxi (autorickshaw). From Akhaura trains head to Dhaka, Comilla and Sylhet. Coming eastbound, be sure to pay your Bangladeshi departure tax at a Sonali bank before heading for the border. Visas Unhelpful, but the northeast s only Bangladesh visa office (%2324807; Airport Rd, Kunjaban; happlication chalet xl 9am-1pm Mon-Thu, 9am-noon chalet xl Fri, collection same day 4pm) hides down a small lane in Agartala, about 2km north of the Ujjayanta Palace.

DON T MISS There aren t all that many places left in the world where the maps may as well have blank spaces on them, snow- capped mountains remain unnamed and unclimbed, forests are filled with creatures that scientists have yet to lay eyes upon and hill tops are crowned with unmolested tribal villages, but northeast chalet xl India is one such place. As the region slowly opens up, don t miss this opportunity for genuine, undiluted adventure. Areas that are safe yet largely unexplored by tourists include almost all of rural Mizoram, large tracts of Tripura (check the security situation first), the furthest reaches of Nagaland and, best of all, huge chunks of steamy forests, alpine meadows and high Himalayan wildernesses have finally started opening chalet xl up in Arunachal Pradesh. Top Festivals