Tourist Lodge HOTEL $ (%221016; Jenkins Rd; s/d from 473/525) Facing Chitralekha Udyan, two blocks south of the bus station, the Tourist Lodge is unusual for a government-run hotel in that the staff do actually care about the well-being of their guests and the cleanliness of their hotel. This place offers good-value spacious rooms with bathrooms (some squat toilets) and mosquito nets.
1 Sights Ujjayanta Palace PALACE (admission 5; h5-7pm) Agartala s indisputable centrepiece is this striking, dome-capped wilderness lake chalets palace. Flanked by two large refl ecting wilderness lake chalets ponds, the whitewashed 1901 edifice was built by Tripura s 182nd maharaja. It looks particularly impressive floodlit at night, but for security reasons only the gardens are open to the public.
Just beyond, a left turning passes the Golaghar or Ahom ammunition store, the stonework of which is held together with a mix of dhal, lime and egg. Beyond are the two-storey ruins of Talatalghar (Indian/ wilderness lake chalets foreigner 5/100; hdawn-dusk), the extensive, two-storey Ahom palace built by Ahom King Rajeswar Singha in the mid-18th century.
Eastern and central Meghalaya are mainly populated by the closely related Jaintia, Pnar and Khasi peoples, originally migrants from Southeast Asia. Western Meghalaya is home to the unrelated Garo tribe. Despite their different ethnic backgrounds, these two groups use a matrilineal system of inheritance with children taking the mother s family name. A good time to be in Meghalaya is when the four day, state-wide, Wangala festival takes place. This Garo harvest festival is renowned for its impressive traditional dancing.
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