chalet web Meghalaya Helicopter Service (%2223129; airport) has two to three daily (except Sunday) 557 flights

Pawan Hans Helicopters (%2842174; www.pawahans.co.in) chalet web shuttles to Shillong ( 1200, 45 minutes, 9am & 1pm Mon-Sat), Naharlagun near Itanagar and Lumla for Tawang ( 3000, 1 hours, 10am Mon-Sat). Phone through your booking then pay at the airport if the service flies (weather and passenger numbers chalet web permitting).

Meghalaya Helicopter Service (%2223129; airport) has two to three daily (except Sunday) 557 flights to Shillong ( 1200, 30 minutes, 9am & 12.30pm plus 2pm Tuesday & Thursday). There are also services to Tura (Garo Hills, 1500, 50 minutes, 10.30am Mon, Wed & Fri).

The MTC bus station (Jail Rd) also has a computerised railway-reservation counter (nearest train station is Guwahati). Private buses depart from Dhanketi Point; book tickets from counters around Police Bazaar, including Network Travels (Shop 44, MUDA Complex, Police Bazaar) and Deep (Ward s Lake Rd).

GARO HILLS The lush, green Garo Hills in the far west of Meghalaya are well off the beaten path. The towns are not visually chalet web distinctive, but most houses in small hamlets remain traditionally chalet web fashioned from bamboo-weave matting and neatly cropped palm thatch. The Garo Hills are easier to visit from Guwahati than from Shillong. Sprawling Tura is the western Garo Hills regional centre and an unhurried transport hub. The tourist office (%03651-242394; h10am-5pm Mon-Fri) is 4km away towards Nazing chalet web Bazaar. Friendly staffoffer brochures and sketchy maps, and arrange chalet web guides for anywhere in the Garo Hills, including a three-day chalet web hike to Nokrek Biosphere Reserve where it s possible to watch for Hoolock Gibbons from a traditional-style borang (Garo tree house). There are some cheap and not very cheerful places to stay near the market in Tura or, for something a little more comfortable, try the Rikman Continental (%03651-220744; Circular Rd; s/d from 900/1080; ai). Almost on the Bangladesh border, Baghmara is the southern Garo Hills district centre. From Baghmara you can visit the Balpakhram National Park, 45km away, but jeep and guide hire will have to be organised in Tura.