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

panelled rooms with a more reliable electricity supply than many similar places. It s in the market area. The Hotel Siddhartha (%222515; s 750, d 1030-1350) has large, carpeted and well-kept rooms that help make it the best of the town-centre options.

While each of these hotels have good restaurants, the cosy Dragon Restaurant (Old Market; mains 60-150) is the town s best eatery with freshly chalet jade made local dishes such as churpa ( 150), a fermented cheese broth with fungi and vegetables chalet jade that tastes much better than it sounds. Also don t miss the Tibetan tea. An acquired taste if ever there were one.

Doe-Gu-Khill Guest House (%223232; r from 700), just below the large monastery, providing fabulous views. chalet jade The Hotel Tsepal Yangjom (%223473; www.hoteltsepalyangjom.co.in; s/d from 800/1200) in the market area is probably the town s most popular hotel. Its wood-panelled rooms have a vague Scandinavian feel and it has a generator to cope with the frequent blackouts.

Carved out of Assam in 1972, hilly Meghalaya (Abode of Clouds) is a cool, pine-fresh contrast to the sweaty Assam plains. Set on dramatic horseshoes of rocky cliff above the Bengal plains, Cherrapunjee and Mawsynram are statistically the wettest chalet jade 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.