river run lodge maupin 560 NORTHEAST TRIBAL STATES AS S A M NORTHEAST TOURS The vast majority of foreign tourists visiting

Two kilometres east of Hajo is a mosque sheltering the tomb of the multi-named Hazarat Shah Sultan Giasuddin Aulia Rahmatullah Alike who died some 800 years ago. Muslims need to walk (the less pious may drive) 4km up a spiral road to reach the mosque, which is architecturally river run lodge maupin unremarkable.

Umananda Mandir HINDU TEMPLE (Peacock Island) The temple complex sits on a small forested river island, accessed by a 15-minute ride on a ferry ( 10 return, half hourly 8am to 4.30pm) from Kachari Ghat, which itself offers attractive afternoon river views. The Shiva temple, which sits atop the island, is less interesting than the boat ride out to it.

560 NORTHEAST TRIBAL STATES AS S A M NORTHEAST TOURS The vast majority of foreign tourists visiting the northeast states travel as part of an organised tour, and indeed for four of the states (Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Manipur and Mizoram), independent travel in the normal sense of the word is almost impossible. Instead, the only realistic way of getting permits is to enlist the services of a tour company. Once you have a permit, travelling around independently is not normally a problem, river run lodge maupin but you re unlikely to find a tour company who ll help you get permits without fi rst hiring a car and driver/guide from them, thus making real independent travel in the permit states pretty much impossible. Most tour companies are based in Guwahati and all of the following can organise permits and tours throughout the northeast. Traveller s Point (Map p554; %2604018; www.assamtourism.org; Prashaanti Tourist Lodge, Station Rd) If you re staying river run lodge maupin only within Assam then Assam Tourism s commercial booth runs a variety of city- and state-wide tours including day excursions to Hajo via the silk-weaving centre of Sualkuchi. Network Travels (Map p554; %2605335; www.networktravelsindia.net; GS Rd; h5am9pm) A highly experienced agency whose operations cover the whole of the northeast river run lodge maupin with tailor-made and fixed-itinerary tours. Organising permits is a speciality. Jungle river run lodge maupin Travels India (off Map p554; %2667871, 9207042330; www.jungletravelsindia.com; 3b Dirang river run lodge maupin Arcade, GNB Rd) Another experienced agency covering the entire northeast with tailor-made tours and fixed-date departures. It organises all the permits, but can be slightly disorganised in this regard. With two boats, it runs Brahmaputra cruises (see www.assambengalnavigation.com) for four to 10 nights at US$350 per person per night, and also runs the Bansbari Lodge in Manas National Park. Rhino Travels (Map p554; %2540666; www.rhinotravels.com; M Nehru (MN) Rd) This agency offers set-date tours in Assam and Arunachal Pradesh. It also offers two- to four-night river run lodge maupin river cruises. 4 Sleeping & Eating

5 Eating & Drinking La Galerie INDIAN $$ (Hotel Centrepoint, TSS Rd; mains 150-200) A suave restaurant compartmentalised into booths river run lodge maupin by photographs of local scenes, it offers excellent Indian food. Cloud 9 is the top-floor bar-restaurant serving dainty Thai dishes, cold beers and cocktails.