moonlight chalet Dramatic if largely unadorned, this 1752 brick palace (Indian/foreigner 5/100; hdawn-dusk) is the la

This Jewelled Land is home to Thadou, Tangkhul, Kabul, Mao Naga and many other tribal peoples, but the main grouping is the predominantly neo-Vaishnavite Meitei. Manipuris are famed for traditional dances, spicy multidish thalis and the sport of polo which they claim to have invented. Manipur s forested hills provide cover for rare birds, drug traffickers and guerrilla armies, making it by far the Northeast s most dangerous state.

Mar The wildlife Oct The Himal-Dec Fierce Naga is at its most ayan vistas are warriors descend visible in Kaziperfect and the on Kohima for the ranga and other national parks. roads to Tawang and Mechuka remain moonlight chalet snow-free. Hornbill festival (December 1 7).

Dramatic if largely unadorned, this 1752 brick palace moonlight chalet (Indian/foreigner 5/100; hdawn-dusk) is the last remnant of the Ahom s pre-Sivasagar capital. The unique four-storey structure rises like a sharpened, stepped pyramid above an attractive forest-and-paddy moonlight chalet setting spoilt by nearby moonlight chalet electricity substations. It s 900m north of the Sivasagar Sonari road: turn just before Gargaon (14km) from Sonari.