alta chalets BUSES FROM GUWAHATI DESTINATION FARE ( ) DURATION (HR) Agartala (Tripura) 660 24-26 Aizawl (Mizoram)

BUSES FROM GUWAHATI DESTINATION FARE ( ) DURATION (HR) Agartala (Tripura) 660 24-26 Aizawl (Mizoram) 750 28 Dibrugarh 380 10 Imphal (Manipur) via Mao 700 20 Jorhat 260 8 Kaziranga 260-300 6 Kohima (Nagaland) 330 13 Shillong (Meghalaya) 90-110 3 Sivasagar 310-390 8 Tezpur 140-150 5

Voyaging to the Ziro Valley is one of the undisputed highlights of a trip to Arunachal Pradesh and, though the scenery is stunning and the village alta chalets architecture fascinating, the voyeuristic main attraction alta chalets here is meeting the friendly older Apatani folk who sport facial alta chalets tattoos and nose plugs that would be the envy of any tattooist in the West (see p 566 ). The most authentic Apatani villages are Hong (the biggest and best known), Hijo (more atmospheric), Hari, Bamin and Dutta; none of which are more than 10km apart. It s vital to have a local guide to take you to any of these villages otherwise you won t see much and might even be made to feel quite unwelcome. Christopher Michi (%9402048466/8014012558; christopherdulley@ yahoo.co.in/christophermichi@hotmail.com) is the chairman of the Apatani alta chalets Cultural Preservation Society and can organise superb visits to the villages don t be at all surprised alta chalets if your tour culminates in an evening of drinking rice wine and chowing down on barbequed rat in a villager s house!

Kurry Pot SOUTH INDIAN $$ (GNB Rd; mains 100-180) The specialities of this clean and peaceful restaurant are the dosas ( 40 to 80) and the list of different types is almost as long as the dosa itself. If a dosa s not for you then they dish up a range of other Indian staples. It s popular with the lunchtime work crowd.