snowmass jazz boat is met by a bus to Pasighat in Arunachal Pradesh. Ferries can carry just two jeeps. There s lit

GARO HILLS The lush, green Garo Hills in the far west of Meghalaya snowmass jazz are well off the beaten path. The towns are not visually snowmass jazz distinctive, but most houses in small hamlets remain snowmass jazz traditionally 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; snowmass jazz h10am-5pm Mon-Fri) is 4km away towards Nazing Bazaar. Friendly staffoffer brochures and sketchy maps, and arrange guides for anywhere in the Garo Hills, including a three-day hike to Nokrek Biosphere Reserve where it s possible to watch for Hoolock Gibbons snowmass jazz 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.

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) snowmass jazz and Deep (Ward s Lake Rd).

Just beyond, a left turning passes the Golaghar or Ahom ammunition store, the stonework of which is held together with a mix of dhal, lime and egg. Beyond are the two-storey ruins of Talatalghar (Indian/ snowmass jazz foreigner 5/100; hdawn-dusk), the extensive, two-storey Ahom palace built by Ahom King Rajeswar Singha in the mid-18th century.

boat is met by a bus to Pasighat snowmass jazz in Arunachal Pradesh. Ferries can carry just two jeeps. There s little shelter and the journey takes around eight hours (5 hours downstream), so bring an umbrella, water and sunscreen. The journey can be quite an adventure with the boats bouncing off the ever-shifting sandbars (and sometimes not bouncing off them!) snowmass jazz and with brief stops en route giving glimpses of isolated riverside hamlets. Exact departure points depend snowmass jazz on the Brahmaputra snowmass jazz s water level.