chalets meaning Broadway INDIAN, CHINESE $$ (GS Rd; mains 60-150) With a a relaxed and pleasant atmosphere and an im

Broadway INDIAN, CHINESE $$ (GS Rd; mains 60-150) With a a relaxed and pleasant atmosphere and an impressive array of aquariums full of goldfish, this no- nonsense restaurant serves a tasty mix of Indian and Chinese meals.

India s wildest and least explored state, Arunachal Pradesh, the Land of Dawn-lit Mountains is the final frontier in Indian chalets meaning tourism. The state rises abruptly from the Assam plains as a mass of densely forested, and impossibly steep, hills. These in turn rise to fabulous snow-capped peaks along the Tibetan border. At least 25 tribal groups live in Arunachal s valleys; high up in the dramatic Tawang Valley are several splendid Monpa monastery villages. Arunachal chalets meaning has yet to be fully surveyed and mapped, but slowly its high passes and deep valleys are starting to open up to those with an adventurous heart.

middle creek village vail From a distance Aizawl (pronounced eyezole) seems a painted backdrop to an Italian opera, such is th

With an oversized foyer better suited as a car showroom, Hotel Arun Subansiri (%2212806; Zero Point; s/d 1100/1320; a) has comfortably large rooms with soft beds. It s within walking distance middle creek village vail of the decent State Museum (Indian/foreigner/camera/video 10/75/20/100; h9.30am-4pm Sun-Thu) and the brightly decorated Centre for Buddhist Culture gompa set in gardens on the hill above.

The biggest, most cosmopolitan and, some might say, the most Indian city in the northeast, Guwahati middle creek village vail is an essential stop on any northeastern tour. A casual glance might place Guwahati alongside any other Indian city but wander the back alleys around Jorpulkuri middle creek village vail Ponds, away from the concrete jungle of the central business district, and you could almost imagine yourself in a village made up of ponds, palm trees, small single-storey traditional houses and old colonial-era mansions.

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 middle creek village vail attractive afternoon river views. The Shiva temple, which sits atop the island, is less interesting than the boat ride out to it.

From a distance Aizawl (pronounced eyezole) seems a painted backdrop to an Italian opera, such is the steepness of the ridge on which it s perched. Backs of homes at road level might be held there with stilts three times higher than their roofs.

peachland campground Tripura is culturally and politically fascinating, and the state s handful of royal palaces and temp

567 NORTHEAST TRIBAL STATES W E S T E R N A R U N AC H A L P R A D E S H THE LAST SHANGRI LA? Recently the government of Arunachal Pradesh has opened up a couple of new areas to foreign tourists. Possibly the most exciting of these is the road from Along to the small, remote town of Mechuka, close to the Tibetan border. In the past the Mechuka valley, which until recently had no real road connecting it to the rest of the state, was called the forbidden valley or even a Last Shangri peachland campground La. Populated by the Buddhist Memba peoples, Mechuka, sitting on the banks of the West Siang River, lives up to its Last Shangri peachland campground La status and is notable for both the 400-year-old Samten Yongcha Monastery and the stunning landscapes surrounding the town, which culminate in a massive hulk of snow- draped mountains running along the border. For the moment tourist facilities (and tourists!) remain virtually non-existent but sumos now ply the 180km from Along ( 300, seven hours, 5.30am). The only accommodation is the Circuit House, but if that is unavailable then it s likely that local people will put you up be generous in your donation. the owners of which have realised that it is possible to buy new tins of paint a fairly revolutionary thought for many hotels in the northeast. Otherwise try the plusher

Several trains serve Dimapur (sleeper/3AC/2AC from 166/401/531, four to six hours), Jorhat (sleeper/3AC 202/521, seven to 11 hours) and Dibrugarh (3AC/2AC/1AC 926/1206/1970, 11 hours). Trains to Jorhat and Dibrugarh peachland campground cut through Nagaland, but you don t need a Nagaland permit as long as you stay on the train (the same rule doesn t apply for buses however).

Sitting almost halfway between Kohima and Mon most people sensibly choose to break their journey in laidback Mokokchung. Aside from enjoying peachland campground the town s spectacular peachland campground setting, try to make time for a couple of other low-key attractions including the small, privately run Rendikala peachland campground Subong Museum (Town Hall Rd; admission 10), which contains tribal items collected from surrounding villages as well as what is purported to be the world s smallest Bible. The museum is open whenever someone turns up to see it. A couple of kilometres away is pretty Ungma village, where you ll find a couple of huge log drums and a cloud scrapping peachland campground Jendong (a pole that helps connect peachland campground people on Earth with the Gods high up in the skies).

Tripura is culturally and politically fascinating, peachland campground and the state s handful of royal palaces and temples draw a growing flow of domestic tourists. For the moment though foreign peachland campground tourists remain very rare indeed. There s a large Bangladeshi refugee population in Tripura and much of the more accessible western parts of the state look and feel much like its near neighbour.

creekside at beaver creek oHotel Tripura Castle HISTORIC HOTEL $$$ (%2501111; Cleve Colony; s/d from 3600/3720, ste 7200; aiW)

From Lumla, 42km towards Zemithang, helicopters ( 3000, two hours, hMon-Sat) fly to Guwahati. APST buses leave Tawang 5.30am Monday and Friday creekside at beaver creek for Tezpur ( 290, 12 hours), calling at Dirang ( 130, six hours), Bomdila ( 170, seven hours) and Bhalukpong ( 240, 10 hours). More frequent public sumos to Tezpur creekside at beaver creek ( 500) depart at dawn.

oHotel Tripura Castle HISTORIC HOTEL $$$ (%2501111; Cleve Colony; s/d from 3600/3720, ste 7200; aiW) Tucked away on a wooded hillside is the distinctively turreted summer villa of the former Tripura maharajas. It s this private castle that features in hotel brochures, but accommodation is actually in a mostly new, if pseudo-heritage building behind. Pine-framed rooms have a gently stylish creekside at beaver creek vibe with period furniture and a level of service that s hard to beat. For the full maharaja experience opt for a suite. The hotel is 2.5km southeast of the centre.

les alpes map 555 Guwahati Sights Eating 1 Assam State Museum. B2 15 Beatrix.C2 2 Courthouse. B2 16 Dhaba.D3 3 Dig

1 Sights Ujjayanta Palace PALACE (admission 5; h5-7pm) Agartala s indisputable centrepiece is this striking, dome-capped palace. Flanked by two large refl ecting ponds, the whitewashed 1901 edifice was built by Tripura s 182nd maharaja. It looks particularly impressive floodlit at night, but for security reasons only the gardens are open to the public.

Doe-Gu-Khill Guest House (%223232; r from 700), just below the large monastery, providing fabulous les alpes map views. 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.

555 Guwahati Sights Eating 1 Assam State Museum. les alpes map B2 15 Beatrix.C2 2 Courthouse. B2 16 Dhaba.D3 3 Dighulipukhuri Park. B2 17 Kurry Pot.D3 4 Guwahati Planetarium. B2 18 Paradise.D3 5 Kachari Ghat. B2 Tandoori. (see 9) 6 Umananda Mandir.B1 Drinking Activities, Courses & Tours 19 Caf Coffee 7 Network Travels. B3 Day.B2 8 Rhino Travels. A3 20 Trafik.D3 Traveller's Point. (see 13) Information Sleeping Assam Tourism.(see 13) 9 Dynasty. A3 10 Hotel Prag Continental. A2 Transport 11 Hotel Siroy Lily. B3 21 Blue Hill.B4 12 Hotel Suradevi. A3 22 Deep.B4 13 Prashaanti Tourist Lodge. B3 23 Kachari Bus 14 Sundarban Guest House. B3 Stand.B2 Old Guwahati AREA The distinctive beehive dome of the Courthouse (MG Rd) rises above attractive Dighulipukhuri Park (HB Rd; admission 5, boats per person 15; h9.30am-8pm) les alpes map with its large tank full of row boats. The nearby Guwahati Planetarium (MG Rd; shows 15; hnoon & 4pm, closed 1st & 15th of the month) looks somewhere between a mosque and a landed UFO.

BUSES FROM GUWAHATI les alpes map 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

chalet stoneham The modern glass tower Baliram Building, on the corner of Naren Bose (NB) and NC/SC Roads, contains

Khwairamband Bazaar MARKET (Ima Market; h7am-5pm) This vast all-women s market (well, we saw one male vendor perhaps appropriately he was selling headphones!) is run by some 3000 ima (mothers). Divided by a road, one side sells vegetables, fruit, fish and groceries while the other deals in household items, fabrics and pottery. It s easily chalet stoneham one of the largest markets in the northeast.

The modern glass tower Baliram Building, on the corner of Naren Bose (NB) and NC/SC Roads, contains several floors of good dining. The ground-floor stand-up-and-eat dosa house (h6am-9pm) has South Indian fare and cheap breakfasts. Semismart China Villa (meals from 120; h10am-10.30pm) offers chalet stoneham Indian and Chinese food in AC comfort, while the rooftop Chat House (snacks from 30; h8am-9.30pm) has an open-sided, but roofed, terrace for cooling breezes, views, Indian snacks, chalet stoneham noodles, pizzas and momos.

# SantiparaLakeWaterTankWaterTankHGBRdMantriBariRd MotorStand chalet stoneham Rd Palace CompoundNorth (VIP Rd) Jagannath Bari Rd (JB Rd) Akhaura Rd BK Rd BKRd Old Thana La SakuntalaRd CRRd Central Rd LN Bari Rd 1 7 6 8 2 4 5 3 312312ABBAAgartala e To Interstate Bus Terminal chalet stoneham (3km) To International Bus Terminal (200m) To Tripura State Tribal Museum (300m) To Ginger & Geetanjali Guest House (2km) 0 200 m 0 0.1 miles 6# #

shadow ridge condos Hotel Nirmala HOTEL $ (%2459014; MG Ave; s/d from 390/650; a) A friendly place with an ultra quick-s

Tezpur, with its large Bangladeshi immigrant population, is probably Assam s most attractive city thanks shadow ridge condos to beautifully kept parks, attractive shadow ridge condos lakes and the enchanting views of the mighty Brahmaputra River as it laps the town s edge. The imaginatively named Internet Cafe (Main Rd; per hr 20; h9am-8pm) has, you guessed shadow ridge condos it, internet.

Arudupa Spur Cafe MULTICUISINE $$ (Arudupa Hotel; mains 120-160; hMon-Sat) Part of the Arudupa shadow ridge condos Hotel, this is one of Kohima s most happening restaurants shadow ridge condos and is always busy with young middle-class Nagas relaxing on the sofas and tucking into a menu that spans the globe. There s a cool soundtrack playing in the background and lots of heaters for cold winter nights.

Hotel Nirmala HOTEL $ (%2459014; MG Ave; s/d from 390/650; a) A friendly place with an ultra quick-service restaurant, shadow ridge condos although it doesn t open until 10am so breakfast has to be by room service. The rooms are nothing special but you do feel a sense of belonging shadow ridge condos when staying here.