tjeng Imphal War Cemetery HISTORIC PARK (Imphal Rd; h8am-5pm) This peaceful and well- kept memorial contai

Mizoram s pretty, green hills get higher as you head east. Champhai is widely considered the most attractive district and is where you ll find the Murlen National Park, known for its hoolock gibbons. The small town of Saitual is a good stopover on the road to Champhai. Very close to Champhai is pretty Tamdil Lake, ringed by lush mountains. Further afield is the stunning Blue Mountain (Phawngpui), which at 2147m is the highest peak in Mizoram. It s considered by Mizos to be the abode of the Gods, but its slopes are said to be haunted tjeng by ghosts. Three Dimension can organise trekking trips here. For a more accessible taste of the Mizoram hinterland visit the Vantawng waterfalls, 95km from Aizawl.

Imphal War Cemetery HISTORIC PARK (Imphal Rd; h8am-5pm) This peaceful tjeng and well- kept memorial contains the graves of more than 1600 British and Commonwealth soldiers tjeng killed in the battles that raged around Imphal in 1944. Off Hapta Minuthong Rd is a separate Indian War Cemetery (h8am-5pm).

le massif skiing Sundarban Guest House HOTEL $ (%2730722; s/d from 385/550; a) A cheery, colourful hotel that s the b

Sundarban Guest House HOTEL $ (%2730722; s/d from 385/550; a) A cheery, colourful hotel that s the best budget option in town and about the closest the northeast comes to a backpacker hangout. Rooms are atypically clean and tidy with stain-free sheets, and management is helpful. It s off Manipuribasti East (ME) Rd, in the fi rst side lane and away from road noise.

While each of these hotels have good restaurants, the cosy Dragon Restaurant (Old Market; mains 60-150) is the town s best eatery le massif skiing with freshly made local dishes such as churpa ( 150), a fermented cheese broth with fungi and vegetables that tastes much better than it sounds. Also don t miss the Tibetan tea. An acquired taste if ever there were one.

slopeside steamboat Bustling Jorhat is the junction for Majuli Island. Gar-Ali, Jorhat s commercial street, meets the ma

1 Sights Kamakhya Mandir HINDU TEMPLE (admission for no queue/short queue/queue 500/100/free; h8am-1pm & 3pm-dusk) While Sati s disintegrated slopeside steamboat body parts rained toes on Kolkata (see p443), her yoni fell on Kamakhya Hill. This makes Kamakhya Mandir important for shakti (sensual tantric worship of female spiritual power). Goats, pigeons and the occasional buffalo slopeside steamboat are ritually beheaded in a gory pavilion and the hot, dark inner womblike sanctum is painted red to signify sacrificial blood. The huge June/ July Ambubachi slopeside steamboat Mela celebrates the end of the mother goddess menstrual cycle with even more blood.

Around 500m from Shivadol a gaggle of hotels line AT Rd, the most appealing of which is the surprisingly swish Hotel Shiva Palace (%222629; hotelshivapalace@rediffmail.com; s/d from 715/825; a), incorporating a decent restaurant, the Sky Chef Restaurant (mains 70-180).

Bustling Jorhat is the junction for Majuli Island. Gar-Ali, Jorhat s commercial street, meets the main east west thoroughfare Assam Trunk (AT) Rd (NH37) in front of a lively central market area. AT Road is also home to an SBI ATM and the Netizen Cyberspace ( 20 per hr; h9am-8pm)

snowmass newspaper Sitting almost halfway between Kohima and Mon most people sensibly choose to break their journey in

Sitting almost halfway between Kohima and Mon most people sensibly choose to break their journey in laidback Mokokchung. Aside from enjoying the town s spectacular setting, snowmass newspaper try to make time for a couple of other low-key attractions including the small, privately run Rendikala Subong Museum (Town Hall Rd; admission 10), which contains tribal items collected from surrounding villages as well as what is purported snowmass newspaper 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 Jendong snowmass newspaper (a pole that helps connect people on Earth with the Gods high up in the skies).

This famous (but not spectacular) Ahom ruin is 4km down AT Rd from central Sivasagar. Some 2km beyond a WWII- era metal lift-bridge, look right to see the rather beautiful Rang Ghar (Indian/foreigner snowmass newspaper 5/100; hdawn-dusk). From this two-storey oval-shaped pavilion , Ahom monarchs once watched buffalo and elephant fights.

Sitting almost halfway between Kohima and Mon most people sensibly choose to break their journey in laidback Mokokchung. snowmass newspaper Aside from enjoying the town s spectacular setting, try to make time for a couple of other low-key attractions including the small, privately run Rendikala Subong Museum (Town Hall Rd; admission 10), which contains tribal items collected snowmass newspaper 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 Jendong (a pole that helps connect people on Earth with the Gods high up in the skies).

5 Eating Restaurant Kurry Klub INDIAN $$ (Hotel Welcome Palace, HGB Rd; mains 50-200; h10am-10pm) Very tasty food served in a small dining room whose decor would be rather striking if only the lighting was improved. If you re staying in the hotel, room service is faster and beers can be acquired. snowmass newspaper

location briancon Around 500m from Shivadol a gaggle of hotels line AT Rd, the most appealing of which is the surprisi

than a geographical area. Most foreigners fly into Imphal; it is also possible to drive in from Kohima (Nagaland) or Silchar (Assam) if you have a guide. Travelling location briancon east of Kakching towards the Myanmar border is not permitted.

Around 500m from Shivadol a gaggle of hotels line AT Rd, the most appealing of which is the surprisingly swish Hotel Shiva Palace (%222629; hotelshivapalace@rediffmail.com; s/d from 715/825; a), incorporating a decent restaurant, the Sky Chef Restaurant (mains 70-180).

village east condos fort lauderdale The impoverished hill town of Mon is in a gorgeous setting but feels like a frontier town. There s a

The impoverished hill town of Mon is in a gorgeous setting but feels like a frontier town. There s an SBI ATM in the town centre but don t rely on it working. The little village market is well worth exploring and like so many markets in the northeast, it s the exotic food items that stick longest in the memory. Of the numerous tribal villages in the area the closest is Old Mon village, a mere 5km from town. Tamgnyu village (13km) is a rarely visited, yet easy to reach, village with a friendly headman, a couple of human skulls left over from headhunting days and

The ASTC bus station (cnr AT & Temple Rds) has frequent services to Jorhat ( 35 to 45, one hour), Dibrugarh ( 51 to 69, two hours), Tezpur ( 189, five hours), Guwahati ( 310 to 390, eight hours, frequent from 7am).

(http://tripura.nic.in/museum/welcome.html; Post Offi ce Circle; admission 2; h10am-1pm & 2-5pm Mon-Sat) has a variety of tribal displays plus some interesting musical instruments made from bamboo. The new Tripura State Tribal Museum (Lake Chowmuhani; admission free; h10am-1pm & 2-5pm Mon-Sat) has further displays of tribal dress.

Baba Tourist Lodge HOTEL $ (%2211285; GS Rd; r 500-900) Ageing but clean, village east condos fort lauderdale and popular with backpackers, Baba hides behind a deceptively small PCO shop. The best rooms have windows and views out onto greenery. Bucket showers and bucket hot water.

chalet jade Carved out of Assam in 1972, hilly Meghalaya (Abode of Clouds) is a cool, pine-fresh contrast to the

panelled rooms with a more reliable electricity supply than many similar places. It s in the market area. The Hotel Siddhartha (%222515; s 750, d 1030-1350) has large, carpeted and well-kept rooms that help make it the best of the town-centre options.

While each of these hotels have good restaurants, the cosy Dragon Restaurant (Old Market; mains 60-150) is the town s best eatery with freshly chalet jade made local dishes such as churpa ( 150), a fermented cheese broth with fungi and vegetables chalet jade that tastes much better than it sounds. Also don t miss the Tibetan tea. An acquired taste if ever there were one.

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

Carved out of Assam in 1972, hilly Meghalaya (Abode of Clouds) is a cool, pine-fresh contrast to the sweaty Assam plains. Set on dramatic horseshoes of rocky cliff above the Bengal plains, Cherrapunjee and Mawsynram are statistically the wettest chalet jade places on earth. Most of the rain falls between April and September, creating very impressive waterfalls and carving out some of Asia s longest caves.