chalet boutique oHotel Mona Lisa (%2320416; Mancotta Rd; r 600-1500; a), part Africa, part Cuba and possibly even 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

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 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.

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

oHotel Mona Lisa (%2320416; Mancotta Rd; r 600-1500; a), part Africa, part Cuba and possibly even a little slice of India, is a superb budget hotel with character. It s set back from the main road and everything is kept ticking along smoothly thanks to the lovely old man running it.