chalet curv oHotel Tripura Castle HISTORIC HOTEL $$$ (%2501111; Cleve Colony; s/d from 3600/3720, ste 7200; aiW)

Sprawling Hapoli (New Ziro), starting 7km further south than Ziro, has hotels and road transport. Just below the Commissioner s office on a bend in MG Rd is an SBI ATM. There are a couple of internet cafes around the market area but connections are as rare as a tiger in the nearby forests. The small central market is well worth poking about in. As well as fruit, chalet curv veg and clothing you can stock up on various insects and other delights to snack on.

Conjure up an image of a shimmering blue lake broken up into small lakelets by floating islands of thick matted weeds. Add bamboo bridges, tribal people in dugout canoes and thatched hut-villages anchored on to the floating islands, and you have Loktak Lake, one of the few places a foreigner is allowed to visit outside of Imphal. More peculiar than floating villages are the large, perfectly circular fishing ponds created out of floating rings of weeds. The best view is atop Sendra Island, more a promontory chalet curv than island. You can hire a boat (per person 100) in order to get a closer look at lake life.

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 chalet curv castle that features in hotel brochures, but accommodation is actually in a mostly new, if pseudo-heritage building behind. chalet curv Pine-framed rooms have a gently stylish 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.

1 Sights Ujjayanta Palace PALACE (admission 5; h5-7pm) chalet curv Agartala s indisputable centrepiece is this striking, dome-capped chalet curv 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.