location alpe d huez SATRAS A satra is a monastery for Vishnu worship, Assam s distinctive form of everyman Hinduism. For

SATRAS A satra is a monastery for Vishnu worship, Assam s distinctive form of everyman Hinduism. Formulated by 15th-century Assamese philosopher Sankardev, the faith eschews the caste system and idol worship, focussing location alpe d huez on Vishnu location alpe d huez as God, especially in his Krishna incarnation. Much of the worship location alpe d huez is based around dance and melodramatic play-acting of scenes location alpe d huez from the holy Bhagavad Gita. The heart of any satra is its namghar, a large, simple, prayer hall usually open sided and shaped like an upside-down oil tanker. Beneath the eastern end, an inner sanctum location alpe d huez hosts an eternal flame, the Gita and possibly a horde of instructive (but not divine) images.

India s Northeast States, dangling way out on the edge of the map and the national perception, are strictly for explorers who want something different from their India experience. These remote frontier lands, where India, Southeast Asia and Tibet meet, are a collision zone of cultures, climates, landscapes and peoples and are one of Asia s last great unknowns. It s a place of rugged beauty location alpe d huez where uncharted forests clamber up toward unnamed Himalayan peaks. It s a land of enormous location alpe d huez variety where rhinoceros live in swampy grasslands and former head-hunters live in longhouses in the jungle. And it s an adventure in the truest sense of the word.

A peaceful lane winding through forested hills and tribal settlements links Ziro to Pasighat via Along. Highlights are dizzying suspension footbridges and thatched Adi villages around Along. Do be warned though that the attractions along this route are very low-key, the villagers around Along are much less welcoming to foreigners (and they don t sport the Apatanis tattoos and nose plugs) and the route, location alpe d huez which involves three full days of travel, is very tiring. Unless you re going to be heading from Along to fabulous Mechuka or remote eastern towns and valleys such as Tuting or the Namdapha National location alpe d huez Park then you may find this route something of a let down.