alpine village cabins KV Paradise MONUMENT (Durtlang; admission 5; h10am-9pm Mon-Sat) V is for Varte who died in a 2001 mo

KV Paradise MONUMENT (Durtlang; admission 5; h10am-9pm Mon-Sat) V is for Varte who died in a 2001 motor accident. K is for her husband Khawlhring who has since lavished his entire savings and energy creating a three-storey mausoleum to her memory. The marble fountain-patio has wonderful alpine village cabins panoramic views. The site is 8km from Zarkawt, 1km off the Aizawl-Silchar road via an improbably narrow dirt lane.

1 Sights Kamakhya Mandir HINDU TEMPLE (admission for no queue/short queue/queue 500/100/free; h8am-1pm & 3pm-dusk) While Sati s disintegrated alpine village cabins 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 are ritually beheaded in a gory pavilion and the hot, dark inner womblike sanctum is painted red to signify sacrificial alpine village cabins blood. The huge June/ July Ambubachi Mela celebrates alpine village cabins the end of the mother goddess menstrual cycle with even more blood. alpine village cabins

The impoverished alpine village cabins 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, alpine village cabins village with a friendly headman, a couple of human skulls left over from headhunting days and