mountainside at silver creek houses above which rises a steep ridge topped with a timeless gompa. Heading the other way, just nor

houses above which rises a steep ridge topped with a timeless gompa. Heading the other way, just north of New Dirang, mountainside at silver creek the valley opens out and its floor becomes a patchwork of rice and crop fields through which gushes the icy blue river. A fun day could be spent walking along the footpaths between fields and little hamlets.

Tripura is culturally and politically fascinating, and the state s handful of royal palaces and temples draw a growing flow of domestic tourists. For the moment though foreign tourists remain very rare indeed. There s a large Bangladeshi refugee population in Tripura and much of the more accessible western parts of the state look and feel much like its near neighbour.