slopeside All Dirang s commercial services are in New Dirang, with a strip of cheap hotels, eateries and sumo

State Museum MUSEUM (admission slopeside 5; h9.30am-3.30pm Tue-Sun) The superbly presented State Museum, 3km north, includes plenty of tableaux with mannequins- in-action depicting diff erent traditional Naga lifestyles plus everyday tools.

All Dirang s commercial services are in New Dirang, with a strip of cheap hotels, eateries and sumo counters around the central crossroads. slopeside Tourist Lodge (%200176; d 825), a kilometre south and overlooking New Dirang, is a basic but friendly family hotel in an old-style hill house crowded with potted plants. Nicer is the next-door Hotel Pemaling (%207265; s/d 1815/2420), slopeside which has shiny rooms, excellent service and a very pleasant garden where you can enjoy the views towards the sometimes snow-bound Se La and the high Himalaya beyond.

The beautifully forested hills around Itanagar hide the attractive Ganga Lake (5km), a local picnic spot. Further away (20km) is Poma village, which is about the closest place to town to see the traditional architecture of bamboo longhouses (although many of these are being slowly replaced with concrete box houses). slopeside

Hotel Rajawas (%2323307; www.hotel rajawas.com; AT Rd; s/d from 687/860; ai) is a new, mirror-fronted hotel with a flowerfilled lobby, cheeky modern art on the walls and decent bathrooms. The deluxe rooms are the best bet (single/double 1144/1399). If you ve just trudged in from the mountains and jungles of Arunachal Pradesh you ll think its in-house restaurant (mains 120-160) is the best thing since sliced bread (or maybe cold dhal).