Wednesday, December 19, 2012

luxury mountainside Sumos leave New Market at 6am for Itanagar ( 450, 12 hours) and Ziro ( 300, six hours). The bus stat





Razhu Pru HERITAGE HOTEL $$ (%2290291; Mission Compound, Kohima Village; d from 1800; aW) An old family house that s been lovingly converted into a heritage hotel filled with tribal arts and antiques. We thought the sleek white deluxe rooms ( 2200) offered the best value.

Some 3km west on Mahatma Gandhi Marg is Ganga Market, landmarked luxury mountainside by a red, triple-spired luxury mountainside temple and nearby clock tower. The market itself is a busy clash of peoples from across the borderlands as well as piles of colourful fruit and some other decidedly exotic food items. The good-value Hotel Blue Pine (%2211118; s 300-500, d 500-600) is here, with well-maintained rooms and a mix of common and private bathrooms. Don t mind the caged receptionist, he s quite tame and helpful.

This Jewelled Land is home to Thadou, Tangkhul, Kabul, Mao Naga and many other tribal peoples, but the main grouping is the predominantly neo-Vaishnavite Meitei. Manipuris are famed for traditional dances, spicy multidish thalis and the sport of polo which they claim to have invented. Manipur s forested hills provide cover for rare birds, drug traffickers and guerrilla armies, making it by far the Northeast s most dangerous state.

Sumos leave New Market at 6am for Itanagar ( 450, 12 hours) and Ziro ( 300, six hours). luxury mountainside The bus station has a lackadaisical 7am service to Along ( 150, six hours) on alternate days depending on when the bus returns from Along.

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