vail village bars Voyaging to the Ziro Valley is one of the undisputed highlights of a trip to Arunachal Pradesh and,

Of the various Adi villages around Along, Kabu (2km north of Along) is the best known and most easily accessible. Before entering the village you must seek permission from the headman (who often demands a 500 fee). As well as admiring the spectacular longhouse architecture that is a hallmark of all Adi villages vail village bars don t miss the terrifying cable-trussed but bamboo-decked wobbly suspension bridge over the river. Fortunately for vertigo vail village bars sufferers a modern metal bridge has just been completed, which makes crossing the river slightly less sickening. It remains to be seen if the old bridge will be maintained or not. There are further interesting, and less visited, Adi villages on the road to Pasighat, but whichever village you visit be discreet with cameras as the locals aren t at all keen on them.

Voyaging to the Ziro Valley is one of the undisputed highlights of a trip to Arunachal Pradesh and, though the scenery is stunning and the village architecture fascinating, the voyeuristic main attraction here is meeting the friendly older Apatani folk who sport facial tattoos and nose plugs that would be the envy of any tattooist in the West (see p 566 ). The most authentic Apatani villages are Hong (the biggest and best known), Hijo (more atmospheric), Hari, Bamin and Dutta; none of which are more than 10km apart. vail village bars It s vital to have a local guide to take you to any of these villages vail village bars otherwise you won t see much and might even be made to feel quite unwelcome. Christopher Michi (%9402048466/8014012558; christopherdulley@ yahoo.co.in/christophermichi@hotmail.com) is the chairman of the Apatani Cultural Preservation Society and can organise superb visits vail village bars to the villages don t be at all surprised if your tour culminates in an evening vail village bars of drinking vail village bars rice wine and chowing down on barbequed rat in a villager s house!

While each of these hotels have good restaurants, the cosy Dragon Restaurant (Old Market; mains 60-150) is the town s best eatery with freshly made local dishes such as churpa ( 150), a fermented cheese broth with fungi and vegetables that tastes much better than it sounds. Also don t miss the Tibetan tea. An acquired taste if ever there were one.