hotel grand kopaonik 1 Sights Kangla PARK (admission 2; h9am-4pm Nov-Feb, 9am-5pm Mar-Oct) Fortified Kangla was the off-a

571 HORNBILL FESTIVAL Nagaland s biggest annual festival, the Hornbill Festival hotel grand kopaonik (1-7 December) is celebrated at Kisama Heritage Village (see below) with various Naga tribes converging for a weeklong cultural, dance and sporting bash, much of it in full warrior costume. Of all the festivals in the northeast this is the most spectacular and photogenic. Simultaneously, Kohima also hosts a rock festival hotel grand kopaonik (www.hornbillmusic.com). has simple yet immaculate rooms. It s the little touches that set it apart from the competition, such as cups of tea brought to you in bed in the morning. There are great views over the town from the garden, friendly and helpful staff and a superb restaurant.

Conjure up an image of a shimmering blue lake broken up into small lakelets by floating islands hotel grand kopaonik of thick matted weeds. Add bamboo bridges, tribal people in dugout canoes and thatched hut-villages anchored on to the floating islands, and you have Loktak Lake, one of the few places hotel grand kopaonik a foreigner is allowed hotel grand kopaonik to visit outside of Imphal. More peculiar than floating villages are the large, perfectly circular fishing ponds created out of floating rings of weeds. The best view is atop Sendra Island, hotel grand kopaonik more a promontory than island. You can hire a boat (per person 100) in order to get a closer look at lake life.

1 Sights Kangla PARK (admission 2; h9am-4pm Nov-Feb, 9am-5pm Mar-Oct) Fortified Kangla was the off-andon- again regal capital of Manipur until the Anglo-Manipuri War of 1891 saw the defeat of the Manipuri maharaja and a British takeover. Entrance is by way of an exceedingly tall gate on Kanglapat. The interesting older buildings hotel grand kopaonik are at the rear of the citadel guarded by three restored large white kangla sha (dragons).

Voyaging to the Ziro Valley is one of the undisputed highlights of a trip to Arunachal Pradesh and, though the scenery is stunning hotel grand kopaonik and the village architecture fascinating, the voyeuristic main attraction here is meeting the friendly older Apatani folk who sport facial tattoos hotel grand kopaonik 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. It s vital to have a local guide to take you to any of these villages otherwise you won t see much and might even be made to feel quite unwelcome. hotel grand kopaonik Christopher Michi (%9402048466/8014012558; hotel grand kopaonik christopherdulley@ yahoo.co.in/christophermichi@hotmail.com) is the chairman of the Apatani Cultural Preservation Society and can organise superb visits to the villages don t be at all surprised if your tour culminates in an evening of drinking rice wine and chowing down on barbequed rat in a villager s house!