GARO HILLS The lush, green Garo Hills in the far west of Meghalaya are well off the beaten path. The towns are not visually distinctive, but most houses in small hamlets liftside village at hunter mountain resort remain traditionally fashioned from bamboo-weave matting and neatly cropped palm thatch. The Garo Hills are easier to visit from Guwahati than from Shillong. Sprawling Tura is the western Garo Hills regional centre and an unhurried transport hub. The tourist office (%03651-242394; h10am-5pm liftside village at hunter mountain resort Mon-Fri) is 4km away towards Nazing Bazaar. Friendly staffoffer brochures and sketchy maps, and arrange guides for anywhere in the Garo Hills, including a three-day hike to Nokrek Biosphere Reserve where it s possible to watch for Hoolock Gibbons liftside village at hunter mountain resort from a traditional-style borang (Garo tree house). There are some cheap and not very cheerful places liftside village at hunter mountain resort to stay near the market liftside village at hunter mountain resort in Tura or, for something a little more comfortable, try the Rikman Continental (%03651-220744; Circular Rd; s/d from 900/1080; ai). Almost on the Bangladesh border, Baghmara is the southern Garo Hills district centre. From Baghmara you can visit the Balpakhram National Park, 45km away, but jeep and guide hire will have to be organised in Tura.
5 Eating & Drinking La Galerie INDIAN $$ (Hotel Centrepoint, TSS Rd; mains 150-200) liftside village at hunter mountain resort A suave restaurant compartmentalised into booths by photographs of local scenes, it offers excellent Indian food. Cloud 9 is the top-floor bar-restaurant serving dainty Thai dishes, cold beers and cocktails.
Tourist Lodge HOTEL $ (%221016; liftside village at hunter mountain resort Jenkins Rd; s/d from 473/525) Facing Chitralekha Udyan, two blocks south of the bus station, the Tourist Lodge is unusual for a government-run hotel in that the staff do actually care about the well-being of their guests and the cleanliness of their hotel. This place offers good-value spacious rooms with bathrooms (some squat toilets) and mosquito nets.
The most accessible villages are the Konyak settlements around Mon. Traditional houses abound, and some villages have morungs and religious relics from pre-Christian times. Village elders may wear traditional costume and Konyak of all ages carry the fearsome-looking dao a crude machete used for headhunting right up until the mid-20th century. liftside village at hunter mountain resort
No comments:
Post a Comment