snowmass gondola oClassic Hotel HOTEL $$ (%2443967; North AOC Rd; s/d from 845/1170; aiW) This unexpectedly classy ho

oClassic Hotel HOTEL $$ (%2443967; North AOC Rd; s/d from 845/1170; aiW) This unexpectedly classy hotel is one of the best-value business hotels in the northeast. The large spotless rooms come with full facilities, staff who love to please and the town s best restaurant (mains 100 to 150). Opt for one of the Classic Standard rooms (s/d 1885/2470).

4 Sleeping & Eating Hotel Centre Point HOTEL $$ (%232359; Main Rd; r from 660; aW) The cheaper rooms at this new hotel bang in the town centre are splashed in smart white paint, but have cold water only showers,

bord glas Food ff tame enough in high mountain areas like Tawang, where the food is reminiscent of neighbourin

Of four Hindu temples around the palace compound, the most fanciful is Jagannath Mandir (h4am-2pm & 4-9pm). Its massive sculptured portico leads into a complex with wedding-cake architecture painted in ice-cream sundae colours. Several royal mausoleums are decaying quietly on the riverbank behind Batala market. To get to them walk west down HGB Rd, turn left at Ronaldsay Rd and right along the riverbank. Chaturdasha Devata Mandir (Temple of Fourteen Deities) hosts a big seven-day Kharchi Puja festival in July in Old Agar- tala, 7km east down Assam Agartala (AA) Rd (NH44) at Kayerpur.

Food ff tame enough in high mountain areas like Tawang, where the food is reminiscent of neighbouring Tibet delicious bord glas momos and less-delicious Tibetan tea are all the rage. Head east and things become more interesting. Barbecued rat, forest antelope and something we couldn t quite identify were on the menu in central Arunachal Pradesh. If you re going to Mizoram, don t take Rover dog meat is a delicacy there. In Nagaland, grubs, maggots, snakes, hornets and giant spiders all get taste buds excited.

chalet koala If you re using a tour company, allow at least one month to obtain travel permits and two months if

1 Sights Mizoram chalet koala State Museum MUSEUM (Macdonald Hill, Zarkawt; admission 5; h9.30am5pm Mon-Fri) This museum has interesting exhibits on Mizo culture. chalet koala It s up a steep lane from Sumkuma Point past Aizawl s most distinctive church, whose modernist bell- tower spire is pierced by arched windows.

If you re using a tour company, allow at least one month to obtain travel permits and two months if travelling in a group of less than four (and you re not a married couple). If applying independently allow at least two to three months.

snowmass mammoth discovery Tripura is culturally and politically fascinating, and the state s handful of royal palaces and temp

Bodoland s Manas National Park (www.ma nas100.com; Indian/camera/video 50/50/500; foreigner/camera/video 250/500/1000; hOct- Mar) is Unesco-listed and has two ranges Bansbari snowmass mammoth discovery and Koklabari with diff erent access points.

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 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 snowmass mammoth discovery Garo Hills regional centre and an unhurried transport hub. The tourist office (%03651-242394; h10am-5pm Mon-Fri) is 4km away towards Nazing Bazaar. Friendly snowmass mammoth discovery staffoffer brochures and sketchy maps, and arrange guides for anywhere in the Garo Hills, including a three-day snowmass mammoth discovery hike to Nokrek snowmass mammoth discovery Biosphere snowmass mammoth discovery Reserve where it s possible to watch for Hoolock Gibbons from a traditional-style borang (Garo tree house). There are some cheap and not very cheerful places to stay near the market in Tura or, for something a little more comfortable, try the Rikman Continental snowmass mammoth discovery (%03651-220744; Circular Rd; s/d from 900/1080; ai). Almost snowmass mammoth discovery 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 snowmass mammoth discovery in Tura.

Tripura is culturally and politically fascinating, and the state s handful of royal palaces and temples draw a growing flow of domestic tourists. For the moment though foreign tourists remain very rare indeed. There s a large Bangladeshi refugee population in Tripura and much of the more accessible western parts of the state look and feel much like its near neighbour.

4 Sleeping & Eating Hotel Centre Point HOTEL $$ (%232359; Main Rd; r from 660; aW) The cheaper rooms at this new hotel bang in the town centre are splashed in smart white paint, but have cold water only showers,

map of grand lake The impoverished hill town of Mon is in a gorgeous setting but feels like a frontier town. There s a

The impoverished hill town of Mon is in a gorgeous setting but feels like a frontier town. There s an SBI ATM in the town centre but don t rely on it working. map of grand lake The little village market is well worth exploring and like so many markets in the northeast, it s the exotic food items that stick longest in the memory. Of the numerous tribal villages in the area the closest is Old Mon village, a mere 5km from town. Tamgnyu village (13km) is a rarely visited, yet easy to reach, village with a friendly headman, a couple of human skulls left over from headhunting days and

This hard-to-beat option has helpful English- speaking staff, eager room service and superb food. Rooms are neat, although some may not have external windows. It s by far the most popular of the city centre hotels and is worth booking in advance.

baby mar el chalet oClassic Hotel HOTEL $$ (%2443967; North AOC Rd; s/d from 845/1170; aiW) This unexpectedly classy ho

571 HORNBILL FESTIVAL Nagaland s biggest annual festival, the Hornbill Festival (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 baby mar el chalet also hosts a rock festival (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, baby mar el chalet friendly and helpful staff and a superb restaurant. baby mar el chalet

571 HORNBILL FESTIVAL Nagaland s biggest annual festival, the Hornbill Festival (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 (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.

oClassic Hotel HOTEL $$ (%2443967; North AOC Rd; s/d from 845/1170; aiW) This unexpectedly classy hotel is one of the best-value business hotels in the northeast. The large spotless rooms come with full facilities, staff who love to please and the town s best restaurant (mains 100 to 150). Opt for one of the Classic baby mar el chalet Standard rooms (s/d 1885/2470).

map grand lake The biggest attraction is magical Tawang Gompa (admission free, camera/video 20/100; hdawn-dusk) bac

The biggest attraction is magical Tawang Gompa (admission free, camera/video 20/100; hdawn-dusk) backdropped map grand lake by snow-speckled peaks. Founded in 1681, this medieval citadel is reputedly the world s second-largest Buddhist monastery complex map grand lake and famed in Buddhist circles for its library. Within its fortified walls, narrow alleys lead up to the majestic and magnifi cently decorated prayer hall containing an 8m-high statue of Buddha Shakyamuni. Come here at dawn (4am to 5am) to see row after row of monks performing their early morning prayers. Across the central square is a small but interesting museum ( 20; h8am-5pm) containing images, robes, telescopic map grand lake trumpets and some personal items of the sixth Dalai Lama. Spectacular chaam (ritual masked dances performed by some Buddhist monks

CENTRAL ARUNACHAL S TRIBAL GROUPS The variety of tribal peoples in central Arunachal Pradesh is astonishing, but although the Adi (Abor), map grand lake Nishi, Tajin, Hill Miri and various other Tibeto-Burman tribes consider themselves different from one another most are at least distantly related. Over the last few decades Christian missionaries have been highly active throughout the Northeast and in the process have brought huge changes to the region s traditional cultures, religious beliefs and ways of life. Despite this, some aspects of the traditional lifestyle are just about holding on and many people continue to practise the traditional religion of Donyi-Polo (sun and moon) worship sometimes at the same time as proclaiming themselves Christian. For ceremonial occasions, village chiefs typically wear scarlet shawls and a bamboo wicker hat spiked with porcupine quill or hornbill feathers. A few old men still wear their hair long, tied around to form a topknot map grand lake above their foreheads. Women favour hand-woven wraparounds like Southeast Asian sarongs. House designs vary somewhat. Traditional Adi villages map grand lake are generally map grand lake the most photogenic with luxuriant palmyra-leaf thatching and boxlike granaries stilted to deter rodents.