betren SATRAS A satra is a monastery for Vishnu worship, Assam s distinctive form of everyman Hinduism. For

Sumos have their booking counters betren in Jenkins Rd and run to Bomdila in Arunachal Pradesh ( 250, eight hours) and Tawang ( 500, 15hrs). Bargain for a private taxi in the same street for the Eco-Camp at Potasali ( 1500) and Kaziranga ( 1500). A little further betren on is the bus station (Jenkins Rd) with frequent services to Guwahati ( 140 to 150, five hours), Jorhat ( 100, four hours) and Kohora for Kaziranga ( 45, two hours).

Of four Hindu temples around the palace compound, the most fanciful betren 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. betren 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.

Assam s must-do betren attraction is an elephant safari to look for rhinoceros hiding in the expansive grasslands of this national park (h1 Nov-30 Apr, elephant rides 5.30-8.30am, jeep access betren 7.30am-noon & 2.30pm-dusk). Kaziranga s population of around 1855 Indian one-horned rhinos (just 200 in 1904) represents more than two-thirds of the world s total. The park consists of a western, central and an eastern range, but the central range is the most accessible, giving the best viewing chances for rhinos, elephants and swamp deer plus plenty of bird life (take binoculars).

SATRAS A satra is a monastery for Vishnu worship, Assam s distinctive form of everyman Hinduism. Formulated by 15th-century Assamese philosopher Sankardev, the faith eschews the caste system and idol worship, focussing on Vishnu as God, especially betren in his Krishna incarnation. Much of the worship is based around dance and melodramatic play-acting of scenes from the holy Bhagavad Gita. The heart of any satra is its namghar, betren a large, simple, prayer hall usually open sided and shaped like an upside-down oil tanker. Beneath the eastern end, an inner sanctum hosts an eternal flame, the Gita and possibly a horde of instructive (but not divine) betren images.