martri All Dirang s commercial services are in New Dirang, with a strip of cheap hotels, eateries and sumo

All Dirang s commercial services are in New Dirang, with a strip of cheap hotels, eateries and sumo counters around the central crossroads. Tourist Lodge (%200176; martri d 825), a kilometre south and overlooking New Dirang, martri is a basic but friendly family hotel in an old-style hill house crowded with potted martri plants. Nicer is the next-door Hotel Pemaling (%207265; s/d 1815/2420), which has shiny rooms, excellent service and a very pleasant garden where you can enjoy the views towards the sometimes snow-bound Se La and the high Himalaya beyond.

Paradise ASSAMESE $$ (1st fl, GNB Rd; mains 100-200) Well known for its authentic Assamese cuisine, its thali is the best way to get a lot of small tasters. Assamese food is not a lip-tingler martri like typical Indian food and for some this cuisine can seem rather bland, but it s the subtleties you re after rather than the heat.

Rest House Nongriat GUESTHOUSE $ (%9856891520; Nongriat; per person 100) This highly basic four-room guesthouse is just one minute from the double-decker bridge and so is ideal if you want to explore the escarpment floor in greater depth. If you stay, take the absolute minimum with you because carrying a backpack back up all those steps would be a real bitch! Meals cost 100.

After all this huffi ng and puffi ng around the Northeast it s time to relax with a jolly nice cup of tea, don t you think old chap? And where better to do so than in a colonial-era heritage bungalow on a working tea estate. Bookings are essential.