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

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.

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 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, 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 deer valley village flame, the Gita and possibly a horde of instructive (but not divine) images.

has a U-shaped pond (paddleboat hire 10 per person) wrapped around pretty manicured lawns, dotted with fine ancient sculptures. The park also contains bumper cars and waterslides (hApr-Sept)! A block east, then south, stands Ganeshgarh temple, deer valley village which backs onto a ghat overlooking the surging river, a good place for Brahmaputra sunsets. Nearly 1km east along the narrow, winding riverside lane is Agnigarh Hill