chalet miramar Rest House Nongriat GUESTHOUSE $ (%9856891520; Nongriat; per person 100) This highly basic four-room

Khasi villagers have trained across streams to form natural pathways. Three of these root bridges (including an amazing double- decker ) are near Nongriat. Access involves a two-hour very steep trek down from Tyrna, a pretty, palm-clad village that s 2km from Mawshamok. From Cherrapunjee Holiday Resort the entire roundtrip hike takes eight hours, is highly strenuous and involves descending chalet miramar and ascending some 2000-odd steps (this particular author couldn chalet miramar t walk for two days afterwards!). The Cherrapunjee Holiday Resort provides maps.

Tripura s low-key capital, with its small- town atmosphere, feels like an India of yesteryear. The pace of life is much slower than in the towns and cities of the Indian heartlands and people are much more likely to swerve across chalet miramar the street to wish you a good day than to try and sell you something. The old quarter, which centres on the Ujjayanta Palace, has some impressive town gates and pretty tanks and gardens. Durga puja is celebrated with huge pandals (temporary temples built from wood and cloth).

some impressive traditional buildings all set, surreally, under two giant mobile phone towers. Shingha Chingyuo village (20km, population 5900) has a huge longhouse decorated with mithuna (pairs of men and women) chalet miramar and deer skulls, three stuff ed tigers, and a store of old human skulls. Longwoa (35km) is spectacularly sited on the India Myanmar border, with the headman s longhouse actually straddling chalet miramar the two nations. chalet miramar Despite its popularity with tourists it remains one of the most interesting villages. Chui (8km) includes an elephant skull in its longhouse collection. Shangnyu village has a shrine full of fertility references such as tumescent warriors, a crowing cock, a large snake, chalet miramar a man and woman enjoying sex and, to complete the picture, a double rainbow. Langmeang village, with its stack of human skulls piled up in a wooden box, is also highly impressive.

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.