chalet boy Carved out of Assam in 1972, hilly Meghalaya (Abode of Clouds) is a cool, pine-fresh contrast to the

The most accessible villages are the Konyak chalet boy settlements around Mon. Traditional houses abound, chalet boy and some villages chalet boy have morungs and religious relics from pre-Christian times. Village elders may wear traditional costume and Konyak of all ages carry the fearsome-looking chalet boy dao a crude machete used for headhunting right up until the mid-20th century.

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. 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

Carved out of Assam in 1972, hilly Meghalaya (Abode of Clouds) is a cool, pine-fresh contrast to the sweaty Assam plains. Set on dramatic horseshoes of rocky cliff above the Bengal plains, Cherrapunjee and Mawsynram are statistically the wettest places on earth. Most of the rain falls between April and September, creating very impressive waterfalls and carving out some of Asia s longest caves.

Southern Tripura s best-known sights can be combined into a long day trip from Agartala, though sleeping at Neermahal is worthwhile. Any of Agartala s hotels can arrange a taxi, or you can engage English-speaking Partha chalet boy Laskar (%09774702908; partha.laskar@rediffmail.com) for a day trip in an AC car ( 1300 plus 12 per km).