moliet Forty-five kilometres north of Kohima is the small town of Tuophema, which can make a useful overnig

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) and deer skulls, three stuff ed tigers, and a store of old human skulls. Longwoa (35km) is spectacularly sited on the India Myanmar moliet border, with the headman s longhouse moliet actually straddling the two nations. moliet Despite its popularity with tourists it remains one of the most interesting villages. Chui (8km) includes moliet an elephant skull in its longhouse collection. Shangnyu village has a shrine full of fertility references such as tumescent moliet warriors, a crowing cock, a large snake, 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.

1 Sights Ujjayanta Palace PALACE (admission 5; h5-7pm) Agartala s indisputable centrepiece is this striking, dome-capped palace. Flanked by two large refl ecting ponds, the whitewashed 1901 edifice moliet was built by Tripura s 182nd maharaja. It looks particularly impressive floodlit at night, but for security reasons only the gardens are open to the public.

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 moliet and Mawsynram moliet 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.

Forty-five kilometres north of Kohima is the small town of Tuophema, which can make a useful overnight stop on the road to Mon if you leave Kohima moliet late in the day. Although the town itself is nothing special, the