denver mon chalet Voyaging to the Ziro Valley is one of the undisputed highlights of a trip to Arunachal Pradesh and,

Market MARKET (Mission Veng St) A Saturday street market sprawls along the street with village women offering fruit, vegetables, maybe a dead pig, fish and live hens in individualised denver mon chalet wickerwork carry-away baskets.

Voyaging to the Ziro Valley is one of the undisputed highlights of a trip to Arunachal Pradesh and, though the scenery is stunning and the village architecture fascinating, the voyeuristic main attraction here is meeting the friendly older Apatani folk who sport facial tattoos and nose plugs that would be the envy of any tattooist in the West (see p 566 ). The most authentic Apatani villages are Hong (the biggest and best known), Hijo (more atmospheric), Hari, Bamin and Dutta; none of which are more than 10km apart. It s vital to have a local guide to take you to any of these villages otherwise you won t see much and might even be made to feel quite unwelcome. Christopher Michi (%9402048466/8014012558; christopherdulley@ yahoo.co.in/christophermichi@hotmail.com) is the chairman of the Apatani Cultural Preservation denver mon chalet Society and can organise superb visits to the villages don t be at all surprised if your tour culminates in an evening of drinking rice wine and chowing down on barbequed rat in a villager s house!

Assam State Museum MUSEUM (GNB Rd; admission/camera/video 5/10/100; h10am-5pm Tue-Sun, until 4pm winter) This museum is worth a visit. It has a large sculpture collection, while the upper floors are devoted to informative tribal culture displays. You get to walk through reconstructed tribal homes.