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 gus chalet are statistically the wettest places on earth. Most of the rain falls between April and September, creating very impressive gus chalet waterfalls and carving out some of Asia s longest caves.
Out of town, and by far the best place to stay, is the new Ziro Valley Resort (%9856910173; Biiri village; r in old wing 1000, tw/d 1200/1500), which has rainbow-coloured rooms in a faux colonial style building. It s halfway between Old and New Ziro and is surrounded by sunburnt fields. It s also known as the Village Tourist Lodge. At the time of research another midrange resort style place was under construction near the Ziro Valley Resort.
Mizo culture has no caste distinctions and women appear liberated; in Aizawl girls smoke openly, gus chalet wear jeans and hang out in unchaperoned posses meeting up with their beaus at rock concerts on the central field.
Travelling to Dibrugarh ( tea-city ) usefully closes a loop between Kaziranga and the Ziro Along Pasighat route and is the terminus (or starting point) for the fascinating ferry ride along the Brahmaputra to Pasighat gus chalet in Arunachal Pradesh. Dibrugarh is a rapidly growing city with a new road and rail bridge being built at Bogibeel gus chalet Ghat (originally scheduled to open in 2008, it s now unlikely to be ready for some years to come) that will extend the railway system to north of the Brahmaputra.
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