tiny beach chalet Baba Tourist Lodge HOTEL $ (%2211285; GS Rd; r 500-900) Ageing but clean, and popular with backpacke

oHeritage Hotel HERITAGE HOTEL $$ (%9774416649; www.theheritage.in; Offi cers Hill; r/ ste 1800/3500; tiny beach chalet W) Back in colonial days this was the home of the deputy commissioner and, with roaring open fires taking the chill off a cold winter night and hunting trophies and tribal arts adorning the walls, it retains something tiny beach chalet of the flavour of those times.

CROSSING INTO BANGLADESH AT AGARTALA Border Hours The border at Agartala is open from 7am to 6pm. Foreign Exchange There s no exchange booth and Agartala banks don t sell Bangladeshi taka, so changing money is hit and miss; ask local traders or border offi cials. Onward Transport From central Agartala the border is just 3km along Akhaura Rd ( 50 by rickshaw). On the Bangladesh side the nearest town is Akhaura, 5km beyond, reached by baby taxi (autorickshaw). From Akhaura tiny beach chalet trains head to Dhaka, Comilla and Sylhet. Coming eastbound, be sure to pay your Bangladeshi departure tax at a Sonali bank before heading for the border. Visas Unhelpful, but the northeast s only Bangladesh visa office (%2324807; Airport Rd, Kunjaban; happlication 9am-1pm Mon-Thu, 9am-noon Fri, collection same day 4pm) hides down a small lane in Agartala, about 2km north of the Ujjayanta Palace.

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, tiny beach chalet yet easy to reach, village with a friendly headman, a couple of human skulls left over from headhunting days and

Baba Tourist Lodge HOTEL $ (%2211285; tiny beach chalet GS Rd; r 500-900) Ageing but clean, and popular with backpackers, Baba hides behind a deceptively small PCO shop. The best rooms have windows and views out onto greenery. Bucket showers and bucket hot water.