torru The surrounding grassy moors justify Meghalaya s over-played Scotland of the East tourist-office sou

The modern glass tower Baliram Building, on the corner of Naren Bose (NB) and NC/SC Roads, contains several floors torru of good dining. The ground-floor stand-up-and-eat dosa house (h6am-9pm) has South Indian fare and cheap breakfasts. Semismart torru China Villa (meals from 120; h10am-10.30pm) offers Indian and Chinese food in AC comfort, torru while the rooftop Chat House (snacks from 30; h8am-9.30pm) has an open-sided, but roofed, terrace for cooling breezes, views, Indian snacks, noodles, pizzas and momos.

The surrounding grassy moors justify Meghalaya torru s over-played Scotland torru of the East tourist-office soubriquet, although they re dotted with Khasi monoliths and scarred by quarrying. Much more impressive is the series of grand canyon valleys torru that plunge into deep lush chasms of tropical forest sprayed by a succession of seasonally inspiring torru waterfalls. The Nohkalikai Falls, fourth highest in the world, are particularly dramatic, especially in the monsoon when their capacity increases 20-fold. You can see them easily enough without quite entering the official viewpoint (admission/camera 10/200; h8am-5pm), 4.4km southwest of Sohra market.

RAFTING IN THE LAND OF MILK AND HONEY Another newly opened route is the Pasighat to Tuting road. This route is all about two things: the River Siang and the mysterious Buddhist land of Pemako. Tuting, which sits near the Tibetan border, is the point at which the Tsang Po river having left the Tibetan plateau and burrowed through the Himalaya via a series of spectacular gorges enters the Indian subcontinent and becomes the Siang (once it reaches the plains of Assam it turns into the Brahmaputra). Tuting and the River Siang are starting to gain a reputation as one of the world s most thrilling white-water rafting destinations, but this ain t no amateurs river. The few people who have descended the river have reported torru that the 180km route is littered with numerous grade 4-5 rapids, strong eddies and inaccessible gorges. For those after adventure of a different kind Tuting also serves as the launch pad for searching out the legendary Buddhist land of Pemako. You will, however, need more than this guidebook and a compass in order to find it. Buddhist belief says that Pemako is a synonym for a hidden earthly paradise and that it s the earthly representation torru of Dorje Pagmo, torru a Tibetan goddess. It was said that this land of milk and honey was to be found in the eastern Himalaya and that to reach it you had to pass behind torru an enormous hidden waterfall. For hundreds of years outsiders knew that the Tsang Po river left Tibet and entered a huge, and utterly impenetrable, gorge before emerging from the Himalaya around Tuting, but what happened to the river inside that gorge was unknown until the 1950s. As it turned out the river did indeed tumble over an enormous waterfall and, what s more, it passed through a rich and fertile valley populated by Memba Buddhists, completely isolated from the rest of the world. torru Today, this vast region of northern Arunachal torru Pradesh and parts of south eastern Tibet remains almost utterly unknown to the outside world, but Pemako is out there and for those willing to endure days of incredibly tough hiking (and deal with reams of paperwork) it is possible to visit.

Silk Route HOTEL $$ (%2503301; www.hotelsilkroute.com; Keating Rd; s/d from 1200/1440; W) This small hotel has memorably colourful rooms kept ship-shape by the enthusiastic cleaners. torru The stylish bathrooms contain big rain showers. It s popular, so book ahead.