winter park gondola FACIAL TATTOOING Historically famous for their beauty, Apatani women were all too often kidnapped by

FACIAL TATTOOING Historically famous for their beauty, Apatani women were all too often kidnapped by warriors of the neighbouring winter park gondola Nishi tribes. As a defence , Apatani girls were deliberately defaced. They were given facial winter park gondola tattoos, like graffitied beards scribbled onto living Mona Lisa paintings, and extraordinary nose plugs known as dat fitted into holes cut in their upper nostrils. Some men also have tattoos. Peace with the Nishis winter park gondola in the 1960s meant an end to that brutal practice, but many older women still wear dat. Photography is an understandably sensitive issue, so ask first. Some Apatani women have had cosmetic surgery to remove their tattoos.

1 Sights Kamakhya Mandir HINDU TEMPLE (admission for no queue/short queue/queue 500/100/free; winter park gondola h8am-1pm & 3pm-dusk) While Sati s disintegrated body parts rained toes on Kolkata (see p443), her yoni fell on Kamakhya Hill. This makes Kamakhya Mandir important for shakti (sensual tantric worship of female spiritual power). Goats, pigeons and the occasional buffalo are ritually beheaded in a gory pavilion and the hot, dark inner womblike sanctum is painted red to signify sacrificial blood. The huge June/ July Ambubachi Mela celebrates the end of the mother goddess menstrual cycle with even more blood.

The best of the couple of diff erent options are the tastefully renovated Banyan Grove (%9954451548; winter park gondola www.heritagetourism india.com; s/d 6272/7280; lunch 350, dinner 450; s). Dating from the late 19th century, its rooms are crammed winter park gondola with antiques and the drawing room is straight winter park gondola out of a Victorian period drama. It has wonderful lawns and verandas overlooking a tea estate and swimming winter park gondola pool. The site is 7km down rural tracks from Km442 on NH37 (Jorhat Deragaon Rd).

The two main villages are Kamalabari, 3km from the ferry port and Garamur, 5km further north. The most interesting, accessible satras are the large, beautifully peaceful Uttar Kamalabari (1km north, then 600m east of Kamalabari) and Auniati (5km west of Kamalabari), where monks are keen to show you their little museum (Indian/ foreigner/camera/video 5/50/50/200; h9.3011am winter park gondola & 12-4pm) of Ahom royal artefacts. The best chances of observing chanting, dances winter park gondola or drama recitations are around dawn and dusk or during the big Ras Mahotsav Festival (third winter park gondola week of November).