heavenly village condos SATRAS A satra is a monastery for Vishnu worship, Assam s distinctive form of everyman Hinduism. For

DON T MISS There aren t all that many places left in the world where the maps may as well have blank spaces on them, snow- capped mountains remain unnamed and unclimbed, forests are filled with creatures that scientists have yet to lay eyes upon and hill tops are crowned heavenly village condos with unmolested tribal villages, but northeast India is one such place. As the region slowly opens up, don t miss this opportunity for genuine, undiluted adventure. Areas that are safe yet largely unexplored by tourists include almost all of rural Mizoram, large tracts of Tripura heavenly village condos (check the security situation first), the furthest reaches of Nagaland and, best of all, huge chunks of steamy forests, alpine meadows and high Himalayan heavenly village condos wildernesses have finally started opening up in Arunachal Pradesh. Top Festivals

oRi Kynjai HOTEL $$$ (%9862420300; www.rikynjai.com; Umiam Lake; r from 7200; a) In the local Khasi language ri kynjai means land of serene environments and this divine resort, on the banks of the Umiam lake, 22km from Shillong, is certainly that. Cottages lie scattered about the lush, green gardens and each is impeccably presented with lake views and bathrooms with deep bath tubs. There s also a spa, a decent restaurant and a bar that s perfect for sundowners.

SATRAS heavenly village condos A satra is a monastery for Vishnu worship, Assam s distinctive heavenly village condos form of everyman Hinduism. Formulated by 15th-century Assamese philosopher Sankardev, the faith eschews the caste system and idol worship, focussing on Vishnu as God, especially in his Krishna incarnation. Much of the worship is based around heavenly village condos dance and melodramatic play-acting of scenes from the holy Bhagavad Gita. The heart of any satra is its namghar, a large, heavenly village condos simple, prayer hall usually open sided and shaped like an upside-down oil tanker. heavenly village condos Beneath the eastern end, an inner sanctum hosts an eternal flame, the Gita and possibly a horde of instructive (but not divine) images.